UNIS/SGSM/1312
15 May 2023
As we mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, we face a stark fact. In every corner of the world, LGBTQI+ people continue to face violence, persecution, hate speech, injustice and even outright murder.
Meanwhile, retrograde laws continue to criminalize LGBTQI+ people around the world, punishing them for simply being who they are.
Each assault on LGBTQI+ people is an assault on human rights and the values we hold dear.
We cannot and will not move backwards.
The United Nations firmly stands with the LGBTQI+ community, and will continue working until human rights and dignity are a reality for all people.
I renew my call to all Member States to uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and end the criminalization of consensual same-sex relations and transgender people. Being yourself should never be a crime.
In keeping with this year’s theme — “Together Always: United in Diversity” — I call on the world to speak with one voice to eliminate the stigma, discrimination, harmful practices, and often deadly violence endured by LGBTQI+ people.
Human rights are non-negotiable. They belong to every member of the human family — no matter who they are or whom they love.
Let’s continue working to build a peaceful, just world in which all people are free and equal in dignity and rights.
* *** *
Thailand has acceded to the United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts (2005) (the “Electronic Communications Convention”).
"Around the globe, people with autism are making enormous contributions to societies, human endeavours, and individual lives." — António Guterres
"This year's International Day of Zero Waste puts the focus on fashion and textiles." — António Guterres
With the deposit of the instrument of accession at the UN Headquarters in New York, Costa Rica becomes the eighteenth State Party to the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, also known as the "Singapore Convention on Mediation".