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.
* *** *
Brazil signed the United Nations Convention on the International Effects of Judicial Sales of Ships (the "Beijing Convention on the Judicial Sale of Ships") at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on 17 April 2025.
"Together, let's get to work and make 2025 the year we restore good health to Mother Earth." — António Guterres
The new Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations (Vienna), Reza Najafi, presented his credentials today to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ghada Waly.
The new Permanent Representative of Somalia to the United Nations (Vienna), Khadra Ahmed Dualeh, presented her credentials today to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ghada Waly.
