• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights

    People around the world face violence and inequality – and sometimes torture, even execution – because of who they love, how they look, or who they are.

    Sexual orientation and gender identity are integral aspects of our selves and should never lead to discrimination or abuse.

    Human Rights Watch works for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people’s rights, with activists representing a multiplicity of identities and issues.

    We document and expose abuses based on sexual orientation and gender identity worldwide – including torture, killing and executions, arrests under unjust laws, unequal treatment, censorship, medical abuses, discrimination in health and jobs and housing, domestic violence, abuses against children, and denial of family rights and recognition.

    We advocate for laws and policies that will protect everyone’s dignity. We work for a world where all people can enjoy their rights fully.

    Photo: © The Rainbow Project, Namibia 2001.

  • S. was arrested, charged with homosexual conduct, and denied access to a lawyer in 2010 after he met two male friends in a hotel lobby. His case is one of many that illustrates the due process and other human rights violations common to “homosexuality” prosecutions in Cameroon.
    © 2013 Human Rights Watch
    Cameroon: Rights Abuses in ‘Homosexuality’ Prosecutions
    Cameroon prosecutes people for consensual same-sex conduct more aggressively than almost any country in the world, four human rights organizations said in a report released today. At least 28 people have been prosecuted for same-sex conduct in Cameroon since 2010. Most cases are marked by grave human rights violations, including torture, forced confessions, denial of access to legal counsel, and discriminatory treatment by law enforcement and judicial officials.
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LGBT Rights

  • LGBT Rights: Advocacy Chief Wins Dutch Award
    May 21, 2013
    Boris Dittrich, advocacy director for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Rights Program at Human Rights Watch has been awarded the Dutch government’s prestigious Jos Brink State Prize for 2013. Jet Bussemaker, Dutch minister of education, culture and science, presented the award to Dittrich in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to LGBT emancipation during the last 30 years, in the presence of the high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay. The ceremony was held in Diligentia theater in The Hague on May 17 – the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
  • Zambia: Stop Prosecuting People for Homosexuality
    May 20, 2013
    Zambian authorities should dismiss all charges and release two men arrested for engaging in homosexual acts. The police should immediately cease forensic anal examinations, which are intrusive, invasive and constitute cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment in violation of international law.
  • LGBT Rights: The 2013 ‘Hall of Shame’
    May 17, 2013
    The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Rights Program at Human Rights Watch today named its candidates to its annual “Hall of Shame” to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. The American Center for Law and Justice; President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia; Vadym Kolesnichenko, a member of Ukraine’s parliament; and the Ukrainian political party Svoboda are undermining human rights by actively promoting homophobic policies, Human Rights Watch said.
  • Cameroon: Drop Charges Against 2 Transgender Youth
    May 17, 2013
    The Cameroonian authorities should drop the charges against two transgender youth rather than appealing their case to the Supreme Court, four human rights organizations said today. Jonas K. and Franky D. are being prosecuted on what the appeals court has already ruled were trumped-up charges of homosexual conduct, the groups said in a letter to the Yaoundé prosecutor today.
  • Cameroon: Letter to the Prosecutor General of the Central Appeals Court
    May 17, 2013
    Jonas and Franky, who identify as women, were arrested in July 2011 by police who stopped their vehicle and saw that they were dressed in women’s clothing. Police claimed that Jonas, Franky, and a third person were “groping” each other in the car. They were convicted of homosexual conduct in November 2011 by a judge who suggested that because they were drinking Bailey’s liqueur the night of the arrest – which the judge considered a “women’s drink” –they must be homosexual.
  • Reflecting on the pursuit of equality and non-discrimination on LGBT Day
    May 16, 2013
    Every year on May 17, people all around the world celebrate the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, while reflecting how to achieve full equality and non-discrimination.
  • Russia: Investigate Homophobic Motivation for Killing
    May 15, 2013
    Russian authorities should ensure that the investigation into the murder of a young man in southern Russia includes whether he was murdered because his killers believed or claimed he was gay. Investigative authorities should examine all possible motives for the killing, including homophobia, due to the sadistic homophobic aspects of the crime.
  • Universal Periodic Review: Joint HRW submission on Cameroon with Affirmative Action, Alternatives Cameroun, ADEFHO, Camfaids, Evolve, Humanity First, IGLHRC
    Apr 18, 2013
    This submission, by Affirmative Action, Alternatives-Cameroun, the Association for the Defense of Gay and Lesbian Rights (ADEFHO), Cameroonian Foundation for AIDS (CAMFAIDS), Evolve, Human Rights Watch, Humanity First Cameroon, and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), highlights shortcomings in Cameroon’s human rights record related to its treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. It is based on research conducted in Cameroon in 2009 and 2010 by ADEFHO, Alternatives-Cameroun, Human Rights Watch, and IGLHRC and published in our 2010 report Criminalizing Identities: Rights Abuses in Cameroon based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, and on follow-up investigations conducted between 2010 and 2012.
  • Universal Periodic Review: HRW Submission on Russia
    Apr 18, 2013
    Starting in June 2012, the Russian government reversed small, positive steps taken since the previous UPR, which had slightly loosened excessive government control over civil society organizations and aimed to improve pluralism in the political system. It launched a broad crackdown on freedom of assembly, association, and expression. Abuses in the counterinsurgency campaign in the North Caucasus continue. Several Russian regions have adopted homophobic laws, and preparations for the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi have been tainted by abuses.
  • Ukraine: Reject Discriminatory LGBT Laws
    Apr 16, 2013
    The Ukrainian parliament should reject two draft laws that would discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people and infringe on their free expression rights.
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