Prof. Stephen WhittleThe School of Law, Manchester Metropolitan Universitys.t.whittle@mmu.ac.uk

•The First Magna Carta of the Homosexual Rights Has Been Released in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

•a Milestone for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights (Human Rights Watch)

•The Yogyakarta Principles are revolutionary because they visualize how bad the situation in the world is for gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender and intersex people (Boris Dittrich)

Yogyakarta Principles

•a response to the well-documented patterns of abuse

•Intention to outline a set of international principles relating to Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity

Because they did not exist already

Because the idea of them is constantly refuted

Because we are constantly refuted

the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity:

•extrajudicial executions,

•violence and torture,

•repression of free speech and assembly,

•refusal to allow to adopt or foster, removal of access to children

•and discrimination in work, health, education, access to justice, and immigration.

•I am a Jew. Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew

hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections,

passions? fed with the same food, hurt with the

same weapons, subject to the same diseases,

healed by the same means, warmed and cooled

by the same winter and summer, as a Christian

is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?

a universal guide to human rights which affirm binding international legal standards with which all States must comply

With which all States must comply

They promise a different future where all people born free and equal in dignity and rights can fulfil that precious birthright

address a broad range of human rights standards and their application to issues of sexual orientation and gender identity

their Application

WHY?•The ongoing human rights abuses

experienced by LGBT & I people

•The ongoing abuses experienced by LGBT & I people

•The failure of the international community to POLICE their own

The response is fragmented, and inconsistent

it falls by the wayside when it comes to foreign policy objectives

29 Principles and Additional Recommendations•PRINCIPLE 3. The Right to recognition before the law

•PRINCIPLE 8. The Right to a Fair Trial

•PRINCIPLE 10. The Right to Freedom from Torture and Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

•PRINCIPLE 13. The right to social security and to other social protection measures 

•PRINCIPLE 14. The right to an adequate standard of living

•PRINCIPLE 18. Protection from Medical Abuses

•PRINCIPLE 23. The Right to seek Asylum

•PRINCIPLE 24. The Right to Found a Family

•PRINCIPLE 27. The Right to Promote Human Rights

P3. Right to recognition before the lawP10. Freedom from Torture and Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

•Transsexual Prisoner wants sex swop reversal (The Daily Mirror, 2006)

Many of the UK’s Trans Prison population are spending their sentences in a sole occupancy room, next to the Psychiatric Unit

It is not solitary – meet other trans prisoners 1 hour a day

The Valueless Gender Recognitions certificate

P 13. The right to social security and to other social protection measures 

•KB v NHS Pensions Agency (C-117/01) ECJ [2005]

•Linda Grant v. UK (Case 32570/03) ECHR [2006]

•Sarah Margaret Richards v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Case C-423/04) ECJ [2006]

20+ trans pensioners are still fighting

P 23. The Right to seek Asylum

•UK – the Immigration and Nationality refuse to develop a policy on Trans asylum seekers

Each case has to be worked on separately by teams of volunteers

Yet nobody has been turned away who has obtained help

P24. The Right to Found a Family

•It seems only 1 Trans person has been allowed to adopt

•She is single

•It is an inter-family adoption

Those trans men and their partners who try to adopt come up against systematic law breaking by social care workers – and never get past the assessment stage

•Most Homophobia is Transphobic

•Trans people self-protect and behave defensively because they are living in fear.

73% of respondents experienced harassment

10% were victims of threatening behaviour when out in public spaces

47% of trans people do not use public social or leisure facilities for fear of violence or discrimination

18.5% of those who had interactions with the police felt they were not treated appropriately.

• Announced Queen’s speech Nov 6th – as a possibility

Inciting hatred against Trans people

P 7. Right to Freedom from Arbitrary deprivation of liberty

•The Story of Phyllis and all those like her

•The Trans person is the victim in nearly all cases – so why do we arrest them

Were we unanimous?•Did we disagree?

•P 18. PROTECTION FROM MEDICAL ABUSES

Take all necessary legislative, administrative and other

measures to ensure that no child’s body is irreversibly

altered by medical procedures in an attempt to impose a

gender identity without the full, free and informed

consent of the child in accordance with the age and

maturity of the child and guided by the principle that in

all actions concerning children, the best interests of

the child shall be a primary consideration

Intersex Babies and Children•Who knows / decides the best interests of babies

and children born with intersex conditions

The Surgeons who take a conservative position

• – it will cause irrevocable harm if a child goes to school with visibly different genitals

The parents who listen to doctors

• - assume doctor knows best

• - provide consent to surgical alteration of the genitals.