Protecting Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Rights in Organization of Islamic Cooperation States: Through the Universal Periodic Review
Lead Research Organisation:
Birmingham City University
Abstract
The Proposed Project intends to analyse the effectiveness of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in the promotion and protection of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Rights (SOGI) in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation States (OIC), analysing the legitimacy of the justifications that the OIC states provide in opposing SOGI recommendations which are frequently framed in culturally relativist and religiously restrictive terms. SOGI rights are one of the most contentious Human Rights issues to date (Cowell and Milon, 2012).
Kofi Annan's vision of the UPR was to avoid to the criticisms faced by the UN Human Rights Commission, however it has replicated many of the regionalist criticisms its predecessor faced. Data links high levels of religious freedom with a higher support for SOGI rights (Grim 2019), indicating the two sides are not so oppositional, yet both sides continue to keep one another at arm's length (Petersen 2020).
I will be conducting a series of case studies (Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) of OIC states engagement with the UPR on SOGI rights, due to their opposition to the 2016 UN Human Rights Council's Resolution 32/2 on 'protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity'. The resolution sparked one of the most intense debates over recognition of SOGI rights including the creation of an independent expert mandate on SOGI and lead to the UNHRC's Egyptian delegate withdrawing from the UNHRC's consultative group.
The proposed research questions are:
1. to what extent is the UPR effective for the advancement of SOGI rights;
2. Has the UPR been successful in engaging with other UN Entities tasked with protecting SOGI rights,
such as the Independent Expert on SOGI;
3. How has the United Nations sought to preserve SOGI rights in the presence of also preserving Freedom
of Religion and Belief (FORB).
Once the sample of OIC states was identified, all three cycles of the UPR are to be analysed to determine the engagement with SOGI rights in those states. This will be undertaken through an analysis of the UPR's online repository and modalities (Stakeholder Reports, National Review, UN Compilation Report). This research will engage with the UPR as a lens to determine the extent to which the Human Rights principles on SOGI rights cannot be restricted by a privileging of Freedom of Religion or belief. To do this, the synergies between the UPR and the special procedure mechanisms will be investigated to determine this question.
Then the role of the UN OHCHR and the UPR Stakeholders will be critiqued to determine to what extent human rights claims might be capable of influencing the advancement and recognition of SOGI rights in OIC states.
The PhD will engage and contribute to our understanding and advocacy of SOGI rights, based on human rights principles. It is hoped that this project will influence how recommendations are made to OIC states on the topic of SOGI rights, increasing awareness of SOGI issues and ultimately filtering into future legislative changes aimed at protecting SOGI rights.
Kofi Annan's vision of the UPR was to avoid to the criticisms faced by the UN Human Rights Commission, however it has replicated many of the regionalist criticisms its predecessor faced. Data links high levels of religious freedom with a higher support for SOGI rights (Grim 2019), indicating the two sides are not so oppositional, yet both sides continue to keep one another at arm's length (Petersen 2020).
I will be conducting a series of case studies (Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) of OIC states engagement with the UPR on SOGI rights, due to their opposition to the 2016 UN Human Rights Council's Resolution 32/2 on 'protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity'. The resolution sparked one of the most intense debates over recognition of SOGI rights including the creation of an independent expert mandate on SOGI and lead to the UNHRC's Egyptian delegate withdrawing from the UNHRC's consultative group.
The proposed research questions are:
1. to what extent is the UPR effective for the advancement of SOGI rights;
2. Has the UPR been successful in engaging with other UN Entities tasked with protecting SOGI rights,
such as the Independent Expert on SOGI;
3. How has the United Nations sought to preserve SOGI rights in the presence of also preserving Freedom
of Religion and Belief (FORB).
Once the sample of OIC states was identified, all three cycles of the UPR are to be analysed to determine the engagement with SOGI rights in those states. This will be undertaken through an analysis of the UPR's online repository and modalities (Stakeholder Reports, National Review, UN Compilation Report). This research will engage with the UPR as a lens to determine the extent to which the Human Rights principles on SOGI rights cannot be restricted by a privileging of Freedom of Religion or belief. To do this, the synergies between the UPR and the special procedure mechanisms will be investigated to determine this question.
Then the role of the UN OHCHR and the UPR Stakeholders will be critiqued to determine to what extent human rights claims might be capable of influencing the advancement and recognition of SOGI rights in OIC states.
The PhD will engage and contribute to our understanding and advocacy of SOGI rights, based on human rights principles. It is hoped that this project will influence how recommendations are made to OIC states on the topic of SOGI rights, increasing awareness of SOGI issues and ultimately filtering into future legislative changes aimed at protecting SOGI rights.
