LGBTQ+ human rights charity the Kaleidoscope Trust has launched a new initiative aimed at fighting the rollback of queer rights being witnessed around the world.
The Kaleidoscope Trust officially launched a global LGBTQ+ rights commission at its annual Pride parliamentary reception, held on Monday (16 June) at The Royal Horseguards Hotel & One Whitehall Place, in central London. Namibian gay activist Friedel Dausab is to be its first commissioner.
The commission’s work will begin officially in October and will seek to bring together activists, academics, diplomats and community leaders from across the globe.
During the 18 months it is set to run, the commission will investigate what factors are driving the rising anti-LGBTQ+ backlash, produce strategic recommendations and offer a road map for governments, civil society, and international institutions committed to reversing the trend.
Kaleidoscope Trust chief executive Alex Farrow said the commission was “both a research body and a rallying cry”, and will help us “understand how we got here, what can be done now and where we, as a global LGBTI+ movement, must go next”.
He went on to say: “Over the next two years, the Global LGBTI+ Rights Commission will respond to the escalating roll back of LGBTI+ rights. It will bring together experts, activists and community members from across the world. It will be deeply collaborative and inclusive of a wide variety of views and experiences.”
Pride “feels different” this year he said, adding: “We can’t deny that we’re in the midst of a global backlash. The anti-rights movement is gaining ground and we are hearing directly from our partners how precarious their situation is.
“This year, for the first time in over 15 years, the number of countries that criminalise consensual same-sex relationships went up. In 65 countries around the world, our lives – the lives of the people in this room – are now criminalised.
“New legislation across the world is being introduced to target LGBTI+ people, from banning books and drag shows, to restricting access to healthcare and forbidding teachers from talking about LGBTI+ lives, to attempts to erase us from academic research and government data.”
The new US administration’s freeze on foreign aid was having a wide-ranging and “devastating” effect on the trust’s partners around the world, he said.
“Whether it’s legislation, money, the monochrome corporate logos this Pride, or the rise in violence and abuse, the anti-rights movement is co-ordinated, strategic, well-resourced and – temporarily – winning. This moment requires something bigger, bigger than the Kaleidoscope Trust. Bigger than those of us in this room.”
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