Post submitted by HRC staff with contributions from Molly Aronson
Earlier this month [July], 29 governments announced the launch of an Equal Rights Coalition at the conclusion of the Global LGBTI Human Rights Conference in Montevideo, Uruguay. This new intergovernmental coalition seeks to strengthen cooperation between countries in advancing LGBTI rights and calls on participating governments to share information about how best to advance the human rights and inclusion of LGBTI people worldwide.
While the coalition does not formally include civil society groups, its Founding Principles included a commitment to working with civil society to avoid further marginalizing LGBTI people and creating common ground through open dialogue between its member countries.
The governments of Uruguay and the Netherlands co-hosted the conference and the Uruguayan advocacy group Ovejas Negras and the Dutch LGBT group COC Nederland co-organized the conference. Over 150 civil society advocates joined with government officials and donors from around the globe to discuss pressing issues on the LGBTQ rights agenda.
The United States joined Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Italy, Mexico, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Uruguay in working toward a vision of equality regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.
HRC looks forward to working with this coalition and urges its leaders to advance the global equality movement in collaboration with civil society.
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