The Declaration of Montreal on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Human Rights is a document adopted in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec, Canada, on July 29, 2006, by the International Conference on LGBT Human Rights which formed part of the first World Outgames. The Declaration outlines a number of rights and freedoms pertaining to

LGBT and intersex Intersex people are born with sex characteristics (such as genitals, gonads, and chromosome patterns) that "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies". They are substantially more likely to identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual ...

people that it is proposed be universally guaranteed. It encompasses all aspects of human rights, from the guarantee of fundamental freedoms to the prevention of discrimination against LGBT people in healthcare,

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

and immigration. The Declaration also addresses various issues that impinge on the global promotion of

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

and

intersex human rights Intersex people are born with sex characteristics, such as chromosomes, gonads, or genitals, that, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical binary notions of male or female bodies." Intersex peop ...

. Intended as a starting point in listing the demands of the international

LGBT movement Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movements are social movements that advocate for LGBT people in society. Some focus on equal rights, such as the ongoing movement for same-sex marriage, while others focus on liberation, as in the ...

, it will ultimately be submitted to the United Nations.

Background

The Conference aimed to raise the

international community The international community is an imprecise phrase used in geopolitics and international relations to refer to a broad group of people and governments of the world. As a rhetorical term Aside from its use as a general descriptor, the term is ...

's awareness of

issues. It was held immediately prior to the Outgames themselves and attended by almost 2000 delegates and 600 conference speakers from across the world, making it the largest LGBT rights conference ever held. A number of international experts took part including distinguished

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

s, academics, church leaders and human rights activists. Among them was Joke Swiebel a former member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...

, who served as one of the primary drafters of the Declaration. The delegates unanimously approved the Declaration. Among the keynote speakers to the Conference were: *

Louise Arbour Louise Bernice Arbour (born February 10, 1947) is a Canadian lawyer, prosecutor and jurist. Arbour was the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and the Court of Appeal for Ontario and a former C ...

–

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, commonly known as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the United Nations Human Rights Office, is a department of the Secretariat of the United Nati ...

Gene Robinson Vicky Gene Robinson (born May 29, 1947) is a former bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. Robinson was elected bishop coadjutor in 2003 and succeeded as bishop diocesan in March 2004. Before becoming bishop, he served as Canon to th ...

– Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in the

Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop o ...

Claire L'Heureux-Dubé Claire L'Heureux-Dubé (born September 7, 1927) is a retired Canadian judge who served as a puisne justice on the Supreme Court of Canada from 1987 to 2002. She was the first woman from Quebec and the second woman appointed to this position, aft ...

– Former

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

on the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

Mark Tewksbury Mark Roger Tewksbury, (born February 7, 1968) is a Canadian former competitive swimmer. He is best known for winning the gold medal in the 100-metre backstroke at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He also hosted the first season of ''How It's Made'', ...

– Canadian swimmer and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

ist *

Irshad Manji Irshad Manji (born 1968) is a Ugandan-born Canadian educator. She is the author of ''The Trouble with Islam Today'' (2004) and ''Allah, Liberty and Love'' (2011), both of which have been banned in several Muslim countries. She also produced a PB ...

– Canadian author, journalist, and activist *

Georgina Beyer Georgina Beyer (born November 1957) is a New Zealand politician and former Labour Party Member of Parliament. In 1995 she was elected mayor of Carterton, making her the world's first openly transgender mayor. In 2005 she became the world's ...

– New Zealand politician, the world's first openly

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

Member of Parliament *

Waheed Alli Waheed Alli, Baron Alli (born 16 November 1964) is a British media entrepreneur and politician. He is the co-creator of the television series '' Survivor'' and has held executive positions at several television production companies including the ...

–

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

businessman and United Kingdom

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. In modern times, life peerages, always created at the rank of baron, are created under the Life Peerages ...

Martina Navratilova Martina Navratilova ( cs, Martina Navrátilová ; ; born October 18, 1956) is a Czech–American, former professional tennis player. Widely considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, Navratilova won 18 major singles titles, 31 maj ...

– Former world No. 1 tennis player *

Gérald Tremblay Gérald Tremblay (born September 20, 1942) is a former Canadian politician and businessman who served as mayor of Montreal from 2002 until his resignation in 2012. He also served as president of the Montreal Metropolitan Community. Before b ...

– Mayor of Montreal The Declaration aims to address UN failings in consistently applying its

Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is an international document adopted by the United Nations General Assembly that enshrines the Human rights, rights and freedoms of all human beings. Drafted by a UN Drafting of the Universal De ...

. A number of fundamental freedoms, including the

right to life The right to life is the belief that a being has the right to live and, in particular, should not be killed by another entity. The concept of a right to life arises in debates on issues including capital punishment, with some people seeing it as ...

, are violated in a number of member countries where homosexuality is criminalised. Homosexual acts are

punishable by death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

in nine jurisdictions:Declaration of Montreal, 1. (a) Afghanistan, Iran, Nigeria, Mauritania, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen. They remain illegal in 72 countries,Declaration of Montreal, 1. (c) and are in many cases punishable by imprisonment or corporal punishment.

Essential rights

The Convention identifies several areas in which action needs to be taken to uphold the essential rights of

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

people: "A world where LGBT rights are systematically violated, is a world where nobody can feel safe and free" referring to the principle of

World Conference on Human Rights The World Conference on Human Rights was held by the United Nations in Vienna, Austria, on 14 to 25 June 1993. It was the first human rights conference held since the end of the Cold War. The main result of the conference was the Vienna Declarati ...

held in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

affirming that "All human rights are universal, indivisible, and interdependent and interrelated."Declaration of Montreal, 2.

Protection against state and private violence

The declaration calls for an end to the death penalty and all

violence against LGBT people Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people frequently experience violence directed toward their sexuality, gender identity, or gender expression. This violence may be enacted by the state, as in laws prescribing punishment for hom ...

whether state condoned or by private parties. States are required to take steps to protect LGBT people from all

hate crimes A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...

. Forced marriages to persons of the opposite sex are identified as particular human rights violations to be combated. Finally, violence against

intersex Intersex people are individuals born with any of several sex characteristics including chromosome patterns, gonads, or genitals that, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, "do not fit typical bina ...

people, in particular unnecessary surgery to force conformity to rigid models of sexual characteristics, is condemned as well as genital surgery to them unless they are old enough to understand it and consent to it. This gave influence to Principle 18 (protection from medical abuse) of

The Yogyakarta Principles The Yogyakarta Principles is a document about human rights in the areas of sexual orientation and gender identity that was published as the outcome of an international meeting of human rights groups in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in November 2006. Th ...

Freedom of expression, assembly and association

Laws which discriminate against LGBT people, such as bans of

pride marches A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, legal rights, and pride. The events som ...

, LGBT journalism and registration of non-governmental organisations, are identified as a major stumbling blocks in campaigning for LGBT rights issues. The world community is therefore called upon to guarantee such rights and prevent their being denied by hostile public authorities. In addition, the international community is asked to take positive steps in promoting such rights. To this end, the Declaration calls for international

development aid Development aid is a type of aid, foreign/international/overseas aid given by governments and other agencies to support the economic, environmental, social, and political International development, development of developing countries. Closely-rel ...

packages to be conditional on improvements in respecting human rights, including those of LGBT people. Financial aid is sought for groups campaigning for LGBT rights in areas where such people still fear for their lives or personal safety.

Freedom to engage in consensual same-sex sexual activity

The repeal of all laws preventing consensual same-sex activity is called for.

Freedom from discrimination

LGBT people face discrimination in many aspects of their lives. Governments are called upon to take positive actions to promote LGBT rights to freedom from discrimination in the following areas:

Asylum and immigration rights

The

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

recognises a

right to asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another enti ...

for those fleeing persecution based on

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...

. All countries are called upon to do the same. In addition, rights of residence for foreign partners are demanded to be free from discrimination against LGBT people.

Family rights

Families are stated to be the most important part of many people's lives. The Declaration requires marriages to be opened up to

same-sex couples A same-sex relationship is a Romance (love), romantic or Human sexuality, sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil ...

, all unmarried couples to have similar partnership rights and ensuring equal access for all to every option for parenthood, including adoptions by LGBT people.Declaration of Montreal, 4. (b)

Education healthcare, media and employment

In education, classes on LGBT human rights are sought and schools are required to take action against

homophobic Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, m ...

bullying. The media are called upon to assist in breaking down

stereotypes In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

and to portray LGBT people in a realistic manner. The necessity of access to health care in general and for the specific needs of LGBT people is stressed. In particular funding for

sex reassignment surgery Gender-affirming surgery (GAS) is a surgical procedure, or series of procedures, that alters a transgender or transsexual person's physical appearance and sexual characteristics to resemble those associated with their identified gender, and alle ...

is expected to be provided to the same extent that it is for other medically necessary treatments. Finally, religious groups are encouraged to be tolerant towards LGBT people.

Employment

The Declaration calls for the development of programmes to promote fair chances in employment and business for LGBT people for their economic independence and

self-esteem Self-esteem is confidence in one's own worth or abilities. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs about oneself (for example, "I am loved", "I am worthy") as well as emotional states, such as triumph, despair, pride, and shame. Smith and Mackie (2007) d ...

to be insured. Governments are asked to lead by example in eliminating such

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

and in promoting the equality and safety of LGBT people in

public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, infra ...

workplaces and trade unions.

Global issues in promoting LGBT rights

To promote LGBT rights globally, the Declaration requires the international community to engage in a worldwide information campaign and calls upon like-minded NGOs and governments to assist in preparing and running such a campaign. Part of this campaign would be to provide education about the prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS among LGBT people and governments are generally encouraged to include LGBT people in their fight against HIV and AIDS. The failure of the United Nations to recognise LGBT rights as human rights is condemned, despite the case law ''

Toonen v. Australia ''Toonen v. Australia'' was a landmark human rights complaint brought before the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) by Tasmanian resident Nicholas Toonen in 1994. The case resulted in the repeal of Australia's last sodomy laws w ...

'' by the

United Nations Human Rights Committee The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, established by a 1966 human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee meets for three four-week sessions per y ...

. It is requested that the new

UN Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

adopt LGBT rights as part of its agenda and that the

International Gay and Lesbian Association The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) is an organization who is committed to advancing human rights to all people, disregarding gender identity, sex characteristics and expression. ILGA participates in a ...

and other LGBT rights organisations be amongst the NGOs that are able to consult with the Council. And at last, the Declaration calls on all nations in the world and United Nations to recognize and promote the 17 May of each year as the

International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Lesbophobia and Transphobia is observed on May 17 and aims to coordinate international events that raise awareness of LGBT rights violations and stimulate interest in LGBT rights work worldwide. By ...

Implementation

The

Montreal borough The city of Montreal is divided into 19 boroughs (in French, ''arrondissements''), each with a mayor and council. Powers The borough council is responsible for: *Fire prevention *Removal of household waste and residual materials *Funding of com ...

of Ville-Marie was the first elected body in the world to officially adopt the Declaration in on August 1, 2006, whilst the

New Democratic Party The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic: * * * * * * * * * * * * t ...

became the first political party to do so, by a unanimous vote of its federal convention on September 10, 2006. Accordingly, the NDP's critic for LGBT rights,

Bill Siksay William Livingstone Siksay (born March 11, 1955) is a Canadian politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) who represented the British Columbia riding of Burnaby—Douglas for the New Democratic Party from 2004 to 2011. Early life Siksay ...

, presented a motion in the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

calling on the Canadian government to abide by the Declaration on September 20, 2006. The Declaration has also been adopted by the

City council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

s of: *

Montreal, Canada Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

Barcelona, Spain Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

* San Francisco, United States * Denver, United States *

Sydney, Australia Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and List of cities in Oceania by population, Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metro ...

References

External links

Website on the Declaration of MontrealEnglish version of the Declaration of Montreal
(

PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...

) {{International human rights instruments 2006 in Quebec 2006 documents LGBT rights LGBT history in Canada History of Montreal World Outgames LGBT culture in Montreal 2006 in LGBT history Human rights instruments Intersex rights July 2006 events in Canada Manifestos