A Promise of Human Freedom: Synergies Between the Right to Freedom of Religion or Belief and LGBTQI+ Rights

Marie Juul Petersen is a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for Human Rights.

Dmytro Vovk is a visiting professor at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law.

A version of this blog post appeared previously on Open Global Rights.

In June 2023, the UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) presented his report on SOGI-related violence and discrimination and the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB).

The report is much needed, as the relationship between FoRB and rights related to sexual orientation and gender identity is widely seen as one of antagonism and controversy by both FoRB actors and the LGBTQI+ community. At the same time, both rights are crucial for ensuring individuals’ freedom to live their own lives in the manner they choose. This has been emphasised by the UN Special Rapporteur on FoRB, together with other UN Special Rapporteurs, in a 2021 joint statement asserting that “the right to freedom of religion or belief and the right to live free from violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity are both built on a promise of human freedom.”

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Religious Freedom and SOGI Rights: Reflections on the UN Independent Expert Report

In June 2023, the UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity published the report “Freedom of religion or belief, and freedom from violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.” The report covers various aspects of a theme that provokes seemingly endless and often bitter debates among human rights academics and practitioners and that draws lines of political polarization in societies across the globe.

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Freedom of Religion or Belief and Gender Equality across the OSCE Region

In September 2022 The Review of Faith & International Affairs published an issue dedicated to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) and women’s rights across the OSCE region. The issue was edited by Elizabeth A. Clark and Dmytro Vovk and brought together a broad and rich variety of papers focusing on international law issues; the role religions and religious freedom play in the promotion of gender equality, as well as in religion-related reservations and political opposition to relevant international law; and tensions between religious organizations and human rights defenders working in this sphere.

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