Confrontation over LGBTQ+ rights halts approval of International Labor Organization’s budget and work program

These differences in views on sexual orientation and gender identity could potentially permanently delay or even block the approval of the ILO’s $885 million bi-annual budget, in the midst of LGBTQ+ Pride Month.

According to diplomats, interviewed by AFP, this standoff is part of a broader and concerted effort by African and Muslim countries across the UN to remove references to sexual orientation and gender identity. gender.

Member countries of the finance committee of the International Labor Conference, the decision-making body of the ILO, “were unable to reach consensus on the ILO’s program and budget for 2024 and 2025 “, revealed Friday to the press the spokesperson for the agency, Rosalind Yarde.

“The disagreement concerns the vocabulary inserted in the section devoted to gender equality, non-discrimination and inclusion,” she said.

The controversial formula refers to “other population groups affected by discrimination and exclusion, in particular on the grounds of race, sexual orientation and gender identity”, explained Ms.^me Yarde.

Declared hostility

The African Group of Countries and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation “did not want to include language relating to sexual orientation and gender identity in the program and budget document, in particular with regard to the work of the office in their countries,” said the spokesperson.

Yet, according to several observers, similar references had been included in previous program budgets without significant opposition.

But this week, African and Muslim countries proposed an amendment to remove mention of specific vulnerable groups covered by the ILO’s anti-discrimination mandate.

Other countries refused to give in, notably European countries, but also from the American continent and the Asia-Pacific region.

Previous

What happened on Friday in Geneva at the ILO is not an isolated event.

Already in July last year, the defender of LGBTQ+ minority rights at the United Nations had narrowly obtained the renewal of his mandate, despite the fierce fight of the OIC.

Its mission, created in 2016, was finally renewed for three additional years by the Human Rights Council.

Earlier in the year in May, the World Health Assembly – the supreme decision-making body of the WHO – had experienced a similar scenario, in which Muslim and African countries had already very publicly expressed their refusal to raise issues of sexual orientation and gender when adopting the WHO strategy in the fight against sexually transmitted diseases.

A group of African and Gulf countries, led by Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Egypt, notably objected to the use of the terms “sexual orientation”, “transgender” and “men who have sex with men”. »

Following the ILO

The ILO Finance Committee is due to continue negotiating, but if it fails to reach an agreement, the issue will be referred to the International Labor Conference plenary on Monday.

The question would therefore escape governments alone, the ILO being the only UN agency that operates under a tripartite system: States, representatives of employees and representatives of employers.

The plenary could then either be invited to vote on the unamended text, or a group of countries could present a new resolution which would be put to the vote. This scenario never happened and it is unclear what might happen if such a vote did not obtain the required two-thirds majority.