ILGA World

Standing Firm in a Challenging Global Climate

Between June and September 2026, ILGA World continued to advance the human rights of LGBTI people across global advocacy spaces, media platforms, and movement-building initiatives. This period brought together some of the most important strands of our work: supporting human rights defenders at the United Nations, amplifying lesbian, bisexual, queer, trans, and intersex voices, strengthening tools for national advocacy, and celebrating LGBTI equality leadership worldwide.

At a time when anti-rights narratives continue to target gender equality, sexual and reproductive health and rights, civic space, and the lives of LGBTI people, ILGA World remained focused on ensuring that community evidence reaches decision-makers and that activists have the tools, spaces, and visibility they need.

Advancing LGBTI Rights at the Human Rights Council

The 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council, held from 15 June to 7 July 2026, was a major focus of ILGA World’s advocacy. ILGA World worked with partners to bring LGBTI human rights defenders into the room, support side events and statements, and make sure that international human rights mechanisms heard directly from communities affected by discrimination and violence. [https://ilga.org/news/with-our-global-lgbti-communities-hrc62-human-rights-council/]

A historic moment came with the Independent Expert on SOGI’s first report on violence and discrimination experienced by lesbian, bisexual, and queer women. Alongside this milestone, ILGA World, Outright International, and RFSL hosted the first-ever LBQ Women’s Advocacy Week, held from 14 to 20 June 2026. The week brought together 11 human rights defenders and activists from five regions to engage directly with UN member states, permanent missions, mandate holders, civil society allies, and multilateral agencies. [https://ilga.org/news/centring-lbq-women-shaping-a-new-global-agenda-for-gender-justice/]

At the same time, Trans Advocacy Week marked its tenth iteration in 2026. Since 2017, this initiative has supported more than 60 trans and gender-diverse activists to engage with the United Nations in Geneva. In 2026, trans advocates continued to speak directly to global decision-makers about the realities facing their communities. [https://ilga.org/news/trans-advocacy-week-2026/]

Turning UPR Advocacy into Measurable Outcomes

This period also showed how earlier advocacy efforts translate into concrete results. ILGA World’s analysis of the 52nd Universal Periodic Review session reviewed 118 SOGIESC-related recommendations across 14 countries. The most common theme was anti-discrimination and equality protections, followed by violence, hate speech, hate crime, harassment or bullying, decriminalisation, and recognition of same-sex couples and families.

The analysis also showed the value of coordinated advocacy. Of the 17 embassies engaged during Advocacy Week, 13 made at least one SOGIESC-related recommendation. Together, engaged embassies made 65 recommendations, representing about 55% of all recommendations reviewed. These figures show that when human rights defenders are supported to bring first-hand evidence to diplomats, their advocacy can shape what states recommend.

To strengthen this work, ILGA World launched two practical resources in July: the revised 2026 SOGIESC UPR Advocacy Toolkit and a new Good Practices Guide for following up on United Nations recommendations. These tools help LGBTI human rights defenders move from international recommendations to national-level action. [https://ilga.org/news/un-recommendations-two-guides-lgbti-activists/]

Building Cross-Movement Futures

ILGA World also continued its role in longer-term, cross-movement work. In June, ILGA World joined partners IPPF and Amnesty International for a strategic meeting in London. The meeting focused on governance, working groups, consultation approaches, community engagement, and public-facing materials for the next phase of a large cross-movement initiative.

This work matters because the challenges facing LGBTI communities are connected to broader struggles for justice, democracy, bodily autonomy, and equality. Through initiatives such as cross-movement partnerships, ILGA World helps ensure that sexuality and gender remain central to future-facing human rights agendas.

Our research and movement-building work also progressed through Pathways and the LGBTI Participation and Representation in Democracy project. The Pathways team meeting in Tallinn helped agree next steps for global and regional reports, while PRiDe work advanced data collection planning with regional partners. These initiatives will help strengthen evidence on what LGBTI movements need and how LGBTI people participate in democratic life.

Celebrating Equality Leadership

In August, ILGA World and UNDP honoured five LGBTIQ+ equality champions at the 2026 International Pride Awards during the WorldPride Human Rights Conference in Amsterdam. The awards recognised leaders and organisations advancing equality across different regions and movements. [https://ilga.org/news/2026-international-pride-awards-honour-five-lgbtiq-equality-champions-at-worldpride-amsterdam/]

For GlobalGiving supporters, moments like this show another side of ILGA World’s work: not only resisting harm, but also celebrating courage, solidarity, creativity, and leadership. Visibility matters, especially for activists and communities working in contexts where recognition is rare, and risks are high.

Looking Ahead: Intersex Advocacy at HRC63

In September, ILGA World entered the next Human Rights Council cycle at HRC63, which runs from 7 September to 7 October 2026. ILGA World’s engagement includes intersex-focused advocacy, including work to move from recognition to implementation after Human Rights Council Resolution 55/14. [https://ilga.org/news/human-rights-council-63-lgbti/]

A key intersex side event focused on ending harmful health care practices against intersex persons and exploring practical pathways to implement international human rights standards. [https://ilga.org/events/hrc-63-intersex-resolution-implementation/]

Communications Impact

Across available June to August reporting, ILGA World generated 868 media articles, with an estimated readership of more than 1.7 billion. Many of these stories drew on ILGA World’s data, evidence, and analysis. In June alone, 99 of 260 media articles quoted data from the ILGA World Database.

Our communications work also strengthened visibility around Pride Month, Trans Advocacy Week, LBQ Advocacy Week, the International Pride Awards, International Non-Binary People’s Day, Disability Pride Month, International Youth Day, and the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. This visibility helps ensure that LGBTI communities are not only represented in policy spaces, but also seen, heard, and celebrated in public narratives.

The Difference Your Support Makes

Your support through GlobalGiving helps ILGA World connect local realities to global decision-making. It helps human rights defenders speak directly to diplomats, supports practical tools that turn UN recommendations into national advocacy, and amplifies communities whose voices are too often excluded.

From Geneva to Amsterdam, from advocacy weeks to global awards, this period showed the power of a connected movement. Together, we are helping build a world where every LGBTI person can live free, safe, and equal.

Thank you for standing with ILGA World.