United Nations' High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said there is a comprehensive onslaught against LGBTQ rights around the world.
“We know that progress for human rights has never been linear … but today’s backlash is deep and it is coordinated and the persecution of LGBTQ people around the world is escalating at an alarming rate,” he said.
“We know that across every region, LGBTQ people continue to live and to love in the face of hostility and exclusion. Their rights, safety, well-being are under attack … it’s a comprehensive onslaught,” he added,
Türk also noted “more and more candidates and political parties … use bigotry in order to promote anti-LGBTQ sentiments” during election campaigns. He pointed out trans people and women are often targeted.
In his remarks, he specifically referenced Russia, Turkey and Senegal, which further criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations earlier this year. He also noted some countries. like Indonesia, have deemed LGBTQ groups as terrorists, extremists, or national security threats.
