March 20, 2023
Mr.President,
Sexual orientation is an individual choice and individual right that needs to be taken into account and respected. Discrimination and violence based on this aspect are unacceptable, just like any other form of discrimination or violence. All people have equal rights and equal duties. This is enshrined in all fundamental rights documents. At the same time, there is no fundamental international treaty in the area of human rights that would single out LGBT as a separate vulnerable category in need of special protection. In this regard, Russia does not recognize the mandate of a relevant independent expert established by the Human Rights Council.
This is not the HRC or Third committee. This meeting, though informal, is a meeting of Security Council membership. Therefore, we must focus on situations of conflict that pose real threats to people’s lives rather than on human rights as such. In the first place, it has to do with the protection of civilians in armed conflict. This issue belongs with the area of international humanitarian law and needs to be viewed from the IHL prospective rather than in terms of human rights. Our engagement at this track must be oriented towards resolving humanitarian tasks, first of all alleviating the plight of civilians and extending the required guarantees to protected persons and facilities.
As far as IHL, all civilians without any exception, including whether they do or do not belong to LGBT, must fall under protection during conflicts. The special situation of children, women, and persons with disabilities is already anchored in the IHL. In our view, there are no grounds for specifying any further categories in need of special protection under the IHL. In practical terms, this may only weaken the protection of civilians.
We should avoid inventing new international legal concepts, supposedly designed to fill in the “gaps” in the protection regime of the Geneva Conventions. There is no need to get carried away devising more and more categories of persons in need of special protection under international humanitarian law.
The task of the Security Council is to focus on practical work to ensure the protection of civilians within the framework of existing international legal norms and the existing mandate.
Thank you.