On 18 November 2008, the Commissioner invited 12 experts to Strasbourg to discuss the human rights situation of transgender persons and discrimination based on gender identity. Topics discussed included the legal standards protecting against gender identity discrimination, the recognition of gender before the law, access to health and employment, and transphobic hate crimes. Specific discussions focused on the situation of transgender children and youth and the elderly. The Commissioner stressed the need for all CoE member States, general human rights organisations and human rights protection bodies to pay more consistent attention to the human rights abuses of transgender people. There is also an urgent need to collect more reliable data on the human rights situation of transgender persons, including the particular circumstances of children, elderly and transgender asylum seekers. Staff members of the CoE Secretariat, the Court, and the Parliamentary Assembly attended this meeting as observers. The Commissioner published a Viewpoint on transgender human rights in January 2009.

The Commissioner was the key note speaker during ILGA Europe’s annual conference which took place on 31 October 2008 in Vienna, and gathered 230 participants from 40 countries. The Commissioner stressed the importance of applying in a non-discriminatory way the existing human rights treaties and conventions in the absence of a specific instrument which recognises that sexual orientation and gender identity cannot be a reason for persecution and discrimination. He expressed concern about the lack of implementation of human rights standards on a national and local level. He presented a strategic vision on possible ways to develop the LGBT human rights agenda and highlighted the need for more comparable data on discrimination against LGBT persons in the 47 member states of the Council of Europe.

4th Quarterly Activity Report 2008 by Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights 1 October to 31 December 2008 Presented to the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly

Strasbourg, 05.01.2009 - “Transgender persons encounter severe problems in their daily lives as their identity is met with insensitivity, prejudice or outright rejection” says Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg in his latest Viewpoint. Analysing the various difficulties transgender people face, the Commissioner underlines that “they are discriminated against in all member states, in areas such as employment, health care and housing”. He concludes calling on member states to “take all necessary concrete action to ensure that transphobia is stopped and that transgender persons are no longer discriminated against in any field.”

Council of Europe Press Division
www.coe.int/press

During missions to member states of the Council of Europe, I, (Thomas Hammarberg is the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights), have been reminded of the on-going discrimination many face on account of their gender identity. Transgender persons encounter severe problems in their daily lives as their identity is met with insensitivity, prejudice or outright rejection. There have been some extremely brutal hate crimes against transgender persons.

One case, which received media attention, was the murder in Portugal of a homeless, HIV-positive, Brazilian transgender woman, called Gisberta (Luna) Salce Junior. She was tortured and raped by a group of young men, thrown into a well and left to die.

My discussions with non-governmental organisations defending the rights of transgender persons indicate that a number of such hate crimes go unreported – even in serious cases. One of the reasons appears to be a lack of trust in the police.

Some people seem to have a problem with the mere existence of human beings whose outer expression of their inner gender identity is not the same as their gender determined at birth.

Aggression against transgender persons cannot however be excused as resulting from ignorance or lack of education.

Council of Europe - Commissioner for Human Rights

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