UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has urged states to protect the LGBTQ+ community in a statement marking the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.

Türk said discrimination and violence against the LGBTQ+ community remain widespread. According to him, more than one in three countries still criminalize consensual same-sex conduct. Last year, Burkina Faso outlawed consensual same-sex conduct and Senegal doubled its imprisonment sentence to 10 years.

Limits on the LGBTQ+ community also extend to restrictive measures against rights advocacy. This includes the arrests of LGBTQ+ activists in Cameroon, Türkiye, Indonesia, Morocco and others. For instance, Belarus banned “homosexual propaganda” in April. Russia is also witnessing the rising convictions of LGBTQ+ people and the shutting down of advocacy groups, labelling them as “extremist organizations.”

On the other hand, several countries have taken measures to advance the rights of sexual minorities last year. For instance, St. Lucia and Botswana have decriminalized consensual same-sex conduct. Nepal has also witnessed its first transgender Member of Parliament, Bhumika Shrestha.

Türk also mentioned the conflicting developments in Hungary. On one hand, the government has been targeting LGBTQ+ activists. One such prime example is Budapest’s mayor being prosecuted for organizing the Pride March in January. The charges were based on the anti-LGBTQ+ laws the previous Orbán administration enacted. On the other hand, the European Court of Justice declared in April that these Hungarian laws have violated the state’s obligations to protect human dignity, private and family life, freedom of expression, and non-discrimination under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. Whether the new Magyar administration will bring a change to LGBTQ+ rights remains to be seen.

Türk called on governments to protect the LGBTQ+ community. He cited that 45 percent of LGBT youth reported being bullied at school worldwide and 85 percent of countries’ election campaigns contained anti-LGBTQ+ messages.

Combatting hate also requires efforts from technology companies, as Türk suggested in his statement. Investigative journalist Niamh McIntyre reported Tuesday that the widespread availability of generative AI tools and social media platforms’ retreat from content moderation have enabled the rapid spread of sensational content targeting minorities in the UK.

In his concluding remarks, Türk urged everyone to stand together and cherish the freedom to live and love freely.

Relatedly, Amnesty International called on Canada to address online hate on May 4 as it observed escalating online content against racialized and sexual minorities. While the country is moving to introduce harsher penalties against online hate speech, critics argued that the law came with unnecessary offenses and disproportionate life imprisonment penalties. The BC Civil Liberties Association urged the state to enforce existing laws instead.