BELGIUM-SOGI-UPR-CYCLE2

Incoming recommendations: (Link)

• 138.105 Consider abolishing the requirements for medical interventions for transgender people who wish to obtain legal recognition of their gender (Israel) [SUPPORTED]
• 138.106 Amend the legislation to allow the change of the civil identity without need of previous surgery (Spain) [SUPPORTED]
• 140.10 Strengthen the national plans and policies to prevent acts of discrimination and violence motivated by racial and/or religious hatred, xenophobia, homophobia and gender grounds (Chile) [SUPPORTED]

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Outgoing recommendations:

• Harmonize anti-discrimination laws by broadening their application scope so as to include the grounds of religion, belief, age and sexual orientation (to Austria)
• Take all necessary measures to ensure that the Criminal Code prohibits all crimes against persons or against property on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity (to Bulgaria)
• Take all necessary measures, including legislative and administrative, to prohibit and eliminate all discriminatory treatment based on sexual orientation (to Cameroon)
• Investigate police violence that took place on persons because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation (to Cameroon)
• Ensure adequate protection of defenders of human rights that help LGBT persons (to Cameroon)
• Eliminate from its legislation all forms of sexual discrimination, and take all the necessary measures to effectively enforce this (to Congo)
• Provide appropriate services with the necessary resources, including to train and raise the awareness of the judiciary and the public, in order to ensure that these new measures adopted to fight racial discrimination or gender/sexual identity discrimination are effective (to Georgia)
• Ensure that complete and impartial investigations are conducted into allegations of attacks and threats against persons based on their sexual orientation or gender identity and bring those responsible to justice in conformity with the international standards (to Ghana)
• Adopt measures and take steps aimed at raising public awareness to fight against the climate of homophobia that prevails in the country (to Ghana)
• Reject the adoption of legislative proposals that would restrict the enjoyment of fundamental rights by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons (to Lithuania)
• Consider amending the Criminal Code so that hate crimes against LGBT persons are considered serious criminal offences or at least aggravating circumstances (to Montenegro)
• Fight impunity for violence against marginalized persons motivated by their ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation, particularly through an improved awareness of public opinion, and the police and judicial authorities (to North Macedonia)
• Implement fully and without delay the 2010 anti-discrimination law, by integrating provisions covering discrimination based on sexual orientation (to North Macedonia)
• Ensure an adequate publicity and carry out awareness campaigns in order to increase the understanding among the population on the rights of LGBT persons (to Romania)
• Rescind regional laws and regulations which favour and tolerate discrimination based on sexual orientation, and refrain from adopting similar laws at the federal level, as well as take measures to prevent the arbitrary use of existing regulations against LGBT rights, including their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly (to Russian Federation)
• Amend its Penal Code to decriminalise sexual relations between persons of the same sex (to Senegal)
• Take positive measures to protect and enhance the rights of LGBT persons and facilitate their integration into society (to Serbia)
• Launch awareness campaigns against homophobia and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (to South Africa)
• In order to avoid the occurrence of impunity in cases of violence against LGBT persons, that all such cases be subject of credible investigations and the perpetrators prosecuted (to South Africa)
• Repeal the provisions of the Penal Code that criminalize sex between consenting people of the same sex and incitement to sexual relations between consenting people of the same sex (to Togo)

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