International Queer Rights

The protection of sexual minorities was not on the agenda when either the UN or regional human
rights systems were designed during the mid-twentieth century. Much less was there interest in
codifying a right to sexual liberty. The subsequent advent of movements to promote LGBTQ+
rights and related claims in many countries has thus presented a challenge to the ability of
international human rights law meaningfully to respond to evolving notions of human dignity.

This seminar builds from an interrogation of the normative and structural foundations of
international human rights and an analysis of the goals of queer rights advocates as they have
developed over time. It then traces the advent of a largely liberal and hence partial response by UN
and regional human rights mechanisms to queer rights claims. Particular attention is paid to the
ways in which the recognition of international queer rights has been shaped by a determination to
preserve cultural, familial, and religious rights, leading to the emergence of a geopolitical chasm on
queer rights that poses a serious challenge to the viability of international human rights systems in
general.