Radicals double down on gender ideology at the UN Human Rights Council

(The Daily Signal) – The U.N.’s new “SOGI czar” delivered his first report to the UN Human Rights Council, which just concluded its meeting in Geneva.

A SOGI czar is their independent expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Graeme Reid, who hails from South Africa, is a professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Yale, and former director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch.

In Reid’s case, “independent” does not mean “nonpartisan,” as his political and ideological bona fides are decidedly progressive.

Reid’s debut report to the Human Rights Council treated violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in relation to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association. It touted “Pride” events as a key part of freedom of expression.

The report criticized governments that treat such events as a threat to public morality or public health. It singled out Russia, the Middle East, and some African countries. 

“The way in which morality is often deployed to restrict rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity almost invariably represents a misuse of the concept of protecting ‘public morals,’” Reid wrote.

But the SOGI czar fails to identify any role for public morals that he finds acceptable.

Instead, his report bemoans what he calls the “false and dangerous narratives” of “LGBT Pride” events threatening “tradition,” “family” and “children.”

These narratives, he asserts, “perpetrate harmful stereotypes and fuel prejudice and misunderstanding.”

One wonders if he has witnessed any recent “Pride” events, which often seem designed to scandalize normal people by pushing the hoariest of stereotypes.

The SOGI expert likewise objects to laws that protect minors from “inappropriate” subjects, such as the promotion of consensual same-sex relations.

According to Reid, such laws conflict with “the rights of LGBT persons” and a child’s “right to information.” He pointed to laws in several states in the United States that “restrict or prohibit age-appropriate discussion of gender and sexuality in the classroom” as problematic.

For all his talk of human rights, Reid is denying the right of parents to have oversight of their children.

Parents have the primary right and duty to discuss sensitive topics about sexuality with their children according to their beliefs and values. Most parents don’t want to outsource that duty to teachers, government officials, or U.N. bureaucrats. And especially not to gender activists.

Laws that respect parental rights and protect children from exposure to adult topics—like the much-attacked Parental Rights in Education Act in Florida—do not violate anyone’s fundamental human rights.

The report also took aim at laws that require organizations to reveal their sources of foreign funding.

Such laws especially affect groups that promote rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity. In many religiously and culturally traditional countries, these sexual campaigns are unpopular.

As a result, groups that promote them rely on funding from western countries and other left-wing donors. But in the view of the SOGI czar, such demands for financial transparency are unfair. Why should unenlightened traditionalists in developing countries need to know who is funding LGBT groups?

Pope Francis has rightly called this push for gender ideology in international organizations a form of “ideological colonization.”

Unfortunately, the U.S. is one of the main colonizers. It’s no secret that the United States is a major exporter of gender ideology, sending millions of dollars around the world to promote “LGBTQI+ Rights.” 

In fact, the State Department just released its newest progress report on the success of its plan to promote gender ideology abroad, highlighting examples of U.S. funded projects like the Transformation Salon in India.    

But this didn’t prevent Reid from chastising U.S. states for its lack of enthusiasm for the cause. Indeed, he delivered the report prepared by his predecessor, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, on his 2022 official visit to the United States.

In it, the former SOGI expert claimed that the U.S. has been failing to protect human rights. As evidence, he cited “more than 400 bills” in state legislatures “seeking to restrict the human rights of LGBT persons.”

Such bills include those to limit “comprehensive sexual and gender education for all,” as well as “limiting access to gender-affirming treatment, sports and single-sex facilities for trans and gender-diverse persons.”

That report criticized recent legislation in Arkansas, Alabama, and Texas that have restricted children’s access to cross sex hormones, puberty blockers and surgeries intended to alter their healthy bodies to reflect their preferred “gender identity.”

Madrigal-Borloz claims these bills violate human rights. But more and more doctors, national health authorities, parents, and de-transitioners have concluded that drugs and surgeries that constitute “gender affirming care” are experimental and dangerous.

States that have passed such bills seek to protect children from the lifelong consequences of puberty blockers, cross sex hormones, and “top” and “bottom” surgeries.

For instance, the study that British pediatrician Dr. Hilary Cass released earlier this year confirms what many have long suspected: children with sudden onset gender dysphoria are suffering from other mental health issues. And crucially, “watchful waiting” and counseling lead to far better outcomes for gender-confused kids.

Mr. Madrigal-Borloz ignores the fact that many European countries are reversing course on promoting gender medical interventions to children.

In contrast, gender ideology maintains its grip on powerful interests in the U.S., including the Biden administration. In Geneva, U.S. Ambassador Michèle Taylor responded to the report by describing many of the Biden administration’s actions to implement gender ideology throughout the government.

One example she gave: the recent Department of Education rule on Title IX which redefines “sex” to include “gender identity.” She didn’t mention that the rule imperils the rights of women, children, parents and free speech.

The radical gender ideologues at the U.N. have an enthusiastic ally in the White House. But as much as they may work in tandem to corrupt the human rights system, most of the world opposes their efforts.

Gender ideology has always violated common sense, and now more and more, policy and medical professionals are questioning its demands. U.N. elites and Biden officials are among the last holdouts, as true believers often are. Let’s hope they come to reason soon.