Texas LGBTQ+ groups turn to UN for help amid ‘human rights crisis’

Human rights groups in Texas have written to the United Nations, warning of discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in the state.

The groups submitted a letter to 17 independent experts, working groups, and special rapporteurs at the UN, describing a “human rights crisis” for LGBTQ+ Texans.

Equality Texas, the ACLU of Texas, GLAAD, and the Human Rights Campaign with the support of the Human Rights Clinic at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law, said Texans are struggling with a collection of new laws.

These laws, they said, eliminate medical freedom for trans youth, censor school libraries, ban trans athletes from participating in collegiate sports, end diversity practices at public universities, threaten drag performance, and undermine local government's power. The state is one of a number in the US that have tightened legislation around LGBTQ+ issues. The groups said the laws were a “systemic attack on the fundamental rights, dignities, and identities of LGBTQIA+ persons”.

Ricardo Martinez, chief executive of Equality Texas, said: “When state leaders fail us, we turn to the courts and the federal government. When they fail us, we turn to the world.

We cannot pretend to be a beacon of freedom when our state is slipping behind global human rights standards that have been in place for nearly 50 years.

“Our nation is only as strong as our weakest link, and right now, Texas is dragging our nation into a human rights crisis that will do more than damage our global reputation. It will harm our LGBTQIA+ neighbours at home.”

In December, the UN’S Human Rights Committee said it was “concerned at the increase of state legislation that severely restricts the rights of persons based on their sexual orientation or gender identity”.

In the past year, an unprecedented number of anti-gay and anti-trans Bills have passed through the senate in Texas.

Some restrict teaching about gender and sexuality in schools, including banning books through the definition of “sexually explicit” content. Others prevent trans athletes from competing at the collegiate level.