Preamble.

PRINCIPLE 1. The
Right to the Universal Enjoyment of Human Rights.

PRINCIPLE 2. The
Rights to Equality and Non-discrimination..

PRINCIPLE 3. The Right to recognition before the law…

PRINCIPLE 4. The Right to Life.

PRINCIPLE 5. The Right to Security of the Person..

PRINCIPLE 6. The Right to Privacy..

PRINCIPLE 7. The Right to Freedom from Arbitrary
deprivation of liberty..

PRINCIPLE 8. The Right to a Fair Trial.

PRINCIPLE 9. The Right to Treatment with Humanity
while in Detention..

PRINCIPLE 10. The Right to Freedom from Torture and
Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

PRINCIPLE 11. The Right to Protection from all forms
of exploitation, sale and trafficking of human beings.

PRINCIPLE 12. The Right to Work.

PRINCIPLE 13. The Right to social security and to
other social protection measures 

PRINCIPLE 14. The Right to an adequate standard of
living..

PRINCIPLE 15. The Right to Adequate Housing..

PRINCIPLE 16. The Right to Education..

PRINCIPLE 17. The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of
Health..

PRINCIPLE 18. Protection from Medical Abuses.

PRINCIPLE 19. The Right to Freedom of Opinion and
Expression..

PRINCIPLE 20. The Right to Freedom of Peaceful
Assembly and Association..

PRINCIPLE 21. The Right to Freedom of Thought,
Conscience and Religion..

PRINCIPLE 22. The Right to Freedom of Movement.

PRINCIPLE 23. The Right to seek Asylum..

PRINCIPLE 24. The Right to Found a Family..

PRINCIPLE 25. The Right to participate in public life.

PRINCIPLE 26. The Right to Participate in Cultural
Life.

PRINCIPLE 27. The Right to Promote Human Rights.

PRINCIPLE 28. The Right to Effective Remedies and
Redress.

PRINCIPLE 29. Accountability..

Additional Recommendations.

Signatories to the Yogyakarta Principles.

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. All
human rights are universal, interdependent, indivisible and interrelated.
Sexual orientation[1]
and gender identity[2]
are integral to every person’s dignity and humanity and must not be the basis
for discrimination or abuse.

Many advances have been made toward ensuring that people of all
sexual orientations and gender identities can live with the equal dignity and
respect to which all persons are entitled. Many States now have laws and
constitutions that guarantee the rights of equality and non-discrimination
without distinction on the basis of sex, sexual orientation or gender
identity. 

Nevertheless, human rights violations targeted toward persons
because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity
constitute a global and entrenched pattern of serious concern. They include
extra-judicial killings, torture and ill-treatment, sexual assault and rape,
invasions of privacy, arbitrary detention, denial of employment and education
opportunities, and serious discrimination in relation to the enjoyment of other
human rights. These violations are often compounded by experiences of other
forms of violence, hatred, discrimination and exclusion, such as those based on
race, age, religion, disability, or economic, social or other status.

Many States and societies impose gender and sexual orientation
norms on individuals through custom, law and violence and seek to control how
they experience personal relationships and how they identify themselves. The
policing of sexuality remains a major force behind continuing gender-based
violence and gender inequality. 

The international system has seen great strides toward gender
equality and protections against violence in society, community and in the
family. In addition, key human rights mechanisms of the United Nations have
affirmed States’ obligation to ensure effective protection of all persons from
discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. However, the
international response to human rights violations based on sexual orientation
and gender identity has been fragmented and inconsistent.

To address these deficiencies a consistent understanding of the
comprehensive regime of international human rights law and its application to
issues of sexual orientation and gender identity is necessary. It is critical
to collate and clarify State obligations under existing international human
rights law, in order to promote and protect all human rights for all persons on
the basis of equality and without discrimination. 

The International Commission of Jurists and the International Service
for Human Rights, on behalf of a coalition of human rights organisations, have
undertaken a project to develop a set of international legal principles on the
application of international law to human rights violations based on sexual
orientation and gender identity to bring greater clarity and coherence to
States’ human rights obligations.

A distinguished group of human rights experts has drafted,
developed, discussed and refined these Principles. Following an experts’
meeting held at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, Indonesia from 6 to 9
November 2006, 29 distinguished experts from 25 countries with diverse
backgrounds and expertise relevant to issues of human rights law unanimously
adopted the Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human
Rights Law in relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

The rapporteur of the meeting, Professor Michael O’Flaherty, has
made immense contributions to the drafting and revision of the Yogyakarta
Principles. His commitment and tireless efforts have been critical to the
successful outcome of the process.

The Yogyakarta Principles address a broad range of human rights
standards and their application to issues of sexual orientation and gender
identity. The Principles affirm the primary obligation of States to implement
human rights. Each Principle is accompanied by detailed recommendations to
States. The experts also emphasise, though, that all actors have
responsibilities to promote and protect human rights. Additional recommendations
are addressed to other actors, including the UN human rights system, national
human rights institutions, the media, non-governmental organisations, and
funders.

The experts agree that the Yogyakarta Principles reflect the
existing state of international human rights law in relation to issues of
sexual orientation and gender identity. They also recognise that States may
incur additional obligations as human rights law continues to evolve.

The Yogyakarta Principles affirm binding international legal
standards with which all States must comply. They promise a different
future where all people born free and equal in dignity and rights can fulfil
that precious birthright.

Sonia Onufer Corrêa
                             
Vitit Muntarbhorn

Co-Chairperson                                    
Co-Chairperson

We, the International Panel of Experts in
International Human Rights Law and on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity:

Preamble

RECALLING that all human
beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights, and that everyone is
entitled to the enjoyment of human rights without distinction of any kind, such
as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national
or social origin, property, birth or other status;

DISTURBED that violence,
harassment, discrimination, exclusion, stigmatisation and prejudice are
directed against persons in all regions of the world because of their sexual
orientation or gender identity, that these experiences are
compounded by discrimination on grounds including gender, race, age, religion,
disability, health and economic status, and that such violence, harassment,
discrimination, exclusion, stigmatisation and prejudice undermine the integrity
and dignity of those subjected to these abuses, may weaken their sense of
self-worth and belonging to their community, and lead many to conceal or
suppress their identity and to live lives of fear and invisibility; 

AWARE that
historically people have experienced these human rights violations because they
are or are perceived to be lesbian, gay or bisexual, because of their
consensual sexual conduct with persons of the same gender or because they are
or are perceived to be transsexual, transgender or intersex or belong to social
groups identified in particular societies by sexual orientation or gender
identity;

UNDERSTANDING
‘sexual orientation’ to refer to each person’s capacity for profound emotional,
affectional and sexual attraction to, and intimate and sexual relations with,
individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender;

UNDERSTANDING
‘gender identity’ to refer to each person’s deeply felt internal and individual
experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at
birth, including the personal sense of the body (which may involve, if freely
chosen, modification of bodily appearance or function by medical, surgical or other
means) and other expressions of gender, including dress, speech and mannerisms;

OBSERVING that
international human rights law affirms that all persons, regardless of sexual
orientation or gender identity, are entitled to the full enjoyment of all human
rights, that the application of existing human rights entitlements should take
account of the specific situations and experiences of people of diverse sexual
orientations and gender identities, and that in all actions concerning children
the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration and a child
who is capable of forming personal views has the right to express those views
freely, such views being given due weight in accordance with the age and
maturity of the child;

NOTING that international
human rights law imposes an absolute prohibition of discrimination in regard to
the full enjoyment of all human rights, civil, cultural, economic, political
and social, that respect for sexual rights, sexual orientation and gender
identity is integral to the realisation of equality between men and women and
that States must take measures to seek to eliminate prejudices and customs
based on the idea of the inferiority or the superiority of one sex or on
stereotyped roles for men and women, and noting further that the international
community has recognised the right of persons to decide freely and responsibly
on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive
health, free from coercion, discrimination, and violence;

RECOGNISING
that there is significant value in articulating in a systematic manner
international human rights law as applicable to the lives and experiences of
persons of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities;

ACKNOWLEDGING
that this articulation must rely on the current state of international human
rights law and will require revision on a regular basis in order to take
account of developments in that law and its application to the particular lives
and experiences of persons of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities
over time and in diverse regions and countries;

FOLLOWING AN EXPERTS’ MEETING HELD IN
YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA, FROM 6 TO 9 NOVEMBER 2006, HEREBY ADOPT THESE
PRINCIPLES:

PRINCIPLE 1.  The Right to the
Universal Enjoyment of Human Rights

All human beings are born free and equal in
dignity and rights. Human beings of all sexual orientations and gender
identities are entitled to the full enjoyment of all human rights.

States shall:

a)    
Embody the principles of the universality, interrelatedness,
interdependence and indivisibility of all human rights in their national
constitutions or other appropriate legislation and ensure the practical
realisation of the universal enjoyment of all human rights;

b)    
Amend any legislation, including criminal law, to ensure its
consistency with the universal enjoyment of all human rights;

c)    
Undertake programmes of education and awareness to promote and
enhance the full enjoyment of all human rights by all persons, irrespective of
sexual orientation or gender identity;

d)    
Integrate within State policy and decision-making a pluralistic
approach that recognises and affirms the interrelatedness and indivisibility of
all aspects of human identity including sexual orientation and gender identity.

PRINCIPLE 2.  The Rights to
Equality and Non-discrimination

Everyone is entitled to enjoy all human rights
without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender
identity. Everyone is entitled to equality before the law and the equal
protection of the law without any such discrimination
whether or not the enjoyment of another human right is also affected. The
law shall prohibit any such discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal
and effective protection against any such discrimination.

Discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation or gender identity includes any distinction, exclusion, restriction
or preference based on sexual orientation or gender identity which has the
purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing equality before the law or the
equal protection of the law, or the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an
equal basis, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. Discrimination based
on sexual orientation or gender identity may be, and commonly is, compounded by
discrimination on other grounds including gender, race, age, religion,
disability, health and economic status.

States shall:

a)    
Embody the principles of equality and non-discrimination on the
basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in their national constitutions
or other appropriate legislation, if not yet incorporated therein, including by
means of amendment and interpretation, and ensure the effective realisation of
these principles;

b)    
Repeal criminal and other legal provisions that prohibit or are,
in effect, employed to prohibit consensual sexual activity among people of the
same sex who are over the age of consent, and ensure that an equal age of
consent applies to both same-sex and different-sex sexual activity;

c)    
Adopt appropriate legislative and other measures to prohibit and
eliminate discrimination in the public and private spheres on the basis of
sexual orientation and gender identity;

d)    
Take appropriate measures to secure adequate advancement of
persons of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities as may be
necessary to ensure such groups or individuals equal enjoyment or exercise of
human rights. Such measures shall not be deemed to be discriminatory;

e)    
In all their responses to discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation or gender identity, take account of the manner in which such
discrimination may intersect with other forms of discrimination;

f)      
Take all appropriate action, including programmes of education and
training, with a view to achieving the elimination of prejudicial or
discriminatory attitudes or behaviours which are related to the idea of the
inferiority or the superiority of any sexual orientation or gender identity or
gender expression.

PRINCIPLE
3. The Right to recognition before the law

a)    
Ensure that all persons are accorded legal capacity in civil
matters, without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender
identity, and the opportunity to exercise that capacity, including equal rights
to conclude contracts, and to administer, own, acquire (including through
inheritance), manage, enjoy and dispose of property;

b)    
Take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures
to fully respect and legally recognise each person’s self-defined gender
identity;

c)     Take all necessary legislative, administrative
and other measuresto ensure that procedures exist whereby all
State-issued identity papers which indicate a person’s gender/sex — including
birth certificates, passports, electoral records and other documents — reflect
the person’s profound self-defined gender identity;

d)    
Ensure that such procedures are efficient, fair and non-discriminatory,
and respect the dignity and privacy of the person concerned;

e)    
Ensure that changes to identity documents will be recognised in
all contexts where the identification or disaggregation of persons by gender is
required by law or policy;

f)      
Undertake targeted programmes to provide social support for all
persons experiencing gender transitioning or reassignment.

PRINCIPLE 4. The Right to Life

States shall:

a)    
Repeal all forms of crime that have the purpose or effect of
prohibiting consensual sexual activity among persons of the same sex who are
over the age of consent and, until such provisions are repealed, never impose the
death penalty on any person convicted under them;

b)    
Remit sentences of death and release all those currently awaiting
execution for crimes relating to consensual sexual activity among persons who
are over the age of consent;

c) Cease any State-sponsored or State-condoned attacks on the
lives of persons based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and ensure
that all such attacks, whether by government officials or by any individual or
group, are vigorously investigated, and that, where appropriate evidence is
found, those responsible are prosecuted, tried and duly punished.

PRINCIPLE 5. The Right to Security of the Person

Everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or
gender identity, has the right to security of the person and to protection by
the State against violence or bodily harm, whether inflicted by government
officials or by any individual or group.

a)    
Take all necessary policing and other measures to prevent and
provide protection from all forms of violence and harassment related to sexual
orientation and gender identity;

b)    
Take all necessary legislative measures to impose appropriate
criminal penalties for violence, threats of violence, incitement to violence
and related harassment, based on the sexual orientation or gender identity of
any person or group of persons, in all spheres of life, including the family;

c)    
Take all necessary legislative, administrative and other
measuresto ensure that the sexual orientation or gender identity of the victim
may not be advanced to justify, excuse or mitigate such violence;

d)    
Ensure that perpetration of such violence is vigorously
investigated, and that, where appropriate evidence is found, those responsible
are prosecuted, tried and duly punished, and that victims are provided with
appropriate remedies and redress, including compensation;

e)    
Undertake campaigns of awareness-raising, directed to the general
public as well as to actual and potential perpetrators of violence, in order to
combat the prejudices that underlie violence related to sexual orientation and
gender identity.

PRINCIPLE 6. The Right to Privacy