Making rainbow waves

Engaging with the United Nations human rights system can seem daunting for activists. And yet, it can be to outstanding results - the kind of achievements that are relevant not just for one’s country, but at the global level. Enkhmaa Enkhbold, the executive director of LGBT Centre Mongolia, built her own experience in the field by engaging with numerous UN human rights mechanisms over the years - with organisations like ILGA World and others ready to provide support when necessary. In 2022, Enkhmaa engaged with the UN Committee for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, obtaining a result of historic significance: for the first time, the Committee referred ICD-11 (the latest International Classification of Diseases, which declassified trans identities as a mental disorder) among the recommendations made to Mongolia on trans persons. On this new episode of ILGA World's Making Rainbow Waves podcast, we met Enkhmaa as her organisation prepares to follow up on the historic recommendations obtained at the international level and ensure they can influence positive change in her country. Together, we went over Enkhmaa's journey as an activist, the different international human rights mechanisms, what goes behind the scenes when advocates access these spaces, and the current situation of the Mongolian LGBTI community. “Our primary hope is to have a community centre of our own, a safe space for the community”, she told us. “Of course, we want to walk the streets without retaliation, without fear and stigma: that's, I think, a given for all of us, right? That's what we wish for, and that's why we're fighting for this.” --- The transcription of the episode, as well as its translation to Spanish, are available at https://ilga.org/podcast-making-rainbow-waves-1x04-lgbt-centre-mongolia. This episode of Making Rainbow Waves was hosted by Daniele Paletta and edited by Kevin Mwachiro. Transcription and translation to Spanish by Luca Bermejo,

The 30th ILGA World Conference will take place in May 2022 under the theme: "LGBTIQ youth: future present change": hundreds of LGBTIQ human rights defenders from all over the world will gather in LA Long Beach, California, United States. The event will be hosted by the It Gets Better Project, an organization with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect LGBTQ youth around the globe. In this episode of "Making rainbow waves", we sat down with Brian Wenke, the executive director of the It Gets Better Project, to talk about his personal story, how the meaning of such a powerful statement as “It Gets Better” has changed over the years, what does the organisation have in store for the upcoming ILGA World Conference, and so much more. Follow this link to register now for the 30th ILGA World Conference! Follow this link to access the transcription of this episode in English . A translation of the episode to Spanish is available here .

On this Pride Month, ILGA World met with Julian Sanjivan, who is the co-president of InterPride - the global network of Pride organisations from around the world, as well as regional, national, and local pride networks. We came together to talk about their personal story, how the Pride movement has made it through the Covid-19 pandemic, and so much more. Here’s what they told us. Follow this link to access a transcription of the episode: https://ilga.org/podcast-making-rainbow-waves-1x02-pride-choose-express-Julian-Sanjivan-Interpride

How do laws around the world set out how trans and gender-diverse people can change their sex/gender marker and names on official identity documents? And which laws are in place worldwide that criminalise trans identities? Released in September 2020, the Trans Legal Mapping Report details the situation in 143 UN member States, In this episode,we met with Julia Ehrt and Zhan Chiam to explore the findings of the publication, and to discuss what's next for the trans human rights movement.