Published February, 2004

The Johannesburg Statement on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Human Rights (2004)

This statement was adopted at a meeting of African lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender organizations, with fifty-five participants from twenty-two groups representing sixteen countries across the continent. It is addressed to African member governments of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and of the United Nations. The statement seeks support for a resolution on sexual orientation, gender identity, and human rights. It describes the multiple abuses and forms of extreme discrimination that LGBT Africans face, including the denial of access to health care and basic health information targeted to their lives and needs, and the fact that LGBT Africans are blamed unjustly for the spread of HIV/AIDS while being omitted from HIV prevention programs.