Where direct service programming cannot meet the need, we advocate globally for systemic change to address the root causes endangering and displacing LGBTQI+ persons around the world.
Insights from our Work: Addressing the Anti-LGBTQI+ Backlash on the World Stage
We're sharing key insights from our work last year. Read more about our global advocacy in our 2024 Annual Report: Understanding the State of Global LGBTQI+ Persecution
Where direct service programming cannot meet the need, we advocate globally for systemic change to address the root causes endangering and displacing LGBTQI+ persons around the world. As one of the only global LGBTQI+ refugee support organizations providing direct services, this vantage point gives us unique insights into the state of LGBTQI+ rights across a diverse set of country contexts. With tens of thousands of requests for help from individuals each year, we have access to direct insights into the needs and experiences of LGBTQI+ refugees.
In 2024, Rainbow Railroad secured Consultative status through the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). ECOSOC status allows us to advocate for solutions to LGBTQI+ forced displacement, and elevate the work of partner LGBTQI+ organizations and activists at the UN, at a time when LGBTQI+ rights have become a flashpoint at the highest diplomatic levels. Rainbow Railroad also participated in the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. In 2024, one in four countries around the world reported significant backlash on women’s rights, and in our work we see LGBTQI+ persecution as an acute expression of this wider global trend. At the same time, we continue to queer the broader refugee and asylum system, and share our expertise in LGBTQI+ refugee resettlement at the UNHCR Global Consultations with NGOs, and the Consultations on Resettlement and Complementary Pathways (CRCP).
Richard Wilson, Executive Director of Lighthouse Equality Advocacy Project, speaks at Rainbow Railroad's side event at the UN Summit of the Future.
Putting LGBTQI+ Rights on the Global Agenda
At the UN Summit of the Future, Rainbow Railroad convened a side event on “International Peace and Security and LGBTQI+ Crisis Response.” Experts discussed how the rising tide of legislation targeting LGBTQI+ communities not only jeopardizes the safety of individuals and communities, but also has broader implications for global peace and security. Activist partner, Richard Wilson, Executive Director of Lighthouse Equality Advocacy Project described their experience paneling:
“This event opened my eyes to the global nature of the LGBTQI+ crisis response. It showed me that while the struggles of LGBTQI+ immigrants and asylum seekers are unique, they are not isolated. The panel gave me a deeper understanding of the complex intersection between displacement, identity, and security. It also highlighted the importance of international cooperation in addressing these crises and reassured me that there are ongoing efforts to improve the systems in place to protect and support people like me.”
At international forums we ensured LGBTQI+ forced displacement was on the global agenda. Through The Commonwealth Equality Network (TCEN), for the first time Rainbow Railroad engaged in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) — a meeting of all 56 commonwealth nations, about half of whom criminalize LGBTQI+ people. Despite civil society’s urgent calls to hold commonwealth states accountable for global human rights violations, in a highly disappointing result, commonwealth state leaders selected Ghanaian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, as the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth. World leaders effectively rewarded Ghana for introducing a new wave of anti-LGBTQI+ legislation in 2024 with the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill, which criminalizes LGBTQI+ advocacy.
This outcome is emblematic of the gap in global diplomacy and addressing the anti-LGBTQI+ backlash on the world stage. In our experience navigating the UN and other high-level State spaces, acknowledging LGBTQI+ people are protected under international human rights apparatus has become untenable in international diplomatic spaces. Words such as ‘sexual orientation’ ‘diversity’ and even definitions of the ‘family’ have become highly contested and their inclusion in shared global agreements is moving backwards. As global actors continue to remove LGBTQI+ rights language and protection frameworks at the highest levels, Rainbow Railroad’s advocacy on the human rights of LGBTQI+ forcibly displaced persons remains an urgent priority.
You can read more about our global advocacy in our 2024 Annual Report: Understanding the State of Global LGBTQI+ Persecution