UNGA81 Third Committee Interactive Dialogue with the Independent Expert on
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Mr. Graeme Reid
Statement delivered by Ms. Erla Ylfa Óskarsdóttir, First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Iceland
on behalf of the Nordic Baltic countries:
Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden
New York, 16 October 2026
Chair,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the Nordic and Baltic States.
At the outset, we wish to express our appreciation for the mandate and thank the Independent Expert for this important report.
Violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics remain widespread and systematic.
The report makes clear that humanitarian crises do not erase pre-existing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination – they often amplify it. LGBTIQ+ persons may face heightened risks of violence, displacement, exclusion from humanitarian assistance and barriers to accessing essential services and protection. Those already marginalized can become even more invisible when systems designed to provide protection fail to recognize their specific needs.
We are particularly concerned by the use of narratives invoking so-called morality or public order to justify discrimination and exclusion. Such rhetoric can fuel stigma and violence and contribute to the persecution of LGBTIQ+ persons.
International human rights law and international humanitarian law provide protection for all without exception. Humanitarian assistance must be provided without discrimination, and protection responses must ensure that no one is excluded because of who they are.
The UN system has a responsibility to ensure that LGBTIQ+ persons are not an afterthought in humanitarian preparedness and response. Protection must be meaningful, inclusive and grounded in the universality of human rights.
In this context, we would like to ask the Independent Expert:
How can States and the UN system better integrate the specific protection needs and lived experiences of LGBTIQ+ persons into humanitarian planning, financing and response, and what concrete steps should States and UN actors take to ensure that no one is left invisible or unprotected?
Thank you.