LGBTIQ+ persons

In this section:

Training package: SOGIESC and working with LGBTIQ+ persons in forced displacement

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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or queer (LGBTIQ+) persons can face discrimination, persecution and violence, sometimes on a daily basis.

In certain countries, same-sex relationships are criminalized – sometimes punishable by death. Many LGBTIQ+ persons have no choice but to seek refuge elsewhere. But even in countries of asylum, they can face stigma and abuse.

In recent decades, the number of LGBTIQ+ refugees and asylum-seekers has risen, with most qualifying as "members of a particular social group" under the 1951 Refugee Convention, which defines the term ‘refugee,’ outlines their rights and sets out the legal obligations of States to protect them.

UNHCR works to try to protect all LGBTIQ+ refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced and stateless people and works with partners to provide inclusive services, protect their rights and identify safe options.

What is SOGIESC?

What does the acronym LGBTIQ+ mean?

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A message from UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi

Watch a video message from the High Commissioner on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.

Watch the video

Global Roundtable on Protection and Solutions for LGBTIQ+ people in forced displacement

The Global Roundtable on Protection and Solutions for LGBTIQ+ people in forced displacement was organized by UNHCR and the United Nations Independent Expert on Protection Against Violence and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.

Held virtually over the course of 3 weeks in June 2021, it convened more than 500 people from around the world, including representatives from governments, civil society and the private sector and LGBTIQ+ people who have experienced displacement. Together they discussed experiences, policies and programmes that have worked as well as ways to implement solutions.

Read more about the roundtable and stocktaking on progress in these documents:

2021 Global Roundtable LGBTIQ+ Persons in Forced Displacement and Statelessness: Protection and Solutions – Discussion Paper

2021 Global Roundtable on Protection and Solutions for LGBTIQ+ People in Forced Displacement – Summary Conclusions

Priorities in follow up to the Global Roundtable on Protection and Solutions for LGBTIQ+ People in Forced Displacement

Protecting LGBTIQ+ people in situations of forced displacement: A Stocktaking on UNHCR progress since the 2021 Roundtable (June 2023)

In early 2023, UNHCR undertook a stocktaking exercise to assess the progress made against the recommendations addressed to UNHCR at the Global Roundtable on Protection and Solutions for LGBTIQ+ Persons in Forced Displacement held in June 2021. This document captures the main areas of progress that have been identified through this exercise, and the actions planned to continue advancing in this aspect of UNHCR work with and for displaced and stateless people. The document was presented during a follow-up dialogue co-convened with the UN Independent Expert on SOGI and attended by the co-facilitators of the thematic areas of the 2021 Roundtable, which was held in Geneva on 22 June 2023.

Three people – one man and two women, the IE SOGI, UNHCR AHC-P, and the UNHCR DIP Director sit at a table, as the AHC-P seated in the middle addresses the participants in her opening remarks. There is a poster with a rainbow that says “You are safe here” in the background.

The UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity (IE SOGI), Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection (AHC-P), Gillian Triggs, and the UNHCR Director of the Division of International Protection (DIP), Elizabeth Tan, participated in the follow-up dialogue to the 2021 Global Roundtable on 22 June 2023 in Geneva. Ms. Triggs gave the opening remarks.

Participants pose for a group photo – 18 in-person, and 6 shown on-screen, some standing and some kneeling in front, all smiling. Participants in the front are holding up the progress pride flag.

Participants (online and in-person) in the follow-up dialogue to the 2021 Global Roundtable on 22 June 2023 in Geneva, including the co-facilitators of the thematic areas of the 2021 Roundtable from refugee-led, civil society, and other non-governmental organizations, as well as the co-conveners from IE SOGI and UNHCR, pose for a group photo.

Inspiring stories

Get to know Muhammad Adeel Iqbal, Maritza, Amani and other LGBTIQ+ refugees and asylum-seekers, who left behind their homes to find the freedom to be who they truly are.