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Washington, D.C. – The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) welcomes the Mexican State’s initiative to develop a Survey on Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (also known by its Spanish acronym, ENDOSIG). The IACHR values this move, as an essential step towards drafting and implementing public policies with a human rights focus for the protection of the rights of LGBTI persons.

According to information that the IACHR has been able to access, the survey developed by the National Council to Prevent Discrimination (CONAPRED) and the National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) seeks to gather views, perceptions and data on the experiences of discrimination, exclusion and violence faced by LGBTI persons in Mexico. This anonymous online survey seeks to find out the expressions and experiences of LGBTI persons, with a view to identifying the causes and impact of the violence and discrimination they face. 

The qualitative and quantitative data gathered in the survey is later set to be analyzed, with the aim of articulating public policy proposals that the Mexican State may design and implement to promote inclusion and fight discrimination. In this context, the Inter-American Commission notes that producing disaggregated information and statistics is an invaluable tool to evaluate the effectiveness of any measures taken to prevent, punish and eradicate violence against LGBTI persons, to establish the need for any changes in such measures and to identify loopholes that may require the adoption of public policies to grant LGBTI persons comprehensive protection.

The Commission deems it important for data collection systems to gather information that allows States to understand the underlying causes of violence against LGBTI persons, as well as any groups within the LGBTI population who are particularly at risk. Any data gathered need to include information on discrimination patterns faced by LGBTI victims, such as difficulties in accessing education, barriers to entry into the formal labor market, lack of access to adequate housing, sites where acts of violence or discrimination repeatedly took place, and the victim’s occupation or line of work.

The Inter-American Commission welcomes Mexico’s initiative and urges all States in the Americas to develop information-gathering mechanisms to reflect the reality of LGBTI persons and the human rights violations they face. The IACHR emphasizes the importance of all States in the region implementing this kind of survey.

In that sense, the IACHR offers States in the region any technical assistance they may need, within the scope of the Commission’s role and its mandate, to brace their efforts for the development of information and public policy-formulation systems to promote and protect human rights. The IACHR is currently exploring options for technical collaboration with CONAPRED, to provide assistance for the development of public policy proposals aimed at promoting and protecting the rights of LGBTI persons that are designed and implemented based on the results of this survey.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for and to defend human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 087/18