Journal article
Sexual orientation and gender identity in Nepal: Rights promotion through UN development assistance
Journal of human rights, v 17(2)
01 Jan 2018
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
United Nations (UN) development agencies have been actively working to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) rights in Nepal, despite having no official mandate to work on these rights. This presents an important example of how such agencies are able to act independently to set their own agenda and illustrates the open system approach to international bureaucracies. It also suggests that these agencies have the potential to be important instruments of LGBTI rights promotion outside the traditional human rights machinery such as the Human Rights Council and various committees. Based on extensive interview research as well as documentary evidence, this article traces the origins of the UN's engagement with LGBTI rights. It then discusses the work of UN agencies in South Asia, and Nepal in particular, focusing on the UN Development Programme, the UN Children's Fund, UNAIDS, and UN Women. Political changes in Nepal since 2006 have opened it up for change in its approach to these rights, and UN agencies have worked actively to change both legal norms and social attitudes. The conclusion considers whether these lessons are applicable to other states and whether the UN development machinery must be considered an important ally in pursuing LGBTI rights worldwide.
Metrics
Details
- Title
- Sexual orientation and gender identity in Nepal: Rights promotion through UN development assistance
- Creators
- Joel E. Oestreich - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Journal of human rights, v 17(2)
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Number of pages
- 15
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Politics
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000427726500008
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85028841575
- Other Identifier
- 991019168042804721
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Web of Science research areas
- International Relations
- Political Science