Report of the Conference SESSION 3: REFLECTING ON THE EMERGENCE OF THE YOGYAKARTA PRINCIPLES, ITS CONTENT AND APPLICATION OVER 10 YEARS Panel members • Arvind Narrain, Geneva Director, ARC International • Karen Gomez-Dumpit, Commissioner, (CHR – Philippines) • Sunil Babu Pant, Former Member of Parliament, Nepal Moderator Kim Vance, Executive Director, ARC International Kim Vance argued that while the Yogyakarta Principles represented the current status of international law at the time of adoption, the principles must also be seen and treated as aspirational. They provide guidance as to the direction of evolution of international law and the successful experience of its application and best practices must be used to guide future development and supplementation of the principles. The programme of action aspect of the Yogyakarta Principles, which are directed towards states, could be effectively further targeted to lawyers, political parties and religious organisations in order to bring them onboard. Supplementary materials such as the Activists’ Guide to the Yogyakarta Principles could be better disseminated and used among the advocates. The non-attachment of the principles to any organisations was identified as an incredible strength, as the value of the principles rested on the weight of the experts who drafted, developed and signed them. This gives the principles a different kind of legitimacy and a broader level of acceptance. Moreover, given the changing realities on the ground, a new companion (supplement) to the Yogyakarta Principles is envisioned for the near future. Arvind Narrain explored some of the central narratives concerning the significance of the Yogyakarta Principles, over 10 years. It was highlighted that at the 10th anniversary, significant challenges remain in terms of its broader acceptance and implementation by states. The ongoing discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity sends out a strong message that what happened in the past should not be part of our future. The issue of denial of recognition before the law based on sexual orientation and gender identity still remains a problem. It was identified that sexual orientation and gender identity are co-equal markers of discrimination, and often the principle of universality of human rights remains unfulfilled due to such denial of equal rights. The issue of privacy also features prominently in the debates surrounding the rights of the LGBTI communities. The right to privacy should be understood and evaluated in terms of the different dimensions in which an individual exercises this right, that is, in different zones in which they move, in their relations with other people and in the decisions they make. Privacy should also be seen from the perspective of dignity and the notion of privacy should be fully integrated into the programmes of advocacy on the Principles. In relation to intersex people, the vital importance of protection from medical abuse was also highlighted. The Yogyakarta Principles also provided a strong basis for the normative evolution of the international human rights regime, in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity. For instance, the principles contributed significantly to the jurisprudential innovation in relation to freedoms and rights such as freedom of expression. To this effect, the Principles provided an important platform for creative legal interpretation of the existing state of international law. 13