Delivered at the 62nd Session of the Human Rights Council on behalf of the Center for Reproductive Rights, ILGA World, CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality, Amnesty International, and in consultation with the LBQ advocacy week

Mr. President,

We welcome the Special Rapporteur’s report and its intersectional approach, reflecting that gender, age, race, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, sex characteristics, socioeconomic status, and other factors shape legal and social barriers, produce unequal health outcomes, and determine whose autonomy and dignity are recognized in practice.

We strongly support the finding that punitive laws remain a central obstacle to the right to health. Criminalization of abortion, same-sex relations, consensual adolescent sexuality, and HIV-related conduct deters care-seeking, deepens stigma, and entrenches exclusion and violence against marginalized groups, including LBQT women who are often denied confidential, affirming and non-discriminatory healthcare. We welcome the emphasis on bodily autonomy and informed consent as central to dignity, particularly in reproductive health contexts where third-party authorization requirements, legal capacity restrictions, and non-consensual practices persist.

As this is her final report to the HRC, we take this opportunity to celebrate the incredible legacy Dr. T has left us. She has made clear the critical intersectional links between colonialism, racism, patriarchy, and power that expose the root causes of current-day barriers to health; provided concrete recommendations to address them; and she has grounded the rigorous academic quality of her work in the lived experiences of the most impacted.

We deeply appreciate the contributions her analysis and tools have provided the global community—it is now up to states to implement this critical guidance and truly realize the right to health for all.

Thank you.