BERLIN, Dec 18 (NNN-SANEWS) — Deputy Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Mmapaseka Steve Letsike, is leading the South African delegation to the 2024 Berlin Equal Rights Coalition (ERC) Conference, currently underway in Germany.
The Equal Rights Coalition is a collaborative mechanism to progress lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) rights across the globe.
This year’s conference, taking place on Dec 17-18, is held under the theme: “Countering the push-back, “where representatives from Member States will meet alongside civil society to assess the current landscape of the LGBTQI+ rights and freedoms.
The conference will also look to devise strategic partnerships that respond to, and tackle the foremost challenges affecting people of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) around the globe.
During the two-day conference, participants will have the opportunity to attend insightful plenary sessions from key stakeholders in the mechanism and across the landscape of the defence of human rights at different scales.
The participants will also take part in sessions from four thematic groups on key areas of interest regarding the rights of LGBTQI+ persons and the state of LGBTQI+ rights worldwide.
“Lestsike will take part in the ministerial discussion on the role of legislators in advancing LGBTQI+ rights, focusing on African legislators from Sub-Saharan Africa to share insights and reflections on the LGBTQI+ landscape and the role of advocacy in contexts with punitive legislation,” the department said in a statement.
The Equal Rights Coalition was founded in 2016 at the Global LGBTI Human Rights Conference in Montevideo, under the leadership of Uruguay and the Netherlands, as an intergovernmental body of 44 Member States dedicated to the protection of the human rights of LGBTI persons and the promotion of inclusive development. — NNN-SANEWS
