Study published on German funding of worldwide lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans* and inter* people (LGBTI) human rights work:The survey “Strengthening Human Rights!” introduced by the Dreilinden gGmbH and the German Institute for Human Rights today identifies the Heinrich Böll Foundation as the most important German promoter of international LGBTI human rights work. The study regularly examines the worldwide commitment of German institutions and organisations to promote the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans* and inter* individuals.
“We have been observing a clear aggravation of the human rights situation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans* and inter* people in some countries and regions for quite some time now”, Barbara Unmüßig, president of the Heinrich Böll Foundation said on Friday. “That is why human rights work should include the fight against the discrimination and criminalisation of LGBTI individuals. It is an integral part of the implementation of human rights and, as such, an essential contribution to more rule of law and democracy”, Unmüßig adds.
“Conservative and reactionary social and gender policies as well as homophobic attitudes and state-tolerated violence are on the rise. On our doorstep, too, particular in Eastern Europe. However, legal discrimination and attacks against LGBTI human rights are not a minority problem. Rather, they clearly alert to the state of the rule of law and democracy.”
The third edition of the survey “Strengthening human rights! German funding of LGBTI human rights work in the Global South and East” shows that in 2013, 26 organisations in Germany supported LGBTI human rights work in the Global South and East with a total of 1,481,088 euros. The Heinrich Böll Foundation contributed more than 20% of the sum and therefore was the leading actor in the German funding sector in 2013.
However, the study also notes that the funds for LGBTI human rights work did not increase in Germany and that the sum is fairly small.
“We are pleased that the study by the Dreilinden gGmbH and the German Institute for Human Rights makes visible our international commitment in the LGBTI area. Promoting LGBTI human rights is practical solidarity and more urgent than ever. It occupied a prominent place in the work of the Heinrich Böll Foundation for many years. We will continue expanding it, and we need significantly more fellow campaigners than before”, Unmüßig continues.
After the Heinrich Böll Foundation, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Dreilinden gGmbH provide the largest part of the funds with nearly 295,000 euros each. In addition, the study concludes that civil society organisations play a greater role in promoting LGBTI human rights work compared with previous years.
- Download the study “Strengthening human rights!” (PDF, German with an English summary)
- Information on the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s international LGBTI human rights work
Publication reference:
Human Rights between the Sexes: A preliminary study on the life situations of inter* individuals
by Dan Christian Ghattas
on behalf of, and published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation (2013)
Resource person Heinrich Böll Foundation
Claudia Rolf
Department Head Democracy Promotion
T ++49-(0)30 285 34 - 305
E rolf@boell.de
Press contact Heinrich Böll Foundation:
Michael Alvarez Kalverkamp, Press Officer
T ++49-(0)30 285 34 - 202
E alvarez@boell.de