Our policy priorities for the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Goverment Meeting

With the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting approaching, The Commonwealth Equality Network calls on Heads to ensure that the rights of LGBTI+ people are protected.

Provide sustainable funding

Funding and investment for LGBTI+ organisations, programming, and services.

1. Effective, long-term, and consistent financial investment for civil society organisations and service providers who support LGBTI+ communities across the Commonwealth.
2. Co-production with Civil Society organisations and advocates on grant programme design to ensure that investment best meets the needs of LGBTI+ CSOs, communities, and service providers.
3. A holistic approach to investment that recognises the intersectional issues faced by multiple disadvantaged groups and communities.
4. Commitment to allocating a percentage of grant funding for unrestricted core funds to organisations to strengthen organisational capacity and resource to manage and deliver grants programmes, and to ensure stability, consistency, and sustainability of organisations; and/or consider commitment to less restrictive and more outcomes focussed terms.
5. Continuity grants aimed at supporting regular and repeated programming for interventions that demonstrate good quality and effective outcomes for LGBTI+ communities
6. Commonwealth Secretariat, member states, and partners to create a Commonwealth crisis fund for the mobilisation of emergency grant support for LGBTI+ and other civil society organisations facing hardship because of climate impact, political instability, conflict, and health emergencies.

Legislation

Review, engage and create an enabling environment for policy and legislation that promotes non-discrimination, protection, inclusion, and equality of opportunity for LGBTI+ people, across every aspect of life.

Inclusive Policies

Development and implementation of models of co-production, early intervention, and prevention mechanisms to be used for those most at risk of harm, such as LGBTI+ people, in order to reduce the greatest impacts of inequality, discrimination and exclusion.

Prioritise gender equality

Provide accessible information about LGBTI+ rights on all relevant government websites and documents, collect and share gender disaggregated data and statistics to improve accountability for gender equality and track progress, and ensure LBTQ women and girls, and the inequalities they face are represented in initiatives, specialised, and tailored support for LBTQ women.

Consultation

Commit that LGBTI+ people and organisations are consistently consulted on and included in national and Commonwealth-wide initiatives, action plans, and policy development and humanitarian response with recovery thereof.

Sustainability

Strengthening progress of inclusion within the current development programming and services that recognise the inequalities of livelihood, social wellbeing, and economic development of LGBTI+ persons within states.