Norm entrepreneurs have made significant strides in advancing sexual
orientation and gender identity (SOGI) resolutions at the UN Human Rights Council.
However, these advancements are being fiercely contested. This paper examines the
development of SOGI at the Council including how states advocate for and contest
SOGI and the extent to which their positions are mutable. Resolution 32/2 of 2016,
which created an independent expert, is the central focus of the paper. Participant
interviews and content analysis of documents and statements are used to provide an in-
depth analysis of how states advocate their positions on SOGI. The paper finds that
framing is the primary tool used by states. Both proponents and opponents of SOGI
believe their own positions are universal and adhere to prior international law, while
their opponents’ positions are relativist and revisionist. The paper further finds that
deadlock on SOGI resolutions is imminent until Member States’ domestic legislation
changes

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• Contesting Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity at the UN Human Rights Council