RFSL works to improve the lives of LGBTQ people at a global level, through sharing knowledge about LGBTQ issues in international organisations, and influencing global processes to include an LGBTQ perspective.
RFSL collaborates with other human rights organisations to gain a stronger voice – OutRight Action International (NYC), ILGA (Geneva), COC Netherlands, ARC International (Canada/Geneva), as well as other organisations engaged in advocacy at the UN level and in other fora. Sida has supported RFSL since 2012.
Our work is focused on the different target groups of international institutions, including the UN, the Council of Europe and the EU, but also our partner organisations in the global South and East.
Through our international advocacy, RFSL has accessed global fora actively engaging in different processes like UN’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Universal Periodic Reviews (UPR) for Sweden and our partner countries. We facilitate our partner organisations’ involvement in the UN, for example, to actively participate in UN’s Commission on the status of Women and the question of sustainable development.
Another important aspect of our work is to inform and speak out on matters regarding sexuality and gender identity with the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and participate in think tanks with UN departments.
All work is based on strategic advocacy, close collaboration with our partner organisations, and participation in important meetings with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the UN, and others. The project is managed at RFSL’s main office in Stockholm, but is implemented mainly in New York, Geneva, and occasionally Brussels.
