SOGI Inclusion in the UN General Assembly Free and Fair Election Resolution

• In Event: The Role of Public Discourse in Democratic Retrenchment and Reinvigoration

Abstract

In 2021, sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) inclusion gained new ground when the United States sponsored a SOGI inclusive free and fair elections UN General Assembly resolution that passed by consensus. Passed by consensus, in this case, does not mean fully endorsed. Using text and discourse analysis, this paper asks how a consensus-passed resolution reveals active and passive forms of exclusion. It argues that anti-gender/LGBTIQ+ member states disassociating from SOGI-inclusive language remain optically in favor of the resolution’s subject matter. By dissociating from the language of SOGI rather than requesting a vote, states unsupportive of SOGI inclusion signal an attempt to remove themselves and any questionable undemocratic domestic practice from critique. It further argues that attempts to separate anti-SOGI inclusion from democratic norm acceptance enable future exclusion of other vulnerable populations from UN agendas.

Author

• Ariel Gabriella Mekler, Graduate Center, City University of New York