Human Rights Groups Petition UN Over Texas LGBTQ+ Laws

The groups allege that seven bills passed by the Texas Legislature in 2023 violate international human rights treaties.

Five human rights groups, including Equality Texas, the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, GLAAD, the Human Rights Campaign, and the University of Texas School of Law's Human Rights Clinic, have petitioned the United Nations to intervene in Texas, alleging that the state has violated international human rights obligations.
The petition specifically names seven bills passed by the Texas Legislature in 2023 that the groups allege violate human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The laws cited in the petition include Senate Bill 14, which bans certain gender-affirming care for minors, and Senate Bill 17, a law banning diversity, equity, and inclusion offices at public Texas universities and colleges.
The petition alleges that these laws violate LGBTQ+ Texans' rights to privacy, health, education, freedom of religion and belief, freedom of expression, and equal treatment.
The petitioners hope that the United Nations will demand that Texas repeal these laws on the basis of violating international rights treaties.