2019 - MOTION 6 -
No Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation – To Be Included in MSF Charter
MOTION
Médecins Sans Frontières provides assistance to populations in distress, to victims of natural or man-made disasters and to victims of armed conflict. They do so irrespective of race, religion, creed or political convictions. The OCB Association supports a change in the MSF Charter to include reference to non-discrimination based on sexual orientation.
MSF-Southern Africa GA
BACKGROUND AND EXPLANATION
Is MSF friendly enough for the LGBTI community?
The protection of LGBTI rights in South Africa is based on section 9 of the Constitution, which forbids discrimination on the basis of sex, gender or sexual orientation, and applies to the government and to private parties.
In addition to criminalizing homosexuality, Nigeria has enacted legislation that would make it illegal for heterosexual family members, allies and friends of LGBT people to be supportive.
According to Nigerian law, a heterosexual "who administers, witnesses, abets or aids" any form of gender non-conforming and homosexual activity could receive a 10-year jail sentence. This makes it difficult for members of the LGBTI community to seek medical attention without risking their lives or their freedom.
FEEDBACK (Final draft)
The motion - They Do So Irrespective of Race, Religion, Creed, Political Convictions, Gender or Sexual Orientations (MM21/2019) - was presented to the IGA 2019, where it was passed with 44 votes in favor, 2 Against and 3 Abstaintions (Absences: 2). The IB thereafter determined that a direct change of the Charter at the 2020 IGA holds the risk of setting a precedent for ad hoc adaption of MSF’s core guiding document. Rather, a more holistic discussion within the movement on the contents of the Charter is needed. Given that the scope and scale of this discussion will be significant, the IB determined that it would not directly address this motion in 2020 in order to prioritise other major dossiers. This will be reviewed during the 2020-2021 IB Workplan setting and closely followed by the OCB Board.