On the occasion of IDAHOBIT 2026 — “At the Heart of Democracy” — the UN LGBTI Core Group invites member states, UN entities, and civil society to a high-level panel conversation on the indispensable role of LGBTIQ communities in democratic life.
As 2024’s global “super election year” made clear, anti-LGBTIQ rhetoric has become a signature tool of anti-democratic movements worldwide. But the story of LGBTIQ communities and democracy is not only one of targeting — it is one of leadership. LGBTIQ people have long modeled the principles democracy aspires to, sounded early alarms about authoritarian trends, and shown up to defend democratic institutions when they came under threat.
The programme will open with a keynote video statement by Erika Hilton, Brazil’s first Black transgender woman elected to national office and current Chair of the Chamber’s Commission on the Defense of Women’s Rights — speaking to what LGBTIQ political representation means for democracy, from the inside. The panel will also feature Ari Shaw (Williams Institute, UCLA), whose research documents the statistical link between attacks on LGBTI rights and democratic backsliding, and Tamás Dombas (Háttér Society, Hungary), speaking from the frontlines of one of Europe’s most sustained experiments in democratic erosion — and its historic reversal.

Limited in-person tickets available for non-UNHQ pass holders. RSVP here: https://wkf.ms/4daSvSD

WATCH US LIVE HERE: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1l/k1lo23wrl9