Discrimination and violence towards members of the LGBTI community continues to be pervasive in every region of the world, with same-sex marriages still considered a crime in 69 countries. 

That’s from Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, who presented a new report to the General Assembly last week outlining how negative notions of LGBTI people manifest, and how best to stop them.  

In an interview with UN News’s Antonio Lafuente, he explained how States need to acknowledge they have a duty to decriminalize, and battle negative stigma against lesbian, bisexual gay, transgender and intersex people.