A/HRC/38/43 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted to the Human Rights Council pursuant to its resolution 32/2, in which the Council established the mandate of Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It is the first prepared by the current mandate holder, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, since he took up his functions, and is issued on the basis of the work carried out from 1 January to 30 April 2018. 2. The Independent Expert has accepted to be the custodian of a mandate stemming from the vision of States committed to eradicating violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and a resolve of other stakeholders to inspire and nurture this unpostponable task. At the centre of Council resolution 32/2 lie both the principle that every person is entitled to live free from violence and discrimination and the acknowledgement that such acts are often perpetrated against individuals, groups, communities or populations whose sexual orientation or gender identity vary from a particular norm. 3. The mandate is anchored in universally accepted human rights principles. Council resolution 32/2 builds on the idea that the ultimate objective of the community of nations is the recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace. II. Activities from 1 January to 30 April 2018 4. From 1 January to 30 April 2018, the Independent Expert engaged in dialogue and consulted with States and other stakeholders, including United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, regional human rights mechanisms, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations and academic institutions. 5. In order to ensure efficient cooperation, the Independent Expert engaged actively with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and other key entities within the United Nations human rights system, such as the Coordination Committee of Special Procedures. With this objective in mind, he conducted two working sessions in Geneva, of two days each, on 18 and 19 January and on 15 and 16 March 2018. 6. In Geneva on 19 January, in London on 22 January, in Copenhagen on 31 January, in Washington, D.C. on 6 March, in New York on 9 March, in Washington, D.C. on 27 March and in London on 19 April 2018, the Independent Expert held meetings with representatives of States and groups of States, among them those promoting Human Rights Council resolution 32/2 and the Equal Rights Coalition, and representatives of international and regional organizations, to discuss the views of the Independent Expert and his approach to the mandate. 7. The Independent Expert took part in the second trilateral dialogue between the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations human rights system, held in Washington, D.C. from 26 to 28 March 2018. The second dialogue had the aim of discussing matters concerning human rights through the lens of sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics, and had three overarching objectives: to share best practices and challenges; to identify fields of collaboration; and to reaffirm the commitment of United Nations human rights experts and the Inter-American and African regional human rights systems to the eradication of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. United Nations experts underlined their support for the extraordinary work carried out in this field by the regional systems, which in turn recognized the fundamental importance of including the United Nations-based perspective into regional work. 3