A/HRC/35/36 interlinking geographically with the furthest reaches of Asia, with much innovative thinking.14 In parallel to this, the European Union, with its Charter of Fundamental Rights, has strengthened measures against violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, including via the collection and collation of data through the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights to inform policymaking and action. 15 27. The inter-American system has offered many contributions to action against violence and discrimination. In addition to its important range of human rights-related declarations and conventions and its regional human rights court and commission, it has appointed a regional rapporteur specifically to cover the issue of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. The General Assembly of the Organization of American States recently approved two treaties which refer to sexual orientation and gender identity directly as grounds on which discrimination must be prohibited: namely the Inter-American Convention Against All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance and the Inter-American Convention on Protecting the Human Rights of Older Persons. 16 28. Complementing the measures outlined above, resolution 275 of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, on protection against violence and other human rights violations against persons on the basis of their real or imputed sexual orientation or gender identity, of 2014, resonates with the following message for the African region and beyond: Strongly urges States to end all acts of violence and abuse, whether committed by State or non-State actors, including by enacting and effectively applying appropriate laws prohibiting and punishing all forms of violence including those targeting persons on the basis of their imputed or real sexual orientation or gender identities, ensuring proper investigation and diligent prosecution of perpetrators, and establishing judicial procedures responsive to the needs of victims. 17 29. Interregional cooperation bore fruit when the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the United Nations held a joint dialogue in 2016, calling for more mainstreaming of regional and international norms to counter violence and discrimination, interlinking with the opportunities offered by the Sustainable Development Goals. The joint dialogue acknowledged positive steps from the African region, as follows: African States are almost all characterized by great diversity in their populations, with ethnic, religious and cultural diversity being the common denominator. In line with article 28 of the Charter, 18 which calls on every individual “to respect and consider his fellow beings without discrimination, and to maintain relations aimed at promoting, safeguarding and reinforcing mutual respect and tolerance”, the Commission may advocate for the rights of all persons, including LGBT and intersex persons. In this respect, it can build on positive examples of State action in Africa and elsewhere to respect diversity and protect the human rights of all persons, irrespective of sexual orientation and gender identity. Participants noted that at least 19 African States do not criminalize consensual same-sex relations between adults in their legal systems, that Mozambique in 2014 removed criminal sanctions for such 14 15 16 17 18 See www.coe.int/en/web/sogi;and Frédéric Edel, Case Law of the European Court of Human Rights Relating to Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity (Strasbourg, Council of Europe, 2015). See, for example, European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, EU LGBT survey - European Union lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender survey – Main results (Vienna, 2014), at http://fra.europa.eu/en/publication/2014/eu-lgbt-survey-european-union-lesbian-gay-bisexual-andtransgender-survey-main. Ending Violence and Other Human Rights Violations Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: A Joint Dialogue of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and United Nations (Pretoria University Law Press, 2016), p. 62. See www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Discrimination/Endingviolence_ACHPR_IACHR_UN_SOGI_dial ogue_EN.pdf. Ibid., p. 28. African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. 9