A/HRC/4/37 page 22 interdependent and interrelated. […] While the significance of national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind, it is the duty of States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms” and thus, to ensure that the protection of international human rights norms is universally applied. 94. Since the establishment of the mandate, the Special Representative has acted on 36 cases of alleged attacks and threats against defenders of LGBTI rights in all regions. 95. Communications have been sent to Belarus, the Holy See, Latvia, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Nigeria, Uganda, India, Nepal, Argentina, Chile, Ecuador, Honduras, Jamaica and Iran. Defenders have been threatened, had their houses and offices raided, they have been attacked, tortured, sexually abused, tormented by regular death threats and even killed. A major concern in this regard is an almost complete lack of seriousness with which such cases are treated by the concerned authorities. 96. In numerous cases from all regions, police or government officials are the alleged perpetrators of violence and threats against defenders of LGBTI rights. In several of these cases, the authorities have prohibited demonstrations, conferences and meetings, denied registration of organizations working for LGBTI rights and police officers have, allegedly, beaten up or even sexually abused these defenders of LGBTI rights. The authorities have generally attempted to justify action against these defenders by arguing that “the public” does not want these demonstrations to take place, or these organizations to be registered, or that “the people” do not want LGBTI people in their community. The Special Representative recalls articles 2 and 12 of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders to remind States of their responsibility for protecting defenders against violence and threats. States are also responsible for, inter alia, ensuring that all programmes for training of law enforcement officers and public officials include appropriate elements of human rights teaching (art. 15). 97. In December 2004, the Special Representative communicated her concerns to the Government of Jamaica regarding published comments of the Police Federation’s Public Relations officer condemning the role of “so-called” human rights organizations and dismissing concerns regarding violence against LGBTI defenders, stating that “the Government and police cannot be held responsible for … the cultural responses of the population …”.5 In January 2006, the Special Representative sent her concerns to the Government of Nigeria concerning a draft bill which would, if approved, introduce criminal penalties for public advocacy or associations supporting LGBTI rights. In June 2006, a communication was sent to the Government of Poland concerning the Director of the National In-Service Training Centre who was dismissed by the Minister for Education, allegedly for his involvement in the publication and dissemination of a Council of Europe manual on human rights education for young people, which included issues in relation to sexual orientation. 5 This was allegedly in response to Human Rights Watch’s publication “Hated to death: Homophobia, Violence and Jamaica’s HIV/AIDS epidemic” (16 November 2004).