Leaving No One Behind? 2SLGBTQIA+ People and The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

June is Pride Month! While heralding the onset of summer in Toronto, however, it remains winter in many jurisdictions around the world. In the spirit of Pride, it is vital that we join both in the celebration of many victories, and in solidarity to counter ongoing hatred and exclusion of 2SLGBTQIA+ people around the world.

Globally, 2SLGBTQIA+ people continue to experience denial of employment, education, equal marriage, and healthcare; more broadly, 2SLGBTQIA+ people are attacked, harassed, arrested, tortured, raped, killed, and sentenced to death (Yogyakarta Principles, 2006; 2017). As of June 2025, 65 jurisdictions around the world criminalize same-sex consensual sexual activity. 12 jurisdictions either can or do impose the death penalty for same-sex intimacy. And in at least 26 countries, public order, vagrancy and other minor offences are used to harass, arrest and prosecute transgender people (humandignitytrust.org).

This year, in addition to Pride Month, June 18, 2025 marks the United Nations (UN) International Day for Countering Hate Speech. This juxtaposition, while potentially fortuitous, also serves as a marker for silence in the face of anti-LGBTQ+ hatred and intolerance. This UN proclamation defines hate speech as “communication that attacks or discriminates against individuals or groups based on identity factors like religion, ethnicity, or gender.” This definition does not include discrimination based on sexual or gender minority status.

Even under the global spotlight of Pride Month in 2025, the UN’s omission of 2SLGBTQIA+ people in reference to countering hate speech recalls the infamous phrase associated with Oscar Wilde’s fall from literary icon to prisoner in 1895—“the love that dares not speak its name”—which helped pave the way for the modern era of LGBTQ+ rights advocacy.

In the spirit of Pride, it is vital that we call out collusion—by the UN, governments, or civil society—in the erasure of sexual and gender minority communities. For hate is not only characterized by acts of commission, such as the use of explicit verbal epithets or referencing of less explicit but nonetheless stigmatizing tropes that denigrate sexually diverse and gender-diverse people.

Hate is also marked by acts of omission.

In fact, the UN’s own broader “Strategy and Plan of Action on Hate Speech” specifically indicates that silence is not an option, but rather “signals indifference to bigotry and intolerance.”

More significant than the UN’s erasure of 2SLGBTQIA+ people on the International Day for Countering Hate Speech is the status of sexual and gender minorities in the 15-year UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Strikingly, there is no explicit inclusion of LGBTQ+ communities in any of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 169 Targets, or related indicators of the UN’s otherwise ambitious SDG Agenda.

Direct and transparent mentions of 2SLGBTQIA+ people were, in fact, excised from the final text of the UN SDGs in an apparent effort to appease conservative and anti-LGBTQ+ states.

What remains, the UN’s stated principle “Leave No One Behind” (LNOB)”, proffers ambiguous language that at best dilutes LGBTQ+ rights, in effect leaving these rights at the discretion of individual states—including the over 65 jurisdictions that criminalize same-sex intimacy. Paradoxically, LNOB risks just that: leaving 2SLGBTQIA+ people behind in the global pursuit of sustainable development.

In contrast to the UN’s broader compromising of LGBTQ+ rights in the SDGs, several UN agencies have taken up the mantle to launch complementary efforts to advance LGBTIQ+ inclusion. The World Bank and United Nations Development Program have commissioned and supported the initial development of a global index to measure the inclusion of LGBTIQ+ people (Badgett & Sell, 2019). This report calls attention to a dire lack of data and evidence on LGBTIQ+ inclusion in many jurisdictions around the globe—though such evidence is vital to advancing LGBTIQ+ inclusion.

It is in this context that our SSHRC Partnership, “Mobilizing for a Research Revolution to Ensure LGBTIQ Inclusion in Asia” (MFARR-Asia), is collaborating with academic and community partners in seven Asian jurisdictions to collect evidence on the status of laws, policies, and the lived experiences of diverse LGBTIQ+ populations in six domains of life: education, family, economic well-being, health, political and civic participation, and personal security and violence (Newman et al., 2021; Wong et al., 2025).

Overall, MFARR’s efforts reinforce the power of collective, transdisciplinary research and community engagement to transform and accelerate LGBTIQ+ inclusion and human rights, and counter the stigma and barriers still faced in the academy and in the community. We aspire to nothing less than the full inclusion of diverse 2SLGBTQIA+ people in society as a precious and integral part of life.

2025 UTSC SDG Data Analysis Challenge: the Results Are In!

Congratulations to the award-winning groups of the 2025 UTSC SDG Data Analysis Challenge!

The UTSC SDG Data Challenge brought together 16 interdisciplinary teams, comprising 57 students from across the University of Toronto's three campuses (St. George, Mississauga, and Scarborough), from different academic years and disciplines.

Throughout the challenge, students analyzed data related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The initiative aimed to enhance their data analytics skills while empowering them to craft informed, evidence-based arguments addressing global challenges. Participants explored SDG progress since 2015, identified gaps in achieving the 2030 targets, and told compelling stories through data analysis and visualization.

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Leading With Care: Linda Johnston says her top priority as U of T Scarborough principal is creating a healthy, supportive environment

Read the latest story from U of T Magazine titled "Leading With Care: Linda Johnston says her top priority as U of T Scarborough principal is creating a healthy, supportive environment" discussing our most recent blog contributor, Professor Linda Johnston's, top priority for the University of Toronto Scarborough as principal: "Creating a healthy environment where every member of the campus community feels supported in achieving their own definition of success."

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Call for Papers: Special Issue on Progress in Reducing Inequalities in Health-Related SDGs

From Earth Hours to Earth Years!

April is earth month, but did you know there is also earth day and earth hour? What are the significances of these dates?

Earth month started April 1968 in the USA when a teacher and marine biologist led a waterway clean-up project and then inspired a high school student to continue the clean-up for the month. This student realized that the month-long clean-up was not enough and needed to extend throughout the year, across the globe, and thus continued working towards this objective [1].

Earth day began about 2 years later, on 22^nd April 1970, when rising concern for air and water pollution came to the fore after an oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. A US senator, a congressman and an activist started "teach'-ins" at colleges to encourage students to protest industrial development which were having adverse effects on human health. This later grew to national and international efforts to take action on environmental issues [2].

Earth hour was introduced in 2007 by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), with roots in Australia, as a symbolic gesture of climate change awareness. For one hour, between 8pm and 9pm, on the last Saturday of March, those observing earth hour would take off the lights in their home and use little or no electricity during that time [3].

For many years, I have marveled at darkness on my street during earth hour, admired the activist having a voice to protect the planet and been in awe of environmentalists doing their part in curbing the effects of climate change. While industry and policy seem to still be catching up to help preserve our planet, there are many ways we can personally contribute. Actions like avoiding fossil fuel vehicle use by opting for active or public transportation, eating fewer animal products in our diet, reducing air travel and carefully consuming energy in the home, can greatly lower greenhouse gas emissions [4]. And many of these choices that are good for the planet have co-benefits for us in that may lead to healthier lives and reduced financial costs [5]–[9]. Beyond the personal actions, the sustainable development goals also guide us to react on a deeper and widespread level through environmental, social and economic initiatives [10]. These movements all represent the collective power we can have in creating a better future.

We all respond to earth hour, day and month in different ways but the solidarity, collaboration and teamwork from humanity is utterly amazing. Regardless of our actions, it's great how people can come together. Let's lead by example to care for the planet that sustains us and transform earth month, day, hour into earth years!

References:

[1] “Earth Month.” https://www.earth-month.org/ (accessed Apr. 16, 2022).

[2] “Earth Day.” https://www.earthday.org/ (accessed Apr. 16, 2022).

[3] “Earth Hour.” https://www.earthhour.org/ (accessed Apr. 16, 2022).

[4] S. Wynes and K. A. Nicholas, “The climate mitigation gap: Education and government recommendations miss the most effective individual actions,” Environ. Res. Lett., vol. 13, no. 6, 2018, doi: 10.1088/1748-9326/aac9d0.

[5] L. Wang et al., “The co-benefits for food carbon footprint and overweight and obesity from dietary adjustments in China,” J. Clean. Prod., vol. 289, 2021, doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.125675.

[6] P. G. Bain et al., “Co-benefits of addressing climate change can motivate action around the world,” Nat. Clim. Chang., vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 154–157, 2016, doi: 10.1038/nclimate2814.

[7] D. Ürge-Vorsatz, S. T. Herrero, N. K. Dubash, and F. Lecocq, “Measuring the co-benefits of climate change mitigation,” Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour., vol. 39, pp. 549–582, 2014, doi: 10.1146/annurev-environ-031312-125456.

[8] C. E. Rissel, “Active travel: a climate change mitigation strategy with co-benefits for health.,” N. S. W. Public Health Bull., vol. 20, no. 1–2, pp. 10–13, 2009, doi: 10.1071/nb08043.

[9] M. Younger, H. R. Morrow-Almeida, S. M. Vindigni, and A. L. Dannenberg, “The Built Environment, Climate Change, and Health. Opportunities for Co-Benefits,” Am. J. Prev. Med., vol. 35, no. 5, pp. 517–526, 2008, doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.08.017.

[10] “THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development.” https://sdgs.un.org/goals (accessed Mar. 31, 2021).

The Sustainable Development Goals: A Lifeline for an Equitable World

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at UofT

The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable DevelopmentOpens an external site in a new window is an ambitious plan to achieve a peaceful and prosperous future that recognizes the immense obstacles to achieving a sustainable future, such as poverty, inequality, and climate change. At the heart of the Agenda are the 17 Sustainable Development GoalsOpens an external site in a new window (SDGs), which are urgent calls to action for all nations that balance the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.

Universities play an essential role in achieving the SDGs by contributing to global partnerships, education, and research. To address the SDGs, the University is currently developing a proposal that will map ideas to advance research and inform action on the SDGs. The proposal will build on current research initiatives and form new interdisciplinary and global partnerships that will further the SDGs.

The SDGs @ U of T initiative is supported by a faculty-led Steering Committee Opens an external site in a new window as well as a student-led Student Advisory Committee Opens an external site in a new windowwhose members represent diverse departments from U of T’s three campuses. Members of the Student Advisory Committee support the development of the ISI proposal by sharing their experiences and perspectives and by engaging the broader student body throughout the proposal development process.

Our Role as Students to Address the SDGs

As co-chairs of the Student Advisory Committee, we strongly believe that student advocacy is essential for universities to address the SDGs.

I, Kehkashan Basu, have been involved in the Sustainable Development process since 2012. As a 12-year-old, I was the youngest international delegate at the Rio+20 Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where the “The Future We Want” agenda was adopted. This agenda formed the bedrock of the Sustainable Development Goals mandate – the creation of a life of dignity for all that leaves no one behind. We, as students, are the present and future of our planet and therefore have a critical role to play in using our education to pave the way for innovation and creativity in order to mobilize the SDGs.

As a 15-year-old, I was the youngest out of the 193 young people selected to represent each UN member state when the SDGs were adopted at the 70th UN General Assembly in New York in 2015, where I stressed that the decisions, we make today will impact our future. In the intervening period between the Rio+20 Earth Summit in 2012 and the adoption of the SDGs in 2015, I was deeply involved in the Open Working Groups and Intergovernmental Negotiations, ensuring the inclusion of youth perspectives into the framework document.

It has been six years since the adoption of the SDGs and their implementation and localization have never been more imperative. In order to do so, awareness about the goals, targets and indicators are essential and students are in a unique position to absorb this knowledge and take action to help successfully implement the SDGs. We, as students of the U of T in particular, have the added advantage of being a part of an environment that promotes multidisciplinary learning. In turn, we as U of T students are well equipped to comprehend the interconnectedness of SDGs and how solutions for their implementation must be harmonized yet will also be context specific.

At the recent UN Climate Change Conference – COP26 – in Glasgow, Scotland, I highlighted the importance of viewing the SDGs through an intersectional lens that moves away from a silo-based approach. Instead, I recommended the adoption of multilateralism and multi-stakeholder actions as the way forward. I emphasized how gender equality, migrant justice, climate action, racial equality, and equitable access to education can be achieved through the intersectional lens of the SDGs. Since I was the Canadian delegate to the Pre-COP Youth Summit in Milan, Italy, I spoke about Canada’s role as a major world power at COP26 to facilitate the implementation of the SDGs. Particularly, I emphasized the role of civil society and students in transforming dialogue to action. As the world now sets its sights on COP27, we must not forget that actions for creating a better world cannot stop in between major conferences. At a time when the world has seen its inequalities highlighted, the SDGs provide a framework for action and we, as students, must leverage that to build a more equitable, just and sustainable world for current and future generations.