On 14 May, the first plenary meeting of the newly established Council of Europe Committee of Experts on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics (ADI-SOGIESC) convened in The Hague. During the session, the committee elected Yuri de Boer (the Netherlands) as Chair and Aaron Giardina (Malta) as Vice-chair.

The Committee currently comprises 37 members appointed representatives from member States, various international organisations as ‘participants’, and includes 8 LGBTI international NGOs as observers.

In line with its Terms of Reference 2024-2027, the committee will undertake several significant initiatives. These include the preparation of a Draft Recommendation on the equality of rights of intersex persons to be adopted by the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers by the end of 2025, the drafting of a Council of Europe strategy for the equality of rights of LGBTI persons (2027-2032), the review of the implementation by member states of Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)5 on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity, and the conduct of a study on the risks and impediments to the full access to rights resulting from discrimination and violence on grounds of gender expression by 2027.