February 6, 2025
Egale Canada was registered to attend the upcoming Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations Headquarters in New York next month. As a regular attendee of this commission, we had looked forward to engaging in important and essential conversations relevant to 2SLGBTQI inclusion on a national and global level.
After deep consideration, we have decided not to engage in-person in this year’s Commission on the Status of Women or any other UN, OAS or global convenings, including World Pride, taking place in the United States in the foreseeable future.
This decision is foremost based on the need to safeguard our trans and non-binary staff who would face questionable treatment at land and aviation borders to attend such convenings, and to stand in solidarity with global colleagues who are experiencing similar fear around entry to the U.S.
It is also founded in the unique situation that has been thrust on Canadians (and citizens of other countries) regarding economic warfare and threats to our national sovereignty. We cannot in good conscience, engage in a process of disentangling our organization from U.S. goods and services (as we have recently released in a statement) and then proceed to travel to the U.S.
We will continue to work with civil society and government colleagues to ensure the best possible outcomes are achieved in these global spaces and continue to find ways to support our international partners during these trying times.
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Representatives from Egale Canada are available for further comment on this matter. To schedule an interview please email: media@egale.ca.