Sexual minorities include various groups that share common trails relating to sexual orientation, sexual identification or distinctive sexual behaviours. Sexual orientation is the identified as sexual and emotional inclination of an individual toward members of a specific gender, and it is generally classified as homosexual, heterosexual or bisexual. A distinction needs to be made between the emotional and cognitive aspects of a person and his or her external behaviour. For a variety of reasons, identification of sexual orientation is not always easily understood, defined, or clear.

Sexual identification is the sexual perception by an individual and whether or not he or she views him/herself as a man or as a woman. Some of these individuals change their sexual identity via sexual reassignment surgery while others live occasionally or full-time as a member of his or her identified sex while maintaining all or part of the biological aspects of the opposite gender.
Sexual orientation is a relatively recent notion in human rights law and practice and one of the controversial ones in politics. Prejudices, negative stereotypes and discrimination are deeply imbedded in our value system and patterns of behaviour. For many public officials and opinion-makers the expression of homophobic prejudice remains both legitimate and respectable - in a manner that would be unacceptable for any other minority.
Sexual behaviours, on the other hand, do not include the internal aspects of sexuality or personality but the behaviours associated with sex. While it would be hard to argue that race is not ascribed, sexual minority status is often perceived as their innate (ascribed) or chosen (achieved). Therefore, various levels of overt or covert discrimination may ensue. A distinction needs to be made between innate personality characteristics such as gender identification and sexual orientation and the sexual behaviours and conduct of individuals. Various sexual behaviours transmit HIV infection while person’s gender identification and sexual orientation do not lead to HIV transmission.
Every woman, man, youth and child has the human right to freedom of sexual orientation. This includes the fundamental human right to freedom from discrimination based on sexual orientation or any other status, and other fundamental human rights dependent upon realization of the human right to freedom from discrimination. The human rights related to non-discrimination are explicitly set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other widely adhered to international human rights treaties and Declarations. While these documents do not contain direct references to discrimination based on sexual orientation, they do prohibit discrimination on grounds of sex. In 1993 the UN Commission on Human Rights declared that the prohibition against sex discrimination in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights included discrimination on the basis of sexual preference.
The Rights of sexual minorities
The Human Right to Freedom of Sexual Orientation entitles every woman, man, youth and child to fundamental human rights including:
· The human right to freedom from any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on sexual orientation, gender, race, colour, national or ethnic origin, language, religion, political or other opinion, age, or any other status, which has the purpose or effect of impairing the enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms; and the human right to effective protection against such discrimination.
· The human right of all persons to freedom from discrimination and to be free from violence and harassment in all areas and levels of education, healthcare, housing, and work.
· The human right to the highest attainable standard of health. The right to physical and mental health is at conflict with discriminatory policies. The human right to live in a safe and healthy environment.
· The human right to protection from torture, cruel, inhumane, or degrading treatment. The right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment is infringed upon by police practices, in investigations or in the case of lesbians, gays and bisexuals in detention.
· The human right to protection against arbitrary or unlawful interference with one's privacy, family, or home. The right to form a family is denied by governments by not-recognizing same sex families and by denying the rights otherwise granted by the state to heterosexual families who have not sought legal recognition, but still enjoy several rights. Children can also be denied protection against separation from parents based of a parent's sexual orientation. Lesbians, gay and bisexual couples and individuals are not allowed to adopt a child, even in the case of the child of their same sex partner.
· The human right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. The rights to free expression and free association may either be denied explicitly by law, or lesbians, gays and bisexuals may not enjoy them because of the homophobic climate in which they live. The practice of religion is usually restricted in the case of lesbians, gays and bisexuals, especially in the case of churches advocating against them.
· The human right to participate in shaping decisions and policies affecting one's community, on the local, national and international level.
· The human right to work is the most affected among the economic rights, many lesbians, gays and bisexuals being fired because of their sexual orientation or discriminated in employment policies and practices.
· The rights to social security, assistance and benefits, and from here - the standard of living - are affected, for example when they have to disclose the identity of their spouse.
· Lesbian, gay and bisexual students may not enjoy the right to education because of an unsafe climate created by educators in schools.
International mechanism
Human rights rest on the idea that all human beings have certain basic rights simply because they are human. As such, they are necessarily equal rights. As stated in Article 1 of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “All are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” The main principles guiding the rights approach on sexual orientation relate to equality and non-discrimination. Human rights advocates, lawyers and other activists seek to ensure social justice and guarantee the dignity of lesbians, gays and bisexuals and so do the international human rights instruments as well.
The right to protection against discrimination is an explicit guarantee of equal and thus all human rights for every person, despite the myriad other differences between human beings. As article 2 of the UDHR proclaims, “Everyone is entitled to all the rights ... without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status....”
Likewise the UDHR guarantees the right to life, liberty and security of person, rights against torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, equality before law and equal protection of the law, right against arbitrary interference with his privacy, right to form family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation, right to marry and to found a family, right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, to freedom of opinion and expression; right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, realization of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
Articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights respects and ensure the equal right to the enjoyment of all civil and political rights, rights against torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, right to right to liberty and security of person, equality before the courts, rights against arbitrary or unlawful interference with his privacy, family, home nor to unlawful attacks on his honour and reputation, right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks, right to freedom of thought, conscience, right to hold opinions without interference and right to freedom of expression. Everyone shall have the right to freedom of association, every child shall have, without any discrimination as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, national or social origin, property or birth, the right to such measures of protection as are required by his status as a minor. The law shall prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground.
Articles of International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, ensures rights to exercised the right guaranteed in the covenant without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Likewise States Parties undertake to ensure the equal right to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights. The States Parties recognize the right of everyone to Fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value without distinction of any kind, recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, Equal opportunity for Education and recognize the right of everyone to take part in cultural life and scientific progress.
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, condemn discrimination against women in all its forms, agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women and embody the principle of the equality in their national constitutions and to ensure the practical realization of this principle; To adopt legislative and other measures prohibiting all discrimination against women; To establish legal protection of the rights of women and to ensure the effective protection of women against any act of discrimination; To refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination against women and to ensure that public authorities shall act in conformity with this obligation; To take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women by any person, organization or enterprise; To take all appropriate measures to modify or abolish existing laws, regulations, customs and practices which constitute discrimination against women. Ensure equal rights in the field of education, the elimination of any stereotyped concept of the roles of men and women at all levels and in all forms of education, ensures on a basis of equality the same rights, in particular the right to work, the right to the same employment opportunities, the right to promotion, job security and the right to vocational training, the right to equal remuneration, equal treatment in work of equal value, equal access to health care services and ensure the same rights to bank loans, mortgages and other forms of financial credit.
Article 2 of Convention on the Rights of the Child, respect and ensure rights without discrimination of any kind irrespective of the child's or his or her parent's or legal guardian's race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, property, disability, birth or other status. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that the child is protected against all forms of discrimination or punishment on the basis of the status, activities, expressed opinions, or beliefs of the child's parents, legal guardians, or family members.
Brazilian resolution: the tool for protection of sexual minorities
In April 2003 the Brazilian government introduced a historic resolution on ‘Human rights and sexual orientation’. The resolution itself did not go very far as it merely ‘expresses deep concern at the occurrence of violations of human rights in the world against persons on the grounds of their sexual orientation’ and ‘stresses that human rights and fundamental freedoms are the birthright of all human beings, that the universal nature of these rights and freedoms is beyond question and that the enjoyment of such rights and freedoms should not be hindered in any way on the grounds of sexual orientation’

The Resolution mentions human rights violations and attacks on fundamental liberties on the grounds of sexual orientation, and calls on Member States to promote and uphold the human rights of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation. It also asks the UNCHR and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to investigate the subject.

It is important to note that the resolution does not in any manner create any new rights, but merely affirms that the existing rights framework should apply regardless of sexual orientation. It recognizes sexual orientation as a ground of discrimination and asks existing human rights mechanisms to give due attention to the subject’.

Why is it important that the Resolution is passed? -
It would be the first UN CHR resolution to connect the full range of human rights to sexual orientation, to condemn discrimination on its basis.
Wherever sexual orientation-based discriminatory legislation is in place, the Resolution could be invoked as evidence that this legislation is contrary to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and global trends opposing such discrimination.
Wherever sexual orientation based murders, torture and arbitrary arrests happen, the Resolution could be invoked to demand a more active role from the States involved to prevent discrimination and violence, protect victims and bring perpetrators to justice.
It would strengthen asylum claims based on persecution due to sexual orientation as it strengthens the call to state obligations to protect against such persecution
As a key building block in global understanding of human rights, it could be invoke to call on the States to end all discrimination based on sexual orientation in economic and social rights (access to health, education, housing).

In the context of Nepal
Human rights be equally available to those born high or low on society's scale of social status and origin. The Constitution under the Chapter on Fundamental Rights has made an effort to guarantee the basic human rights which also ensures Constitutional guarantee of remedies in case of violation of the rights. The Constitution has guaranteed the right to equality to all its citizens. It upholds the basic principle of equality, i.e. equality before law and equal protection of law, the principle of non-discrimination in the application of general laws on the basis of religion, race, sex, caste, tribe or ideological conviction and states that citizens shall not be discriminated amongst one another on the basis of religion, race, sex, caste, tribe or ideological conviction.

Article 12 of the constitution guarantees the right to freedom to all its citizens which ensure the personal liberty, freedom of expression, freedom to freedom of opinion and expression; freedom to assemble peaceably and without arms; freedom to form unions and associations; freedom to move throughout the Kingdom and reside in any part thereof; and freedom to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, industry, or trade.

Civil Rights Act 1955- Article 3 of the act states No citizen shall be denied equality before the law or equal protection under the law. And the article 4 of the act also clearly mentions that no discrimination to be made on the basis of religion, caste, community or sex. The act also guarantees the right to life or individual liberty of a person, protection in respect to arrest, which shall not be taken away except in accordance with current Nepal law.

Torture compensation act 1997 is another instrument which has a mechanism to provide compensation to a person for having been subjected to physical or mental torture or, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment while in detention for investigation or awaiting trial or for any other reason.

Constraints
Sexual minorities are not merely people who engaged in deviant sexual behavior. They are despised and targeted by mainstream society because of their sexuality, victims of systematic denials of rights because of their sexuality. Sexual minorities are human beings who have been identified by dominant social groups as somehow less than fully human, thus not entitled to the same rights as we enjoy. In many countries the intimate behaviour and loving relationship of sexual minorities are defined as crime. Sexual orientation is not an accepted ground for discrimination in employment, housing or access to public facilities and social services. And in all countries sexual minorities suffer under substantial civil disabilities. some of the constraint are below mention:

1. Rights of sexual minorities is not recognized in law and in practice
2. “LGBT rights as human rights” is yet to be recognized in the human rights movement
3. Unlike in European countries, rights of sexual minorities is yet to be institutionalized in the country
4. Societal attitudes, prejudices, isolation and segregation towards sexual minorities
5. Lack of special legislation in the rights of sexual minorities
6. Lack of policies and special programmes to address the issues of sexual minorities

A way ahead to go
The moral and conceptual case for extending protection of sexual minorities is overwhelming. They are the human beings exercising their rights of personal autonomy to speak and behave as they choose and to associate in public and private but the deep social prejudice prevents them to continued victimization and there is no real chance for explicit inclusion of sexual orientation among internationally prohibited grounds of discrimination. Though the struggle for effective enjoyment of rights to nondiscrimination remains, some programme can be done.

1. Awareness and sensitization programme in regard to the human rights of sexual minorities
2. Enactment of Special law to address the issues of Sexual minorities
3. Advocacy and Lobby on UN Resolution “Brazilian Resolution” on Human Rights and Sexual Orientation
   Bring the issue in the mainstream of human rights movement

References
The Human Right to Freedom of Sexual Orientation, The People's Movement for Human Rights Education, www.pdhre.org
Jack Donnelly, Non-discrimination and sexual orientation making a place for sexual minorities in Global human rights regime.
www.hrea.org