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Yogyakarta principles
The Yogyakarta Principles (2006, supplemented in 2017) are not a UN treaty. They are a document by human rights experts that has not been adopted by states and is not legally binding (source). Even so, the principles are often cited in policy on gender identity.
What the document is
From 6 to 9 November 2006 human rights experts met at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, at a meeting organised by the International Commission of Jurists and the International Service for Human Rights. They drew up 29 principles on sexual orientation and gender identity; the document was presented in Geneva in March 2007 (source).
On 10 November 2017 the Yogyakarta Principles plus 10 added nine principles (30 to 38) and further state obligations, among other things on gender expression and sex characteristics (source).
Not binding law — but a policy lever
The principles have not been adopted by states in a treaty and are not by themselves a legally binding part of international human rights law; they are meant as an aid to interpreting human rights treaties. Some states have expressed reservations and the UN has never accepted them (source).
Helen Joyce argues in Trans (2021) that lobbying by trans activists allowed gender identity to replace biological sex in policy (source). Kathleen Stock (Material Girls, 2021) criticises the theory that gender identity should weigh more heavily in society than biological sex.
Effect on national policy
Several countries introduced legal self-identification, such as Argentina (2012), Ireland (2015) and Malta (2015). The Netherlands has had a Transgender Act since 2014 that requires an expert statement; the bill to abolish that statement (35825) was withdrawn in 2025 (source). See also the Dutch rollout and the European rollout.
Connection with medical classifications
For the medical side, see the DSM evolution and the ICD evolution, and on the role of self-report as a source. On the WPATH guidelines, see the WPATH Files.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. The principles have not been adopted by states in a treaty and are not by themselves legally binding.
Human rights experts at a meeting in Yogyakarta in November 2006, organised by the International Commission of Jurists and the International Service for Human Rights; supplemented in 2017 by YP+10.
The principles are not binding; the UN has never accepted them.
Critics such as Helen Joyce (2021) argue that through lobbying, gender identity came to replace biological sex in policy.
The Cass Review is about care for young people, not about the Yogyakarta Principles; it calls that care "an area of remarkably weak evidence".
Sources
- The Yogyakarta Principles (2006).
- The Yogyakarta Principles plus 10 (2017).
- Joyce, H. (2021). Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality. Oneworld.
- Stock, K. (2021). Material Girls. Fleet.
- Cass, H. (2024). Independent Review — Final Report.