Statement from the ASEAN LGBTIQ Caucus
ASEAN Human Rights
Declaration Refuse to Protect LGBTIQ Rights!
We, the
ASEAN LGBTIQ Caucus[1] are
outraged and disappointed by the decision of the ASEAN Head of
States to adopt the AHRD that intentionally excludes sexual orientation and
gender identity (SOGI). Despite countless attempts and demands by the members
of civil society, including LGBTIQ groups, to push for its inclusion, ASEAN
have remained reticent to the attempts. This AHRD not only shows a lack of
respect to LGBTIQ people but also makes a mockery of the international human
rights values and principles that all nations and citizens abide by and are
held accountable to.
“Evidently,
the numerous failed attempts to engage with AICHR and the recent adoption of
ASEAN Declaration with no mention of SOGI, sends a clear message that the human
rights of LGBTIQ people are irrelevant to them,” explained Vien Tanjung,
founder of Her Lounge.
All
10-member countries of ASEAN have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the
Rights of the Child (CRC), which have specific provisions of non-discrimination
on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, and are therefore,
obliged to protect and promote the rights of LGBTIQ people in the ASEAN region.
“Malaysia
is a member country of the UN Human Rights Council and Malaysia was re-elected
for the second term this year. It is shocking that ASEAN with such collective
expertise and knowledge on human rights; discrimination is still persistent in
this region. This is evidenced by the exclusion of SOGI in the AHRD,” said
Thilaga, an LGBTIQ activist.
In order
for the AHRD to be a relevant and credible human rights tool that protects and
benefits the ASEAN community as a whole without discrimination as it aspires to
be, the declaration has to be consistent with existing international human
rights laws.
Jean Chong
of Sayoni from Singapore also expressed her disappointment to the exclusion of
SOGI in the AHRD. “No ASEAN citizen can aspire to her/his fullest potential as
a citizen in their respective country with the tunnel vision and self serving
approach of their governments.”
“We
encourage everyone to publicly denounce support and legitimacy of the ASEAN
Declaration. The priority of this declaration is not human rights, but economic
and political interests of the ASEAN states at the expense of the ASEAN
peoples,” explained Ging Cristobal, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission (IGLHRC)
BACKGROUND
The
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional organization
established in 1967 that comprises of countries in the South East Asia region.
In 2009, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on
Human Rights (AICHR) was formed to
promote and protect the human rights of people in the region and was tasked to
formulate the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD), which aimed to standardize
all human rights of all people in the Southeast region of Asia.
CONTACT
INFO:
Endorsed
by,
- Akei, Philippines
- Aksi
for Gender, Social and Ecological Justice, Indonesia
- Alliance of Young
Nurse Leaders & Advocates International Inc., Philippines
- Amnesty
International Philippines
- Anjaree, Thailand
- Arus Pelangi,
Indonesia
- Asia
Pacific Transgender Network (APTN)
- B-Change
Foundation, Philippines
- Babaylanes,
Philippines
- Bahaghari
Dasmarinas, Ekklesia Tou Theou (Church of God), Philippines
- CamASEAN Youth's Future Group Work for Human Rights, Cambodia
- Drodrolagi Movement, Fiji
- For Gender
Identity and Sexual Orientation Rights Project (For-SOGI), Thailand
- Forum LGBTIQ
Indonesia
- Free Community
Church, Singapore
- GAYa
NUSANTARA, Indonesia
- GWLmuda -
Indonesian National Coalition of Young Gay, Waria and other MSM, Indonesia
- Harry Benjamin
Syndrome (HBS), Indonesia
- HerLounge,
Indonesia
- Indignation,
Singapore
- Indonesia for
Human’s
- Indonesian
Women's Coalition for Justice and Democration (Koalisi Perempuan Indonesia
untuk Keadilan dan Demokrasi), Indonesia
- International
Commission of Jurists
- International Gay Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)
- International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association ASIA
- iSee, Vietnam
- Justice for
Sisters, Malaysia
- KANHNHA, Cambodia
- Knowledge
and Rights with Young people through Safer Spaces (KRYSS), Malaysia
- Ladlad Region II,
Philippines
- Likhaan Center
For Women's Health, Philippines
- Lunduyan ng
Sining, Philippines
- Malaysian
Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM), Malaysia
- Migrant
Forum in Asia
- Oogachaga,
Singapore
- Our Voice
Indonesia
- People like Us,
Singapore
- Pergerakan Indonesia
- Perkumpulan Equitas Indonesia (Equitas Indonesia Association), Indonesia
- Philwomen on ASEAN, Philippines
- Philippine Forum on Sports, Culture, Sexuality and Human Rights (TEAM PILIPINAS)
- Pink Dot, Singapore
- Project X, Singapore
- Projek Dialog, Malaysia
- Proud to be LGBT
Campaign (PTBL)
- Q-Munity - Queer
activism through arts and films, Indonesia
- Rainbow Community
Kampuchea (RoCK), Cambodia
- Rainbow Pilipinas
Production
- Rainbow Rights, Project, Inc., Philippines
- Safe Singapore, Singapore
- Sayoni, Singapore
- Seksualiti
Merdeka, Malaysia
- Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign, Singapore
- SinQSA (Singapore Queer Straight Alliance), Singapore
- Solidaritas Perempuan, Indonesia
- Sons, Singapore
- South East Asian
Committee for Advocacy (SEACA)
- Southeast
Asia Women's Caucus on ASEAN
- TLF
Collective Share, Philippines
- Thai
Transgender Alliance, Thailand
- The Alliance of
Young Health Advocates, Philippines
- The
Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association- ADHO, Cambodia
- The
Lesbian Activism Project, Philippines
- Think Centre,
Singapore
- Transgender
Colors, Inc. Cebu City, Philippines
- Women's Legal and
Human Rights Bureau (WLB), Philippines
- Young Out Here,
Singapore
- Youth Voices
Count, Regional Network of young MSM and TG, Asia Pacific
The ASEAN LGBTIQ
Caucus released a petition on November 6, 2012 to mobilize support for the
inclusion of the sexual orientation and gender identity in the ASEAN Human
Rights Declaration. 1,384 individuals signed the petition.
[1] The ASEAN LGBT Caucus is a loose coalition of LGBTIQ groups and
indiviudals across Southeast Asian countries fighting for the inclusion of LGBT
rights in the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration.