Alejandro Nasif Salum, Secretary of International Relations – Argentina LGBT Federation and  University Teacher, describes the new law and the years  long, coordinated effort of LGBT activists that led to this extraordinary progress.

On the night of Wednesday, May 9th Congress of Argentina enacted the Gender Identity and Health Comprehensive Care for Trans People Act.  It is the first time that the Argentinean Congress fully recognizes the rights of trans people, and the rule is probably the most advanced in the world in this regard.

From now on, anyone, just by manifesting his or her will through an affidavit, may request in the Civil Registry the change of sex and name in his or her identity card and birth certificate. Unlike what happens in other countries, he or she will not need the intervention of any judge, or a medical diagnosis, or witnesses, or have to wait a certain period before being granted the change of documentation.

Moreover, both the public health system and private must ensure comprehensive health care for trans people, and will have to cover hormone treatments, sex reassignment surgery or any other treatment they need. There is no need of judicial intervention or diagnosis of “gender dysphoria” or a “gender identity disorder.” In this sense we could say that the Argentine State depathologized trans identities.

Even people under 18 can access the documentation modification or health treatments. Just in the case of gender reassignment surgery that Congress has requested the intervention of juvenile justice.

We understand that while some of these features are present in other legislation in the world, the law in Argentina is really the only one with all these advances at the same time and in a single act that deals comprehensively with the rights of trans people.

By Julie Dorf

As an LGBT rights advocate, I have experienced so many proud moments with our president. Our community in the United States can count a number of major achievements during President Obama’s tenure: an inclusive hate crimes law; the repeal of the US military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy; and the hugely important decision that the attorney general will longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court.

So when the rumors started buzzing Wednesday morning that Obama was about to announce his support for marriage equality, it was yet another exciting moment of tangible progress in our country and by our president. When I watched the ABC interview, I was most struck by the weight he gave to his conversations around the dinner table with his daughters, who themselves have friends with lesbian and gay parents. Obama acknowledged that his daughters’ perspectives have helped him evolve: “It wouldn’t even dawn on them that somehow their friends’ parents would be treated differently.”

By Ging Cristobal

The Ninth Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples’ Forum, (ACSC/APF), was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia at the close of March. ASEANis an intergovernmental network formed to establish economic, socio-cultural, and political cooperation as well as regional peace amongst members. The ten member states include: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The forum, which provides civil society activists a space to engage with their respective governments, included lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) issues for the second time this year. Ging Cristobal, Asia Project Coordinator for IGLHRC attended the forum for the second time around and shares about the experience.

The Struggle Continues for LGBTIQ Rights in the ASEAN Peoples’ Forum
For LGBTIQ activists the ninth convening of the Forum was an uphill climb compared to their first engagement last year. Fewer civil society organizations and individuals participated this year, as many were protesting the process of the Cambodia organizing committee. They claimed the Cambodian committee failed to be transparent in the organizing process and did not adequately consult with the regional committee. Allegedly, this affected not only how local organizers ran the convening but also hindered civil society groups and non-governmental organizations in other ASEAN countries from seeking funds to participate in the event.

Another hurdle was that government-initiated non-government organizations didn’t attend the civil society led forum. These organizations, with cordial partnerships with governments from their countries, led a separate meeting also in Phnom Penh a day ahead of the grassroots-initiated convening,

Lastly, the deadline is fast approaching for the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights to bring forward the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration at the ASEAN Plus Summit in November 2012. To ensure that sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) not be included in the final draft, Brunei, Burma and Malaysia, asserted a strong opposition to Thailand’s recommendation to include sexual identity. LGBTIQ activists must give visibility to this bleak scenario and get support from mainstream civil society organizations to push for the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the final ASEAN Human Rights Declaration.

The LGBTIQ Caucus Meeting
Rainbow Community Kampuchea (RoCK), a local LGBTIQ group in Phnom Penh, initiated an LGBTIQ Caucus meeting days before the opening of the ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples’ Forum. The caucus meeting was a venue for exchange of information on strategies regarding LGBTIQ rights work between young activists from Cambodia and groups from ASEAN countries. Despite RoCK’s non-attendance of the forum out of protest, they still provided an opportunity to LGBTIQ activists from Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar-Burma, Vietnam, Thailand and Philippines attending the forum to meet, plan and strategize. I facilitated a workshop for the regional involvement of LGBTIQ activists in the forum and we came up with strategies and pertinent information for the statement released after the Sexual Orientation Gender Identity workshop.

Everyone agreed that our issues would be presented during open discussion in each workshop attended by LGBTIQ activists, particularly caucuses and workshops involving children, youth, health, migrant workers, women and the ASEAN Declaration of Human Rights.

The three recommendations presented during last year’s convening were still the unanimous call by LGBTIQ activists in ASEAN countries. We decided to adhere to these recommendations and add a call for the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the final ASEAN Declaration of Human Rights for our 2012 Caucus Statement. We gathered endorsements of the LGBTIQ statement from civil society organizations from both the LGBTIQ community and mainstream groups beyond those in attendance. Thirteen LGBTIQ groups signed the statement with support from international groups such as the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Association (ILGA-Asia). The statement was also by fifteen allied groups.

The Value of Self Determination Rights: Equality, Democracy and Diversity of Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity (SOGI) in ASEAN Values (The SOGI Workshop)
The SOGI workshop was made possible by the Center for Cambodian Human Rights (CCHR) with Hem Sokly at the helm, and the co-conveners: International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Arus Pelangi and HerLounge from Indonesia, and The Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment from Vietnam.

Getting to the workshop was a bit like “The Amazing Race”:  due to the absence of a detailed layout of room assignments and the logistical nightmare that the venue was not in one building, conference participants had to search for the room assignments, either using the elevator or taking a 5-minute walk under the scorching sun to another building. Nonetheless it was a lively and effective meeting.

President of the Center for Cambodian Human Rights, Ou Virak, opened the event by reiterating   support for sexual orientation and gender identity rights. Following Ou, five speakers shared how their activism emphasized the need to assert equality, democracy and pride as an LGBTIQ person living in Asia. Hem Sokly shared how LGBTIQ rights groups challenge the way culture discriminates against LGBTIQ people in Cambodia. Thilaga Sulathireh spoke of the legal struggles and continued fight for the right to association and freedom of expression brought about by the banning of Seksualiti Merdeka’s events on LGBTIQ rights in Malaysia. Yasmin Lee from the Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP) revealed the challenges and the success of their group in fighting for their right to be recognized as transgender women in the Philippines. Loan Vu and Teddy from ICS Center in Vietnam detailed the need for a support group like the Parent and Friends of Lesbian and Gay people in Vietnam (PFLAG) and how it can be replicated in other ASEAN countries. Lastly, Aung Myo Min from Human Rights Education Institute of Burma presented the realistic scenario of SOGI in relation to the Asian Human rights Declaration and the workshop theme – that the ASEAN values in the ASEAN Declaration of Human Rights will always be weak and incomplete if issues of sexual orientation and gender identity are denied their rightful place in the declaration.

Press Conferences
After the SOGI workshop we took part in two press conferences – the first with representatives from other workshops in the forum. Vien Tanjung of HerLounge from Indonesia presented the four recommendations from the SOGI workshop. The second press conference focused solely on Sexual Orientation Gender Identity.  With Vien Tanjung and King Oey of Arus Pelangi from Indonesia and Yasmin Lee from the Philippines I introduced the demand for the inclusion of SOGI in the ASEAN Declaration of Human Rights. The other three speakers then presented the SOGI statement. It was teamwork at its finest since the media was unaware that it was an impromptu effort on our part while we were waiting for other LGBTIQ activists to arrive.

An Inclusive Drafting Committee
Another strategy that was effective following last years’ involvement in the forum was the need to have an LGBTIQ activist on the Drafting Committee of the conference to ensure that issues concerning SOGI and LGBTIQ rights be retained. King Oey from Indonesia and Ryan Sylverio proved to be experts on this as they managed to negotiate and make sure that this goal was achieved.

Success!
LGBTIQ presence in the ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN Peoples’ Forum was a success! The momentum and visibility of SOGI rights were maintained and strengthened by the increased number of allies from mainstream civil society organizations who clearly see LGBT rights as human rights. This growing alliance will be important in the months ahead.

Realistically, there are strong efforts from countries such as Burma, Malaysia and Brunei to make sure SOGI will not be in the final declaration. But as I’ve stated publicly:  “We may not be successful in the inclusion of SOGI in the ASEAN Declaration of Human Rights but we want to make sure that SOGI is in the hearts and minds of every activist. We want to be sure that in all programs and advocacies you do, you make SOGI a part of it. Then we can say we did more than simply have SOGI on paper.”

Useful Terms:
ASEAN	Association of Southeast Asian Nations
ACSC	ASEAN Civil Society Conference
ACSC/APF	Joint annual convening
AHRD	ASEAN Human Rights Declaration
APF	ASEAN Peoples’ Forum
CCHR	Center for Cambodian Human Rights in Vietnam
IGLHRC	International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
iSEE	Institute for the Studies of Society, Economy and Environment in Vietnam
ICS	ICS CENTER – Connecting and Sharing Information
LGBTIQ	Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer (frequently used in South East Asia)
RoCk	Formal, unregistered LGBTIQ group in Cambodia
Seksualiti Merdeka	Malaysian Sexuality Festival (Pride event)
SOGI	Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity (common in UN parlance)

By Stephanie Horton and Cary Alan Johnson

This blog post first appearing in the Huffington Post »

When Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, recently expressed in an interview opposition to LGBT rights — specifically decriminalization — and was vague about support for increased criminal penalties for LGBT people, a shockwave was felt around the world. LGBT Liberians everywhere and all who have great respect for Sirleaf — a former political prisoner herself — were appalled and saddened. Such a narrow and discriminatory view from a revered and world-honored leader is unfathomable.

By Grace Poore

This post originally appeared in the Huffington Post »

On Feb. 24, 2012 in Loei province, Thailand, a 14-year-old girl reported to police that her 38-year-old father, who had sole custody of her since 2008, had been raping her continuously for four years because she “liked to hang out with toms” and wouldn’t listen to his instructions to stay away from them. She told police that the most recent rape had been on Feb. 11, 2012.

On Jan. 15, 2009 in Chiang Mai province, 17-year-old Orn-uma Wongprachit and her tomboy partner, 17-year-old Marisa Srisawa, were found dead. They had been stabbed over 60 times. Orn and Marisa worked at a karaoke bar to support their families. Police said they were killed by a man who was “attracted to one of the women and felt disdainful of the lesbian relationship.”

By Peter Dunne

This article originally appeared in the New Civil Rights Movement »

At the United Nations Human Rights Council March 2012 meeting in Geneva, an expert panel was convened to discuss the first-ever UN report focused on violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity: “Discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity,” ( A.HRC.19.41.)

The document, published by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the close of 2011, identified widespread and systematic rights violations that LGBT individuals are subject to around the world. Given that less than ten years ago much of the UN was silent on even the most extreme atrocities committed against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people, this event represents a truly historic moment.

This post was originally featured in the Huffington Post »

“In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad boldly declared to a public gathering in 2007. He continued his disparagement in September 2011 when he told a group of American journalists that homosexuality is a “despicable act … dirty and harmful to humanity.”

The Iranian government, to soften the rhetoric when violating human rights, relies on a spurious excuse: cultural difference. According to its logic, human rights standards are irrelevant to countries like Iran, whose ancient civilizations and cultural norms are rooted in religion or tradition. This argument posits that human rights are by definition a Western priority and cannot be considered universal. But a West-bashing argument just doesn’t hold up. From the Quran to the Bible, from the Torah to the ancient texts of Buddhism, Hinduism and other Eastern philosophies and faiths, the call for respect of life and human dignity is universal.

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission received  good news in the following letter  from Jihyye Kim  telling us of victory for LGBT Students in Korea.

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

 “We won the Seoul Student Rights Ordinance with all Sexual Orientation Gender Identity (SOGI) related clauses in the original draft included! 

…It happened after the 6 days of protest of LGBT young people and activists, day and night. This is a significant progress in our LGBT history, because we fought face-to-face against the homophobic individuals and groups, including many members of the Council…   The Council had serious debates on sexual orientation/ gender Identity  (SOGI) issues in their plenary session for the first time in our history. One of the Council members read out UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s recent speech…  That was the moment that the voices of LGBT people began to be heard, and LGBT people’s human rights recognized…

This post originally appeared in The New Civil Rights Movement.

Read the Update: Victory! Seoul Student Rights Ordinance Passed with Sexual Orientation Gender Identity Clauses Included

by Grace Poore

The Education Committee of the Seoul Metropolitan Council in Seoul, Korea has singled out sexual orientation and gender identity for exclusion from the draft bill of Seoul Students Rights Ordinance that can become law on December 19 in Korea’s capital city unless human rights activists manage to delay the bill or change the minds of the Education Committee. If passed, the Students Rights Ordinance will be the first initiative to explicitly protect students’ rights in Korea.

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission has sent an urgent letter (below) to the Korean Education Committee of the Seoul Metropolitan Council calling for reinstatement of the removed protections for LGBT students.

This post originally appeared on The Bilerico Project. Brian Tofte-Schumacher is Communications Associate at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. He tweets on @IGLHRC and personally as @briantschu.

A year and a half ago, when I said my teary-eyed goodbye to my mom after dropping two suitcases packed with all my essential belongings at the check-in counter for my one-way flight to New York City from Spokane International Airport, I had no idea I would soon be writing about my first experience at the United Nations — especially not this soon.

Nonetheless, here I am, ready for it or not. Saturday, December 10 marked the 63rd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, following a truly historic week. First came President Obama’s memorandum on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender human rights and US Foreign Policy issued by the White House. Then, we heard an amazingly LGBT-affirming speech from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to the United Nations in Geneva on Tuesday.