The Commonwealth of Nations, most of them former British colonies, has granted legal recognition to an LGBTI group for the first time. Overall, the group has a poor record on LGBTI rights — of the 52 countries in the Commonwealth, 36 have laws against consensual same-sex intimacy. Continue reading
Advocates for queer liberation need to nurture a new generation of grassroots leaders who are well-versed in local culture, says Sri Lankan trans researcher Chamindra Weerawardhana. Only they can refute the conservative argument that LGBTQI rights are an unwelcome Western neocolonialist import. Continue reading
The U.N. General Assembly today rejected a plan to undo the U.N. Human Rights Council’s June decision to hire a watchdog to investigate violations of LGBTI rights. Among the countries supporting the LGBTI rapporteur were South Africa, which had earlier indicated support for the anti-LGBTI proposal; Sri Lanka and Kiribati, two countries that still … Continue reading
Many signs of progress, but also many instances of ongoing persecution of LGBTI people, are contained in the following round-up of the world’s recent LGBTI-related news, most of which was excerpted with slight modifications from the UNAIDS publication Equal Eyes: Human rights Activists in Odessa, Ukraine, convinced authorities to reconsider a last-minute ban that would … Continue reading
Human Rights Watch reported: Pakistan: Attacks on Transgender Women Surge Promptly Investigate, Prosecute Those Responsible (New York, August 23, 2016) – Pakistani authorities should urgently investigate the surge in violent attacks on transgender women in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Human Rights Watch said today. They should also investigate allegations that medical staff and police failed to … Continue reading
Thirteen countries in Asia have one thing in common: Each one has a law that prohibits same-sex intimacy. But otherwise they are remarkably diverse, ranging from tiny Maldives (population 350,000) to huge India (population 1.3 billion) with societies displaying a wide range of attitudes toward their LGBTI citizens. In some countries, such as India, many … Continue reading
News briefs about countries with anti-gay laws, excerpted with slight modifications from UNAIDS’s Equal Eyes recap of the world’s LGBTI-related news. MUTUAL SUPPORT In Sri Lanka, the group Equal Ground has released a music video “Nothing but Pride,” shot entirely in Colombo, Sri Lanka. In Indonesia, transgender Muslims, the third gender known as waria, … Continue reading
News briefs about countries with anti-gay laws or considering anti-gay legislation, excerpted with slight modifications from UNAIDS’s Equal Eyes recap of the world’s LGBTI-related news. (This is the first of three posts. The second one will report news from Iran, Morocco, ISIS, Kenya, Gambia and Uganda. The third will report news from Jamaica, Russia and … Continue reading
LGBTI activists in Sri Lanka hope that a new group of reform-minded leaders who took office early this month will move the country closer to repeal of its ancient anti-gay law. “We are confident they will do the right thing,” said Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, executive director of the Sri Lankan LGBTI group Equal Ground. Kaleidoscope Australia … Continue reading
By Rosanna Flamer-Caldera and Denis LeBlanc The Sri Lankan LGBTIQ group Equal Ground celebrated its 10th anniversary on June 10 with a special event at the Goethe Institute in Colombo. The organization works to overcome the challenges that the LGBTIQ community faces — criminalization of same-sex relationships, cultural and social stigma, discrimination, marginalization, violence, mental health … Continue reading
