Afghanistan

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HIV and AIDS, HIV-Related Stigma and Discrimination, Intimate Partner Violence, Mental Health

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Violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE) is a grave violation of the human rights of sexual and gender minorities worldwide. 

Stopping violence to reduce HIV risk and mental health issues among sexual and gender minorities in South Asia

Men who have sex with men and transwomen face higher HIV and health risks as well as negative impacts on their mental health due to violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE). To stop this violence, there needs to be a better understanding of it, to know what is happening and why.

Australia: These are the queer refugees the government has locked up on a remote pacific island

Mohsen is one of more than 1,300 asylum seekers that Australia has sent, since 2012, to what is called the Manus Island detention center. It’s a facility for single men and teenage boys; several hundred women and families are being detained 1,300 miles to the east on the island nation of Nauru. They were all captured at sea while trying to reach Australia by boat from Indonesia, under a policy that even the UN secretary general has personally pleaded with the Australia’s prime minister to bring to an end.

Canberra calls this the “Pacific Solution” to the problem of people attempting to get to Australia by boat. Those it cannot force back into international waters it holds in camps outside its borders in an attempt to prevent them from asserting the right to asylum on its territory.

There’s an added fear for queer asylum seekers like Mohsen. They worry about being targeted by others in the camp, who are mostly from Iran and other countries where homosexuality is criminalized, including Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan. They also are afraid of Papua New Guinea’s police force because the country’s laws punish homosexuality with up to 14 years in prison. “This place is no better than Iran,” Mohsen said. “I wish I had died on that boat 100 times a day.” 

Read more via Buzzfeed

 

Thailand: New roadmap to progress LGBTI rights in Asia Pacific

A major regional workshop involving representatives from national human rights institutions (NHRIs) and civil society groups has concluded with a call for greater efforts to advance the rights of LGBTI people in the Asia Pacific.

The Programme of Action and Support on the role of NHRIs in promoting and protecting human rights in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity, including health rights, in Asia and the Pacific sets out a wide range of practical steps for NHRIs to bolster their work.

“In recent years, NHRIs in the Asia Pacific region have emerged as key advocates for the human rights of LGBTI people and their equality,” said Chris Sidoti. Representatives from the NHRIs of Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Timor Leste were among more than 40 participants involved in the two-day gathering. Read More