We, the undersigned organizations, express our deep solidarity with our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and gender-diverse/non-binary (LGBTIQ+) siblings around the region who are at the forefront of movements seeking to uphold human rights and democratic values. We affirm that LGBTIQ+ rights and inclusion will only flourish in democratic societies where meaningful participation, dissent, and checks and balances are respected and guaranteed.

The struggle to confront and overcome violence is a daily reality for women, transgender persons, and gender-diverse persons.Violence manifests in different ways direct and indirect forms of violence. It limits human potential and impedes one's enjoyment of a life with dignity.

This reality is fueled by a deep seated patriarchal and heterosexist culture, and reinforced by social institutions. It works through religious, cultural, and state institutions, embodied in policies that govern in the public and private spheres; legislative products, political attitudes, social norms, language systems, knowledge, technology, economy, belief, and arts.

Indonesia’s Revised Criminal Code (Revisi Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Pidana) legislating hate against LGBTQ persons.

We, the undersigned civil society organizations working in Southeast Asia, express serious concern over the looming criminalization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) and other gender minorities in Indonesia. We call on the government of Indonesia to reconsider the approval of the proposed amendments to the Indonesian Criminal Code that restricts freedom of religion, punishes consensual same-sex relations and opens the door for harassment against LGBTQ persons.

ASEAN SOGIE Caucus expresses concern over the recent case of suicide involving Kyaw Zin Win, serving as librarian at Myanmar Imperial University – MIU. AS DESCRIBED BY LOCAL ACTIVISTS, he was honest and down to earth young man, a reserved person who hadn’t disclosed his sexual orientation to even close family members. However, he was forced to come out to his supervisor at Myanmar Imperial University – MIU following feedback from third parties. This traumatic experience led to further attacks and harassment by co-workers on social media suggesting he should be sent into the military, among      other mocking remarks. Such incident is proof how social stigma and hate based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression (SOGIE) poses as a threat to the human right to life of LGBTIQ persons.   

In a joint letter sent to the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AIHCR), ASC together with fellow regional human rights organizations, namely the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Forum Asia and the Southeast Asia Press Alliance (SEAPA), expressed concern over the human rights implications of Brunei's Syariah Penal Code. The groups argued that Brunei's Syariah law contradicts international human rights law, particularly those focusing on women's rights and children's rights.

With a closer look of the Syariah Penal Code, the groups cautioned that the provisions impose punishments that are considered a form of torture and ill-treatment. Moreover, the law restricts women's body autonomy and right to privacy as it criminalizes consensual sexual relations outside marriage. Moreover, there are provisions the limits freedom of religion, belief and expression.

We call on the government of Brunei to uphold human rights. Make Brunei a true abode of peace – a society where compassion and humanity prevails.

The ASEAN SOGIE Caucus (ASC) strongly call on the government of Brunei to halt the full implementation of the Sharia Penal Code. ASC is concerned that the said law is contrary to international human rights standards that the country is bound to respect. We remind the government of Brunei of its commitments to uphold the right to life, freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment, and non-discrimination as enshrined in both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the ASEAN Human Rights Declaration (AHRD).

(12 March 2019) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), Pusat KOMAS, and the ASEAN SOGIE Caucus express grave concern over the public reaction from conservative groups and government officials to the Women’s March on 9 March 2019. Particularly the backlash received by the Organising Committee of the march and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, and Queer (LGBTIQ) people in the country has been worrying. We urge the concerned parties to act with restraint and with full attention to the legitimate demands of civil society organisation on substantive equality.

The recent Women’s March on 9 March 2019 was a peaceful rally, during which one of the main demands were to end all forms of violence and discrimination, including against people with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC). The march itself and all the demands made during the gathering fall fully within the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, as guaranteed for all Malaysian citizens.

ASEAN SOGIE Caucus joins the world in celebration of this year’s International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOTB). Our commitment has always been to solidarity with all LGBTIQ people and all broader coalitions of human rights advocates wherever we operate. We reaffirm this commitment today.

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• Today marks another year of struggle for the rights of women. ASEAN SOGIE Caucus joins in solidarity with the movements for the rights of women at all levels of society, especially those whose struggles are waged in defiance against increasingly violent, homophobic, transphobic, and misogynist forces. #HerStory is our story, and it is a story that we will write together.

  But when we #PressForProgress for women, we must ask: for which women? Does our #PressForProgress count all women? Does the #PressForProgress end when we talk about women who love women, or women whose bodies were assigned male at birth, or women who do not fit the look and feel of “woman”? When we #PressForProgress, do we press wide enough?

  It is a point of pride for the women’s rights movements in Southeast Asia that the struggle has grown to include the rights of lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LBTQ) women. We can be proud because silence is the enemy of justice: the story of any woman removed from #HerStory is an outrage against the values the women’s movement stands for. But these stories, which were shared in last year’s caucus of LBTQ women across Asia[1], reflect an increasingly urgent situation. They tell us that “families are often sites of violence and discrimination against LBTQ persons”; that “they are at heightened risk of harassment, intimidation, arbitrary arrest, or trumped-up charges by state actors with impunity”; and that “even LGBTIQ+ movements have failed to acknowledge the serious health dimensions of the discrimination and violence that LBTQ people experience.” These are unacceptable circumstances that we must fight to address.

  Our rights are rarely given: they are fought for, and must be defended when they are won. Even as LBTQ women are embraced in the women’s movement, we cannot remain comfortable. The war that is being waged against LBTQ women in many parts of Southeast Asia has intensified their cruelties, and almost every day we find new entries into #HerStory marked by fear, grief, and even bloodshed. We cannot allow our story, which is beautiful and diverse, to be overwhelmed by so much suffering.

  Today, we call on all LBTQ women to keep claiming their spaces in our #PressForProgress, and to make #HerStory a story that captures the true spirit, diversity, and vigor of LBTQ women’s struggles. And we call on the larger women’s movement to embrace this same energy as their own, and to assert that every woman is included in the story that we write.

• #HerStory adalah Sejarah Kita: #PressForProgress Bersama Perempuan LBTQ

  Hari ini bertambah tahun lagi penanda perjuangan untuk hak-hak perempuan. ASEAN SOGIE Caucus tururt bersolidaritas dengan gerakan untuk hak perempuan di semua lapisan masyarakat, terutama mereka yang perjuangannya dikhususkan untuk melawan meningkatnya kekerasan, homofobia, transfobia, dan misoginistik. #HerStory , sejarah mereka para perempuan adalah sejarah kita juga, dan adalah sejarah yang akan kita tulis bersama.

  #PressForProgress , Mendorong perubahan ke arah yang lebih progresif adalah tema global peringatan hari perempuan internasional tahun ini. Namun demikian, ketika kita berbicara tentang mendorong perubahan bagi perempuan, ada hal yang patut dipertanyakan kembali: perempuan yang mana? Apakah #PressForProgress menghitung semua perempuan? Apakah #PressForProgress mengikutsertakan perempuan yang mencintai perempuan atau perempuan yang tubuhnya sejak terlahir bukan bertubuh perempuan secara biologis? Atau perempuan yang seringkali dianggap ‘kurang perempuan’ karena berpenampilan diluar ketetapan sebagai perempuan? Kita patut menanyakan ulang apakah #PressForProgress tak lagi biner ketika membicarakan tentang perempuan?

  Pada titik ini, sebuah kebanggan bagi gerakan perempuan di Asia Tenggara dimana perjuangan perempuan telah berada pada perkembangan, yang mencakup hak-hak perempuan lesbian, biseksual, transgender, dan queer (LBTQ). Kita harus tetap mendongak meski dalam kesunyian karena keheningan adalah musuh keadilan: sejarah perempuan yang dihapus oleh sejarah adalah tetap sejarah seperti layaknya kisah dimana pada tahun lalu Kaukus Perempuan LBTQ menyatakan sebuah pernyataan sebagai sebuah hasil dari pertemuan para perempuan LBTQ dari berbagai negara Asia dan mencerminkan situasi yang semakin mendesak. Mereka menyebutkan bahwa "keluarga seringkali merupakan tempat dimana kekerasan dan diskriminasi terhadap orang-orang LBTQ berasal"; bahwa “perempuan LBTQ memiliki resiko tinggi untuk mengalami kekerasan seksual, intimidasi, penangkapan sewenang-wenang, atau tuduhan palsu oleh aktor negara yang memiliki kekebalan hukum"; dan "bahkan gerakan LGBTIQ+ lagi-lagi telah gagal dalam mengenali persoalan yang dialami kelompok LGBTIQ terutama dalam dimensi diskriminasi sektor kesehatan dan kekerasan yang dialami orang-orang LBTQ." Keadaan ini tak seharusnya kita hadapi lagi, kita harus melawan!.

  Hak-hak kita tak diberikan begitu saja; kita harus memperjuangkannya dan harus mempertahankannya saat hak tersebut telah kita dapat. Bahkan ketika gerakan perempuan telah merangkul gerakan perempuan LBTQ, kita tetap harus berwaspada. Perang yang ditujukan untuk perempuan LBTQ di banyak wilayah Asia Tenggara telah meningkatkan kekejaman diantara kita, dan hampir setiap hari kita menemukan titik baru dimana menorehkan sejarah dengan ketakutan, kesedihan, dan bahkan pertumpahan darah. Kita tidak bisa membiarkan sejarah kita yang indah dan beragam, terbebani oleh begitu banyak penderitaan.

  Hari ini, kami mengajak semua perempuan LBTQ untuk terus mengambil ruang dalam #PressForProgress dan membuat sejarah perempuan #HerStory sebuah sejarah yang inklusi dan memasukkan semua kategori perempuan yang beragam dengan penuh semangat perjuangan. Dan kami menyeru kepada gerakan perempuan agar merangkul perempuan dalam makna yang lebih besar dengan semangat yang sama yang kami miliki, dan memastikan bahwa setiap perempuan dengan lapisan lain masuk dalam sejarah yang ditoreh dan dituliskan.

[1] For the full statement of the LBTQ Caucus in 4-5 December 2017 prior to the ILGA Asia Conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, see: Statement of the LBTQ Caucus