ASEAN SOGIE Caucus releases a new publication titled “Policy Brief on the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and SOGIESC in Southeast Asia”. The policy brief was drafted to catalogue how SOGIESC has been addressed within the CEDAW reporting mechanisms. It also provides baseline information on CEDAW for activists based in ASEAN member-states, and offer guidance on its application to SOGIESC in human rights advocacy.

"All ten ASEAN member-states and Timor-Leste have ratified the CEDAW however implementation in Southeast Asia has faced considerable barriers. A fundamental issue is how many states failed apply the CEDAW in protecting the rights of lesbian, bisexual and queer women, and of transgender persons”, says Ryan Silverio, Regional Coordinator of ASC.

LGBTIQ groups’ engagements with the CEDAW reporting process have increased significantly in the most recent reporting cycles. Among the various issues raised in their reports to the CEDAW committee are the criminalization of homosexuality and transgender persons, the absence of legal redress mechanisms, the non-recognition of same-sex unions, the absence of legal gender recognition, the lack of comprehensive legislation defining discrimination against women, harmful cultural norms and practices, and violence against women.

The Policy Brief is based on a desk review of pertinent documents, including state submissions and alternative reports by civil society organizations from ASEAN member-states and Timor-Leste. It includes the most recent periodic reports submitted by these countries, as well as the Concluding Observations from the CEDAW Committee, which were published between 2012 and 2017.

Download: ASC Policy Brief - CEDAW and SOGIESC.pdf