ASEAN SOGIE Caucus expresses support for CamASEAN, the LGBTI community in Cambodia and other stakeholders in the conduct of the National LGBTI Consultation and Dialogue. We believe that spaces where open and sincere conversations between civil society, government and other stakeholders are vital towards effective protection and promotion of LGBTI rights.

We acknowledge the steps undertaken by the Cambodian government in addressing the rights of LGBTI persons.

The Ministry of Women’s Affairs has included the promotion and protection of LGBT persons as part of its Strategic Plan for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women in Cambodia 2014-2018. The Ministry of Information issued a directive to all media agencies to stop public mockery of LGBTI persons. Moreover, the Ministry of Education has collaborated with local activists in raising awareness of teachers and students about the need to protect LGBTI students from bullying in schools.

However, we note that there are fundamental concerns that remain unaddressed.

First, LGBTI persons remain to be unprotected by national law. Discrimination on the basis of SOGIE in schools, in the workplace, in health-care settings, in the family and in the community is not yet criminalized under national law. We reiterate the concern raised by the UN Human Rights Committee urging the government to review all legislations to ensure that discrimination on the basis of SOGIE is prohibited.[1] We recommend that the government continues to combat discrimination based on gender, including through adopting an anti-discrimination legislation and to hold perpetrators accountable.

Second, there is no existing redress mechanism where LGBTI persons can file complaints and reports of discrimination and violence. There have been reports from transgender persons that local authorities dismiss or do not take seriously complaints brought into their attention. We recommend to government to adopt guidelines and issue a directive addressed to all local officials and law enforcement authorities to monitor cases of discrimination and violence against

LGBTI persons, and to effectively act on their complaints consistent with international human rights principles.

Third, there is a need to transform culture to eradicate stereotypes and social stigma on the basis of SOGIE. We wish to highlight the concluding observations of the CEDAW Committee[2] and the CRC Committee that the Chbab Srey, the traditional code of conduct that perpetuates stereotyped roles for women and men, remains to be unaddressed.[3] We therefore recommend that the government reviews and amends existing codes of conduct for public employees and students to be inclusive and respects diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expressions. We recommend that the Ministry of Education reviews all textbooks and educational instructional materials to ensure that homophobic and transphobic messages are removed, and to promote positive attitudes towards persons of diverse SOGIE.

At the regional level, we suggest that Cambodia takes a visible and proactive role in protecting and promoting LGBTI rights within ASEAN. We encourage the Cambodian government to share its domestic experiences in addressing LGBTI rights through existing mechanisms such as the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and the ASEAN Commission on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC).

Our organization together with local advocates in Cambodia will remain open to any possible collaboration with government and other key stakeholders towards strengthening measures for the protection and promotion of the rights of LGBTI persons in Cambodia.

For further information:

Ryan V. Silverio

Regional Coordinator

ASEAN SOGIE Caucus

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

(ASEAN SOGIE Caucus is a regional coalition of organizations and individual human rights defenders from 8 ASEAN Countries. We advocating for LGBTIQ rights in the ASEAN region. Our secretariat is based in the Philippines.)

[1] UN Human Rights Committee, 2015. Concluding Observations on the Second Periodic Report of Cambodia, CCPR/C/KHM/CO/2.

[2] UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, 2013. Concluding Observations on the Combined Fourth and Fifth Periodic Report of Cambodia, CEDAW/C/KHM/CO/4-5.

[3] UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2011. Concluding Observations on the Combined Second and Third Periodic Report of Cambodia, CRC/C/KHM/CO/2-3.