---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: sumit baudh
Greetings from the South and Southeast Asia Resource Centre on Sexuality!
On the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO), 17 May
2008, we are pleased to announce our working paper:
Human Rights and the Criminalisation
of Consensual Same-Sex Sexual Acts
in the Commonwealth, South and Southeast Asia
No less than 86 member states of the United Nations still criminalise
consensual same-sex sexual acts among adults (ILGA, 2008). Of these, nearly
50% (as many as 41) are in the Commonwealth.
Last year, IDAHO 2007, in an unprecedented statement the British Foreign
Office Minister Ian McCartney affirmed "Britain's commitment to the
universal decriminalisation of homosexuality".
This working paper draws attention to the possible role the Commonwealth
and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the United Kingdom can play
in undoing the criminalisation of consensual same-sex sexual acts the world
over. A summary follows. The full working paper can be download from
www.asiaSRC.org/ Printed copies of the paper will be available soon. Please
circulate this announcement to your respective networks. Thanks.
Summary
The criminalisation of consensual same sex sexual acts has been a
subject of judicial review in different fora in different countries. In
different cases, the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations
Human Rights Committee have held that these laws violate the right to
privacy. The US Supreme Court has held that such a law violates the right to
liberty. The Constitutional Court of South Africa has held that such a law
violates the rights to privacy, equality, and human dignity.
The Yogyakarta Principles (relating to sexual orientation and gender
identity) call upon all states to repeal all laws that criminalise
consensual sexual activity among persons of the same sex who are over the
age of consent.
In light of pressing human rights concerns, a global review of these laws is
entirely worthy. In this paper however, a selective focus is invited to
South and Southeast Asia. In this region, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, India,
Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, and Sri Lanka (a
total of 11 countries) have such laws. Eight of these are Commonwealth
countries. They share a common forum – the Commonwealth – for mobilising
dialogue and action on the subject.
These countries have a shared history of British colonisation. The
criminalisation is a direct reflection of Victorian period law-making in
what was then the British Empire. In 2007, in an unprecedented statement the
British Foreign Office Minister Ian McCartney affirmed "Britain's commitment
to the universal decriminalisation of homosexuality".
The Commonwealth and the United Kingdom – together and separately – offer
promising potential for undoing the criminalisation, not just in the region
but also across the world. There needs to be greater demand and targeted
lobbying to turn this potential into action.
The South and Southeast Asia Resource Centre on Sexuality is
hosted by TARSHI (Talking About Reproductive and Sexual
Health Issues) in New Delhi, India. TARSHI is an NGO that
believes that all people have a right to sexual wellbeing and a
selfaffirming
and enjoyable sexuality. The Resource Centre aims to
increase knowledge and scholarship on issues of sexuality, sexual
health and sexual well being in this region. It specifically focuses
on sexuality related work in China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Sri
Lanka, Thailand, The Philippines, and Vietnam. The Resource
Centre is part of the Ford Foundation's Global Dialogue on Sexual
Health and Wellbeing. Similar centres are based in Africa, Latin
America and North America. Please visit www.asiaSRC.org
for more information.
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