Cameroon: It’s time to repeal our anti-gay law

The repeal of Cameroon’s anti-LGBT law is long overdue, says a member of the Human Rights Commission of the Cameroon Bar Association. In fact, says barrister Walter Atoh, “It is absolutely sickening and ridiculous that in the 21st century a homosexual act gets a person in Cameroon six months to five years imprisonment.”

Atoh Walter M. Tchemi made his appeal for reform last month during a workshop on human rights in Douala, Cameroon, that was organized by Cameroon’s Association for the Defense of the Rights of Homosexuals. In connection with that workshop, Atoh wrote an open letter to Cameroon President Paul Biya in which he argued that the country’s anti-gay law, Article 347 bis of the Cameroon Penal Code, violates the nation’s international treaty obligations.

Atoh noted that in 2013, when Cameroon’s human rights record was last reviewed by other nations at the U.N. Human Rights Council, 15 nations urged  Cameroon to improve its treatment of LGBTI people. Atoh suggested that it’s currently a good time for Biya to act to repeal Article 347 bis, at a moment when many people are urging him to run for re-election in 2018. Read more via 76 Crimes

US: North Carolina enacts law to allow LGBT discrimination

Republican leaders of the North Carolina General Assembly rushed through a bill to repeal all local LGBT non-discrimination ordinances in the state and ban transgender people from certain restrooms. Republicans had unveiled the legislation Wednesday morning, arguing the measure was needed to protect women from transgender people and sex predators. They were reacting to an ordinance in Charlotte — which was scheduled to take effect April 1 — that would protect LGBT people from discrimination in housing and public accommodations.

Despite the focus on Charlotte, the state’s preemption law does more than stymie that city’s ordinance. House Bill 2 mandates that state law supersedes all local ordinances concerning wages, employment, and public accommodations. It also restricts single-sex public restrooms and locker rooms in publicly run facilities to people of the same sex on their birth certificate.

In addition, it bans transgender students from school restrooms that correspond with their gender identity — teeing up a potential legal clash with the federal government, which has found civil rights laws ban transgender discrimination in schools. Read more via Buzzfeed

Australia: Bullied kids sacrificed to conservative right

On the National Day of Action Against Bullying on Friday, the Coalition government scaled back the anti-bullying Safe Schools program it launched just two years ago. Following a month of campaigning from The Australian and 18 months of campaigning from the fringe group the Australian Christian Lobby, the government has announced plans to change the Safe Schools Coalition program.

In the face of complaints from backbenchers including Cory Bernardi and George Christensen, Education Minister Simon Birmingham last month appointed respected University of WA Professor Bill Louden to review the program, which was launched by then-education minister Christopher Pyne in 2014. The Safe Schools Coalition program is now implemented at 526 schools across Australia and comprises resources created for schools to reduce bullying of LGBTI students.

The review, released on Friday, broadly found the content in the program to be “suitable, educationally sound and age-appropriate” for schools but recommended changes to some of the lessons in the “All of Us” resource for teachers.

Conservative MPs called on Birmingham to suspend funding of Safe Schools while a full parliamentary inquiry was conducted. Christensen didn’t get his review, but he told reporters on Friday the government’s decision was “better than an inquiry” and would strip the “queer theory” and “sexual liberation” ideals from classrooms:

“Effectively, gutting the program of all of the concerning content is what I wanted at the end of the day or the program shut down. It’s fundamentally changed now to is going to be an anti-bullying program that doesn’t have all of the extra stuff in it that I found of concern and parents and grandparents found of concern so I’m comfortable.” Read more via Crikey

Australia: Safe Schools stoush highlights deep divisions in Coalition

A stoush over Safe Schools has highlighted deep divisions within the Coalition as some MPs air their grievances with the anti-bullying program while others throw their support behind it.

A review into the program was ordered by the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, late last month after backbench unrest about its content. The opposition leader, Bill Shorten, said: “I think it’s beyond a joke that Mr Turnbull is fanning the fires of the lunar right of his political party.

“Mr Turnbull has to show leadership. His mistake was not in slapping down this issue earlier. Now he has a standoff between an insurgent rightwing backbench and his minister for education.”

Conservatives within the Coalition say the anti-bullying campaign, which aims to stamp out homophobia and transphobia, undermines a parent’s ability to teach their children about gender and sexuality.  

 Read more via the Guardian
 

Guyana: Social Protection Minister calls for LGBT inclusion

While acknowledging that LGBT people are not accorded equal rights in the work environment, Social Protection Minister Volda Lawrence last week called for their inclusion in the promotion of gender equality.

“Yes, if we intend to promote gender equality, we cannot pretend that this group is non-existent. In our workplaces, in our institutions, we have to embrace these individuals and use their potential and skills for the benefit of economic, social and political progress. We must accord them the same process of inclusion, recognition and upward mobility irrespective of their sexual orientation and gender identity,” Lawrence said at a Women’s Empowerment Cocktail and Reception, at the British High Commissioner’s Residence in Georgetown.

The event was organised to celebrate marginalised women and was hosted by the British High Commission, Georgetown, in collaboration with Red Thread, Guyanese Women Roundtable, Guyana Trans United and the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination.  Read more via Stabroek News 

US: White House appoints first transgender person as primary LGBT Liaison

President Barack Obama has appointed Raffi Freedman-Gurspan as the White House’s primary LGBT liaison, making her the first transgender person in the role. 

“Raffi is a great choice,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “President Obama has said he wants his administration to look like America, and they have moved to include trans Americans. Raffi’s skills and personality make her the exact right person for this important job.”

Freedman-Gurspan became the first transgender staffer appointed to the White House in 2015, working as the outreach and recruitment director in the presidential personnel office. In her new role — as the Outreach & Recruitment Director for Presidential Personnel and Associate Director for Public Engagement — Freedman-Gurspan becomes the White House’s lead point of contact for LGBT groups on all issues. Read more via Buzzfeed

India: Shashi Tharoor’s bill on homosexuality defeated in LS for 2nd time

For the second time in three months, Lok Sabha voted on Friday against the introduction of a private member’s bill brought by Congress MP Shashi Thraoor to decriminalise homosexuality. 

Tharoor’s bill sought to amend the “colonial era” Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that criminalises homosexuality. In effect, the bill aims to decriminalise sexual intercourse in private between consenting adults, irrespective of their sexuality or gender by restricting the applicability of the section.

As Tharoor sought to introduce the private member’s bill, BJP members negated the motion and sought division of House, which was granted by speaker Sumitra Mahajan. 58 out of 73 members present voted against introduction of the bill, while 14 were in its favour. One member abstained from voting. Read more via Hindustan Times 

Op-ed, When governments curtail our freedoms, LGBT people are first in the firing line

There have been three instances of late of government censorship across the world: the Kenyan government wrestling with Google as it tries to ban a music video, Indonesia grappling with social media companies to try and remove certain emoticons, and most recently, the Chinese state editing out certain storylines from television programs. These developments all have something vital in common: they are all attempts to erase LGBT people from the public eye.

The justifications given by these states are similar enough. The Kenyan Classification and Film Board refused to license the video for Same-Love Remix by Art Attack because it “does not adhere to the morals of the country”. Indonesia banned emojis showing couples of the same gender holding hands claiming that “social media must respect the culture and local wisdom of the country”. And the Chinese government has banned television storylines featuring same-sex couples as part of its crackdown on “vulgar, immoral and unhealthy content”. The message is the same: LGBT people offend the majority, and so their existence should not be recognised.

These actions are troubling in and of themselves. However, it is also concerning on a deeper level, as it highlights the well-established link between LGBT persecution and authoritarianism.  Read more via New Statesman

Indonesia: The next big LGBT “Propaganda” ban being written

Indonesian lawmakers are in discussions to draft legislation to restrict LGBT rights, according to several members of the country’s legislature. LGBT content on the internet is the chief concern of these lawmakers, and on Saturday, the Jakarta Post reported that the government’s communications ministry would begin work on its own proposal to reign in online content in response.

Deding Ishak, a member of the National Assembly from the Golkar Party (the legislature’s second-largest bloc) and deputy chairman of the assembly’s committee on religious and cultural affairs, said in an interview in Jakarta that he’d like to see legislation that “aims to prevent and protect society from the massive propaganda launched by the LGBT community." "Their campaign has reached out on social media,” he said. “We need a solution to deal with this situation — it is like a warning to us all.”  Read more via Buzzfeed

European Parliament demands inclusion LGBTI people in gender mainstreaming activities

In a key report voted yesterday on Gender mainstreaming in the work of the European Parliament, the European Parliament made a strong call to include “the rights, perspectives and well-being of LGBTIQ people” in all gender mainstreaming activities. An attempt by a group of right-wing MEPs to replace the whole resolution by an alternative resolution was defeated.

The report includes a call to the Commission to perform systematic gender impact assessments sensitive to the experiences of LGBTIQ persons on all new legislative or policy proposals. This means that the impact of different proposals will be specified for LGBTI persons, with a view to combat discrimination. As for its own internal policies, the European Parliament suggests the introduction of specific human resources guidelines sensitive to LGBTIQ issues, to improve the well-being of staff at the work place.

Angelika Mlinar MEP, author of the report and Member of the Intergroup on LGBTI Rights, reacted: “Women and LGBTI people fight the same fight to end violence and discrimination. To this end, we need constructive action and need to see how the money that we spend impacts women and LGBTI people. We will strongly check on the Commission to ensure that they ensure that all gender mainstreaming activities will include LGBTI people.”  Read more via  Intergroup on LGBT Rights