The human rights situation in Cambodia is facing growing criticisms both within the country and from an increasingly alarmed international community. After a series of flagrant violations against basic human rights a feeling of incertitude regarding the direction the country is emerging,sometimes comparing the situation to a newborn Burma.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,and transgender (LGBT) people in Bosnia and Herzegovina may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female forms of same-sex sexual activity are legal in Bosnia and Herzegovina. However,households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,and transgender (LGBTQ) people in Cambodia face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Although same-sex sexual activity is legal in Cambodia,it provides no anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people,nor does it prohibit hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,and transgender (LGBT) rights in Cyprus have evolved in recent years,but LGBTQ people still face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female expressions of same-sex sexual activity were decriminalised in 1998,and civil unions which grant several of the rights and benefits of marriage have been legal since December 2015. Conversion therapy was banned in Cyprus in May 2023. However,adoption rights in Cyprus are reserved for heterosexual couples only.
OutRight International (OutRight) is an LGBTIQ human rights non-governmental organization that addresses human rights violations and abuses against lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgender and intersex people. OutRight International documents human rights discrimination and abuses based on their sexual orientation,gender identity,gender expression and sex characteristics in partnership with activists,advocates,media,NGOs and allies on a local,regional,national and international level. OutRight International holds consultative status with ECOSOC.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,and transgender (LGBT) people in Albania face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents,although LGBT people are protected under comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation. Both male and female same-gender sexual activities have been legal in Albania since 1995,but households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-gender couples,with same-sex unions not being recognized in the country in any form.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,and transgender (LGBT) people in Armenia face legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents,due in part to the lack of laws prohibiting discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity and in part to prevailing negative attitudes about LGBT persons throughout society.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,and transgender (LGBT) people in Azerbaijan face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Azerbaijan since 1 September 2000. Nonetheless,discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity are not banned in the country and same-sex marriage is not recognized.
Vitit Muntarbhorn is an international human rights expert and professor of law at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok,Thailand. Muntarbhorn was designated in September 2016 as the first UN Independent Expert on violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity by the Human Rights Council before succeeded by Victor Madrigal-Borloz in 2018.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,and transgender (LGBTQ) rights in Nepal have expanded in the 21st century,though much of Nepal's advancements on LGBT rights have come from the judiciary and not the legislature. Same-sex sexual acts have been legal in Nepal since 2007 after a ruling by the Supreme Court of Nepal.
Discussions of LGBTQI+ rights at the United Nations have included resolutions and joint statements in the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC),attention to the expert-led human rights mechanisms,as well as by the UN Agencies.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,and transgender (LGBT) people in Mongolia face legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBT people,though there have been substantial improvements since the 1990s. Homosexuality was criminalised in Mongolia in 1961 through its Criminal Code. Following the Mongolian Revolution of 1990 and the peaceful transition to a democracy,homosexuality was legalised and awareness about LGBT people has become more prevalent. Hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity result in additional legal penalties. Hate speech based on these two categories has been outlawed in the country since 1 July 2017. Households headed by same-sex couples are,however,not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,and transgender (LGBT) people in East Timor face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in East Timor,but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples.
The Yogyakarta Principles is a document about human rights in the areas of sexual orientation and gender identity that was published as the outcome of an international meeting of human rights groups in Yogyakarta,Indonesia,in November 2006. The principles were supplemented and expanded in 2017 to include new grounds of gender expression and sex characteristics and a number of new principles. However,the Principles have never been accepted by the United Nations (UN) and the attempt to make gender identity and sexual orientation new categories of non-discrimination has been repeatedly rejected by the General Assembly,the UN Human Rights Council and other UN bodies.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,and transgender (LGBT) people in Samoa face legal challenges not faced by non-LGBT residents. Sexual contact between men is illegal,punishable by up to seven years’imprisonment,but the law is not enforced.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,and transgender (LGBT) people in Kiribati face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Male homosexuality is illegal in Kiribati with a penalty of up to 14 years in prison,but the law is not enforced. Female homosexuality is legal,but lesbians may face violence and discrimination. Despite this,employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been prohibited since 2015.
The right to sexuality incorporates the right to express one's sexuality and to be free from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. Although it is equally applicable to heterosexuality,it also encompasses human rights of people of diverse sexual orientations,including lesbian,gay,asexual and bisexual people,and the protection of those rights. The inalienable nature of rights belonging to every person by virtue of being human.
Intersex people are born with sex characteristics that "do not fit the typical definitions for male or female bodies". They are substantially more likely to identify as lesbian,gay,bisexual,or transgender (LGBT) than endosex people. According to a study done in Australia of Australian citizens with intersex conditions,participants labeled 'heterosexual' as the most popular single label with the rest being scattered among various other labels. According to another study,an estimated 8.5% to 20% experiencing gender dysphoria. Although many intersex people are heterosexual and cisgender,this overlap and "shared experiences of harm arising from dominant societal sex and gender norms" has led to intersex people often being included under the LGBT umbrella,with the acronym sometimes expanded to LGBTI. Some intersex activists and organisations have criticised this inclusion as distracting from intersex-specific issues such as involuntary medical interventions.
Monica Tabengwa is a lawyer and researcher from Botswana who works for Pan-Africa ILGA and Human Rights Watch (HRW). She is a specialist on LGBT issues in sub-Saharan Africa. Tabengwa has written on violence and discrimination faced by LGBT people in sub-Saharan Africa.
The United Nations Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is a United Nations Independent Expert appointed by the body's Human Rights Council under its special procedures mechanism. The Independent Expert's Mandate is to examine,monitor,advise,and publicly report on matters related to human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
