Our laws should protect all of us, equally, no matter who we are, whom we love or what we believe. But what the #ReligiousDiscriminationBill gives with one hand, it undermines with the other.

Read our piece with former Law Council Pres, Arthur Moses SC https://t.co/ZgFapzB4A3

— Equality Australia (@EqualityAu) November 25, 2021

Australia: Religious Discrimination Bill introduced to lower house

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has introduced the so-called “Religious Discrimination” bill to the House of Representatives.  As ABC points out, the bill in its current form would be “an attempt to secure extra protections from state-based discrimination laws” and to make sure that ‘statements of belief’ are not considered discriminatory.

However, equality advocates are concerned the bill could water down protections for other minority groups. According to Equality Australia, the proposed Religious Discrimination Bill would legalise discrimination against our communities and wind back hard-fought protections. Activists have called on the parliament to take action and open a joint parliamentary inquiry before the bill is brought to vote.

“What constitutes discrimination today, will be lawful tomorrow, allowing people to say harmful, insulting and demeaning things,” said Anna Brown, CEO of Equality Australia. “Things like a medical worker telling a person living with HIV that AIDS is a punishment from God, or a person living with disability that their disability is caused by the devil.”

According to Brown, the new bill would do nothing to change a situation “in which it is already legal for religious schools to fire, expel, and discriminate against LGBT people” – “bolstering instead the ability of religious schools to refuse to hire staff that affirm or support them”.

The latest version of the proposed law also includes a set of provisions that could override a law currently debated in Victoria that would “ensure that a religious organisation can only discriminate against people based on religion when religion is actually relevant to the role”..

APROBADO: Por 101 votos a favor, 30 en contra y 2 abstenciones, la Cámara de Diputad@s aprueba el matrimonio igualitario. Siglos de injusticia contra la diversidad familiar, van quedando atrás pic.twitter.com/4ouAFZUo6m

— Movilh Chile (@Movilh) November 23, 2021

Chile steps closer to marriage equality

Chile took another step towards marriage equality this week, when the lower house approved a bill with 101 votes in favour and 30 against.

Presented for the first time in 2017, the draft law would recognise same-sex couples’ right to marriage, filiation - currently not recognised under the current Civil Union Agreement - and adoption.

Further, the draft the lower house approved included gender-neutral terminology, with “spouse” replacing “wife” and “husband”.

Now, the bill will head back to the Senate for a final vote. If it passes, Chile will become the eighth country in Latin America to enact marriage equality. “Marriage equality is the safeguard of the family, an urgent matter and a light of hope for the country,” said Isabel Amor, director of Fundación Iguales.

Mauritius: Supreme Court hears evidence in decriminalisation case

The Supreme Court of Mauritius has heard evidence in the ongoing  landmark case challenging the colonial-relic ban on consensual same-sex relations.

Dating back to 1838, Section 250(1) of the country’s Criminal Code punishes same-sex intimacy between consenting adults with up to five years in prison. Last year, the Court gave green light to four young LGBTI activists to challenge the constitutionality of the law. Now, the Court is hearing Abdool Ridwan Firaas Ah Seek’s petition, with the next session scheduled for early 2022.

“Archaic laws like Section 250 have no place in our modern, diverse, and democratic society,” said Muriel Yvon, president of the Collectif Arc-En-Ciel. The group is currently supporting Ah Seek in his legal battle.

“It is our greatest hope that the Supreme Court will relegate this law to the history books, and our country can finally live up to its reputation as a rainbow nation, where every citizen is treated fairly, equally, and with dignity,” she added.

United States: presidential executive order addresses indigenous peoples’ safety, includes LGBTQ+ and Two-Spirit persons

United States president Joe Biden has signed an executive order addressing the safety of indigenous people, including LGBTQ+ people in it.

The signing took place this week, during the first White House Tribal Nation Summit since 2016. According to the order, the Federal Government will have to work with Tribal Nations to improve the public safety and criminal justice system for Native Americans. The order outlines new initiatives, including considering indigenous’ ecological knowledge and increasing participation in the management of federal lands.

Biden also acknowledged how LGBTQ+ Native Americans and Two-Spirit people “are also often the target of violence”, and pointed out how “previous executive action has not achieved changes sufficient to reverse the epidemic of missing or murdered indigenous people and violence against Native Americans.”

Japan: trans people march in Tokyo, call for recognition of rights

In a reported first in Japan, trans people and allies took to the streets of Shinjuku, Tokyo, calling on their fellow citizens to recognise human rights for the trans community.

The event was organised by trans activists Tomoya Asunama and Tomato Hatakeno. Around 400 people marched on the Trans Day of Remembrance, holding trans flags and placards against hatred and transphobia.

“We all live side by side,” said Asunama as the march kicked off. “I hope that we can have a society where trans people can also live comfortably.”

While Japan didn’t account for any known murder of a trans person in 2021, the organisers of the march reported that the trans community in the country still faces stigma and discrimination, and that online harassment has taken a toll on many persons’ mental health outcomes. As ILGA World’s Trans Legal Mapping report shows, the country’s laws still prescribe sterilisation for a person to legally change their gender.

See below my press release on #Hungary. Manipulation of #media to suppress independent voices, institutional capture to weaken #humanrights protection are dangerous signs ahead of 2022 #elections. https://t.co/L9FV4CgsQc

— Irene Khan (@Irenekhan) November 23, 2021

UN experts: Hungary’s hold on media poses risks to human rights, fuels hatred towards LGBTI people

Hungarian government’s interventions in the media sector pose risks to human rights and are fuelling hatred against LGBTI people and other minorities, the UN expert on freedom of opinion and expression warned at the end of her visit.

According to UN expert Irene Khan, authorities have “reshaped” the media sector, undermining its pluralism and independence, by exerting influence over regulatory bodies and supporting pro-government media while ostracizing critic reporting.

Khan expressed concern over reports of recurring campaigns of hate speech, harassment, or stigmatisation of journalists and advocates working on the rights of migrants, refugees and LGBTI people. “I am deeply troubled by the toxic environment deliberately created by political leaders to sow social divisions and hatred,” she said.

UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Victor Madrigal-Borloz echoed her worries on Twitter. “At the end of her country visit to Hungary, my colleague Irene Khan sounds an alarm on State campaigns to fuel hate by stigmatising LGBT persons, and of potential impact of sexual orientation and gender identity information ban in schools,” he wrote, pointing out that other UN Special Procedures experts had already raised similar concerns.