LGBULLETIN #184 – THE WEEK IN LGBTI NEWS (5-11 FEB 2021)

Angola: law decriminalising consensual same-sex relations comes into force

The revised penal code has come into force in Angola, 90 days after it was signed into law. Under the new provisions, consensual same-sex relations are no longer considered a criminal offence, and discriminationunequal or unfair treatment which can be based on a range of grounds - such as age, ethnic background, disability, and diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions or sex characteristics, amongst others. More on the grounds on sexual orientationrefers to a person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual attraction to - and intimate and sexual relations with - individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender. More is banned.

As ILGA World’s State-Sponsored Homophobiafear, unreasonable anger, intolerance or/and hatred directed towards people attracted to others of the same gender. More points out, Angola started the revision of its criminal law in 2004. In January 2019, Angola approved a new penal code that did away with the colonial-age provision that criminalised “indecent exposure” consisting in an “act against nature with an individual of the same sexrefers to the classification of a person as male, female, or other - usually made at birth, written on a birth certificate, and usually based on the appearance of their external anatomy. A person’s sex, however, is actually a combination of bodily characteristics, including chromosomes, hormones, internal and external reproductive organs, and secondary sex characteristics. More”, and that could have led to a maximum of three years in prison.

New changes in the text of the Code were discussed by the Parliament, and the official version of the new Penal Code was finally published on 11 November 2020, coming into force after 90 days.

Human rights defenders from across the world celebrated the news: “Thanks Angola for taking a huge step in protecting and promoting the rights of the LGBT community in your country”, wrote Pan Africa ILGA’s programme manager Richard Lusimbo. “Africa and the world have a lot to learn from you.”

United States: President Biden issues memorandum on advancing the rights of LGBTQI persons around the world

U.S. President Joe Biden issued a presidential memorandum aimed at expanding protection of the rights of lesbianadjective/noun to describe a woman whose enduring physical, romantic, and/or emotional attraction is to other women. Women and non-binary people may use this term to describe themselves. More, gayadjective to describe people whose enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional
attractions are to people of the same gender. Men, women and non-binary people may use this
term to describe themselves. More, bisexualadjective used to describe a person who has the capacity to form enduring physical, romantic, and/ or emotional attractions to those of the same gender or to those of other genders. More, transgender, queer and intersexan umbrella term for the spectrum of variations of sex characteristics that naturally occur within the human species. Intersex people are born with variations of sex characteristics (such as genitals, reproductive organs, hormonal and chromosomal patterns) that are more diverse than stereotypical definitions of male or female bodies. Up to 1.7% of the global population are born with such traits; yet, because their bodies are seen as different, intersex children and adults are often stigmatised and subject to harmful practices – including in medical settings - and discriminated against. More people worldwide.

The document builds on the legacy of a similar 2011 document, and clearly directs all departments and agencies involved in diplomacy and foreign assistance to combat the criminalisation of same-sex relations, protect LGBTQI refugees and asylum seekers, and combat violence and discrimination.

“It shall be the policy of the United States to pursue an end to violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identityrefers to a person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth. More or expression, or sex characteristicsa term that refers to physical features relating to sex - including genitalia and other sexual and reproductive anatomy, chromosomes, hormones, and secondary physical features emerging from puberty. More, and to lead by the power of our example in the cause of advancing the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons around the world,” the memorandum reads.

The announcement has been welcomed by institutions and human rights defenders worldwide. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights celebrated the initiative and reaffirmed “its willingness to provide technical cooperation to States in the promotion and protection of the human rights of LGBTQI persons in the region”. According to Outright Action International, the timing of the memorandum “indicates that LGBTQI equality is a foreign policy priority from the earliest days of his administration”.

“Brave LGBTQI+ communities have constantly been subjected to torture, discrimination, stigmatization and, above all, abuse of their human rights at all levels”, said Pan Africa ILGA Executive Director Nate Brown. “The memo is therefore a very historic moment that is going to be a step towards the advancement of LGBTIQ people globally, including in the African continent”.

LGBTIacronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people. Although this is not the acronym available to describe people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions, and sex characteristics, it is the most commonly used in United Nations spaces and advocacy. More organisations join forces to ask Myanmar military “respect democracy and its peoples’ choice”

At least 48 LGBTI human rights organisations from across Asia and the Pacific have joined forces to condemn the coup in Myanmar and ask the military to “respect democracy and its peoples’ choice”.

“While not without its flaws,” the organisations point out, “Myanmar has been on the journey towards a diverse, inclusive and participatory democracy since its democratic transitionrefers to a series of steps people may take to live in the gender they identify with. A person’s transition can be social and/or medical. Steps may include: coming out to family, friends and colleagues; dressing and acting according to one’s gender; changing one’s name and/or sex/gender on legal documents; medical treatments - including hormone therapies and possibly one or more types of surgery. More a decade ago. This progress has enabled a broad and meaningful involvement of civil society, including LGBTI organisations and activists in Myanmar. The military coup jeopardises and threatens to reverse all this progress.”

According to reports, our communities have taken to the streets together with hundreds of thousands of people across the country, calling for the military to relinquish power and return it to the elected government. Police, however, responded to peaceful protests with violence, and at least two persons were reported in critical conditions after the incidents.

Fiji: Pacific rainbow activists join forces in a virtual symposium

LGBTI human rights defenders from the Pacific region will soon host a virtual symposium to address the most pressing issues, policies or laws in their countries that contribute to human rights violations, and map ways forward.

Organised by ILGA Oceania and virtually hosted in Fiji on 19 February, the symposium will especially focus on the climate emergency, the Covid-19 response and the ongoing struggle towards decriminalisation of consensual same-sex relations.

“This interactive symposium will pick up on an intersectional lens of human rights breaches,” organisers pointed out, “whilst encouraging collaboration and engagement with politicians, religious leaders and all other interested bodies through dialogue and the understanding of each other’s point of view to come to a safe space to discuss these important issues”. Register now to attend

Bulgaria: baby at risk of statelessness as authorities refuse her mothers’ request for a birth certificate

LGBTI organisations are calling on the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to rule in favour of a baby left at the risk of stateless, as authorities in Bulgaria refused to include both her mothers in her birth certificate.

The Court has begun to hear the case this week, and its decisions will have far-reaching implications for rainbow families and their right to freedom of movement across the European Union.

Baby S. was born in Spain in 2019, and her mothers were born in Bulgaria and Gibraltar respectively. Under current Spanish law, however, Baby S. could not acquire Spanish citizenship because neither of her two mothers is a Spanish citizen. As the women required Bulgarian citizenship for Baby S., however, authorities refused to issue a birth certificate in which the parents are two persons of the same sex. As ILGA World’s State-Sponsored Homophobia points out, same-sex partnerships are not legally recognised, nor is second-parent adoption.

The whole situation, ILGA-Europe points out, has left the baby at risk of statelessness. At the moment, she has no personal documents – which is going to restrict her access to education, healthcare, and social security – and cannot leave Spain, the country of the family’s habitual residence.

According to the case taken to the CJEU, Bulgarian authorities are violating the rights of a European citizen on the grounds of sexual orientation – namely to free movement, and to private and family life. The Court is expected to rule on the case in several months’ time. Read more about the case

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights calls on Panama to guarantee the human rights of trans and gender-diverse persons within the Covid-19 response

At least 45 acts of violence and discrimination against trans and gender-diverse persons were reported in Panama over the last nine months, as the country implemented measures to partially restrict the mobility of persons based on their gender within its Covid-19 response.

Although these gender-segregated provisions were lifted this week, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has called on the state to consider the impact of the measures that were adopted, and to guarantee the rights of trans and gender-diverse persons while the fight against Covid-19 continues.

Under the gender-segregated measures, trans people were denied entry to health centres, supermarkets, and other essential facilities, as the gender marker on their documents did not reflect their gender identity. One trans human rights defender was arrested under the same accusation.

As the state assesses the impacts of such measures, the Commission also urged Panama to “guarantee simple and expeditious legal mechanisms for the exercise of the right to gender identity and expression in a simple manner during the pandemic”, and to strongly condemn and investigate acts of violence and discrimination against trans and gender-diverse persons.