Claiming LGBT Rights in the ASEAN Community
by Ging Cristobal, Project Coordinator for Asia, IGLHRC
April 22, 2015

Alongside 11 country flags of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activists waved a rainbow flag Wednesday at the opening of the region’s Civil Society Conference and People’s Forum (ACSC/APF) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Under the conference theme “Reclaiming the ASEAN Community for the People.” the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) and the ASEAN SOGIE Caucus are jointly presenting two workshops and the caucus has set up a booth for LGBT human rights education. An Indonesian LGBT organization, Arus Pelangi will screen a short film on LGBT human rights defenders.

The bold and brave affirmation of LGBT activists is taking place amidst the opposition on LGBT issues of religious extremist groups in Malaysia. A blog post questioned the inclusion of LGBT issues and participants in the people’s forum while a group of people filed a complaint with the office of former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi who was scheduled to give the opening speech at the 10th anniversary event. The people’s forum began in 2005 in Malaysia under his premiership.

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