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Activists slam govt's stance at UN LGBT conference

Jakarta Post - July 16, 2016

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Jakarta – Rights activists have slammed the government for voting against a resolution by the UN Human Rights Council (UNHCR) aimed at curbing violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) at a recent conference.

The UNHCR recently adopted the resolution to appoint an independent SOGI expert that would serve as an LGBT rights watchdog. A significant move, as previously, UNHCR offices were only required to compile reports examining LGBT rights.

The independent expert appointed will bear the role of monitoring and fostering efforts of governments to provide better protection to their citizens regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

The duties include investigating human rights abuses, reporting and making recommendation to the UN, following up on specific allegations, supporting LGBT rights defenders and helping governments reform laws and policies. The resolution mandates the expert work for a period of three years.

National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) member Imdadun Rahman said the government should have accepted the resolution, because it was in line with the commission's standpoint to ensure non-discriminatory and comprehensive accesses for every citizen, including LGBT community members to exercise their freedoms.

"Komnas HAM urges that there is no law to prosecute them and that the government should guarantee their rights to gather, to freely express themselves," he said.

After a debate that lasted three-and-a-half hours during the conference held in Geneva earlier this month, the discussion failed to reach consensual agreement and had to proceed with a voting mechanism. The vote passed the resolution in a dissenting 23 to 18, with six abstentions.

Indonesia expressed its refusal to be bound and to cooperate with the resolution, although the mandate had been created.

Indonesia was on the side of almost all members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). They amended the resolutions, by taking the beliefs, norms and social values upheld in each country into consideration.

The Foreign Ministry's director for human rights and humanitarian affairs, Dicky Komar, who spoke on behalf of Indonesia at the forum, told The Jakarta Post that varied characteristics such as cultural, religious and social values were the basis of the rejection to the issue he said had been "controversial".

"What is the point of complying with something if there is still contention among the members?" he said. He went on to say that he was afraid the resolution would not run effectively if countries failed to uphold their own values.

Despite the decision made by the government, Human Rights Working Group (HRWG) Indonesia and Arus Pelangi, a group that emboldens the LGBT movement, have demanded that the government comply and uphold the resolution, including by allowing access for experts appointed to gather necessary information, because the number of incidents of violence against members of the LGBT community was still high. (fac)

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2016/07/16/activists-slam-govt-s-stance-un-lgbt-conference.html.