New developments:

Asia-Pacific Forum for National Human Rights Institutions. At the 15th Annual Meeting in Bali from 3 - 5 August 2010 APF-NHRI  met to discuss a report they had earlier commissioned the Asian Council of Jurists (ACJ) to produce on issues relating to human rights, the Yogyakarta Principles, and sexual and gender minorities. .See the background here. See the ACJ Report t entitled  Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and  Gender Identity, published in final form in December 2010.

Joint statement from UN member states on ending acts of violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation & gender identity. United Nations Member States and Human Rights Bodies took a united stand against violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity in March 2011. The Equality and Human Rights Commission  co-ordinated a joint National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) statement on ending violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity at the UN Human Rights Council 16th Session.  The statement was delivered on 22 March by the Canadian Human Rights Commission on behalf of the Commission and 19 NHRIs from around the world. The NHRI statement was made in support of a joint statement on sexual orientation and gender identity endorsed by more than 82 States and presented by Colombia. A co-ordinated approach at this level is unprecedented at the UN and it was the first time in seven years that sexual orientation and gender identity have been discussed at the Human Rights Council. This initiative was also supported by 119 non-governmental Organisations (NGO

Statement of the the First ASEAN Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ) People’s Caucus: (2-5th May 2011). at which 32 LGBTIQ organisations made three demands,  for ASEAN governments to: ( a ) immediately repeal laws that directly and indirectly criminalize SOGI, recognize LGBTIQ rights as human rights, and harmonize national laws, policies and practices with the Yogyakarta Principles; ( b ) establish national level mechanisms and review existing regional human rights instruments (e.g. AICHR, ACWC) to include the promotion and protection of the equal rights of all people regardless of SOGI with the active engagement of the LGBTIQ community; and ( c ) depathologize SOGI and promote psychosocial well-being of people of diverse SOGI in accordance with the World Health Organization (WHO) standards, and ensure equal access to health and social services.

Stop Trans Pathologisation Best Practices Guide to Trans Health Care:  Spanish proposal  English translation.  This proposal, developed by a Spanish group, is a trans- healthcare protocol based on a depathologising perspective on transpeople. Courtesy of Alira Araneta Zinkunegi (msaraneta@hotmail.com).  December 1st press 2010 release.  IMPORTANT NOTE: Many visitors to this site will know that I am a Board Member of WPATH (the World Professional Association for Transgender Health). Please therefore note that I am uploading this document in my capacity as webmaster for the TransgenderASIA site, and not as a WPATH Board Member. Visitors to this site should NOT conclude that WPATH in any way endorses the Spanish document. That said, it is my own individual view  that WPATH's recent call for de-psychopathologisation of gender identity variance implies that transpeople should be viewed as active participants in their own healthcare,  with the ability to make decisions for themselves, and with autonomy over and responsibility for their own bodies, and capable of speaking with authority about their own lives'. The Spanish document certainly proposes that healthcare moves in that direction, using those very words. It remains to be seen how many stakeholders are comfortable with a move so substantial.

Report of Regional Youth MSM and Transgender Consultation Meeting, Bangkok, Thailand, 1-3 Sept, 2010

 The MSMGF calls on Nepal’s Home Ministry to issue citizenship cards to transgender people and metis in accordance with 2007 Supreme Court ruling

The Asia-Pacific Transgender Network (APTN)

The Thai Transgender Alliance (Thai-TGA) info in English / info in Thai / website