LGBTIQ community under threat following law criminalizing diverse gender identities and same sex relationships
On 28 April 2024, the Government of Iraq passed a bill amending the Law on Combating Prostitution of 1988 to explicitly criminalise consensual same-sex relationships, gender affirming healthcare, and diverse gender expressions in the country. The President signed it into law on 29 June 2024 and it entered into force on 1 July 2024. The […]
IRAQ: Authorities must urgently repeal legislation criminalising LGBTIQ persons
On 27 April 2024, the newly amended “Law on Combating Prostitution and Homosexuality” was passed in the Iraqi parliament, posing a severe threat to the rights of LGBTIQ persons in Iraq. The acting Iraqi parliamentary speaker, Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, said in a statement that the vote was “a necessary step to protect the value structure of […]
Qawsuna Summit 2024: Healing and Beyond from Discord to Harmony
For many years, the LGBTIQ community in the North Africa and West Asia region has faced several challenges, ranging from sociological, to cultural to legal. Furthermore, the queer community has been striving to meet up and create a uniting platform, to tackle these rigors, or at least begin planning together for a more harmonic response […]
PRESS RELEASE: Almost 140 human rights groups urge federal courts to hold U.S. accountable for failing to prevent plausible genocide in Gaza
Court’s Inaction on U.S. Complicity Could Set Dangerous Precedent for Global Human Rights, Legal Filing Warns March 15, 2024 – Almost 140 international human rights groups, representing thousands of social justice and movement lawyers globally, have submitted a critical amicus brief in support of the appeal filed by several Palestinian human rights organizations, Palestinians in […]
ILGA World | GAZA: AN IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE IS NEEDED!
Geneva, 27 October 2023 – The ongoing crisis in Gaza is escalating rapidly, and the international community must do all it can to achieve sustainable, lasting peace, ILGA World said today. The indiscriminate targeting of civilians, and the scale of atrocities happening, is a continuous violation of international humanitarian and criminal law, and it must […]
Commemorating The One-Year Anniversary Of Doski Azad’s Murder: A Call For Justice And An End To Queerphobic Violence In Iraq
This is a reposted statement originally published on Yeksani on 28 January 2023. In the wake of Doski’s murder, Yeksani and other human rights organizations have called on the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to investigate the murder and bring the perpetrator to justice. We have also called on these governments to […]
Apply to join the International Advisory Committee of the Power of Pride Programme
Date of publication: 3 February 2023 Candidates from the following regions are invited to apply : 6 positions are available (4 for Africa and 2 for Asia). Applications from people under the age of 30 are particularly encouraged. APPLY HERE by February 20th, 2023 Background The Power of Pride Alliance is a consortium of three […]
Briefing note: LGBTIQ rights and the FIFA Mens World Cup Qatar 2022
5 April 2022 The FIFA Men’s World Cup Qatar 2022 presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the state of Qatar to showcase its technical abilities and prowess to host the world’s most-watched sports competition. A sport that reaches every corner of the world and can contribute to tolerance, human understanding and equality. In 2020 an international […]
ILGA Asia welcomes Kuwait’s decision to overturn law targeting transgender people
‘A heavy rock has been lifted off our backs’: ILGA Asia welcomes Kuwait’s decision to overturn Article 198 that criminalised ‘imitation of the opposite sex’ Kuwait, 17 February 2022 – In a landmark ruling on 16 February 2022, the Kuwait Constitutional Court held that Article 198 of the Penal Code, 1960, that criminalised “imitating the […]
بیانیه مشترک ایلگای آسیا در مورد افغانستان
8 آگوست 2021 ما، افراد مستقل و سازمان‌های امضاء کننده‌ی این بیانیه، برای پیش‌برد حقوق بشر در خصوص افراد با گرایش‌های جنسی متنوع، هویت جنسیتی، بیان و ویژگی‌های جنسیتی متنوع(SOGIESC)، خواستار حمایت از زنان، کودکان، افراد ال‌جی‌بی‌تی آی کیو (لزبین، گی، بایسکشوال، ترنسجندر، میان جنسی و …) و سایر افراد آسیب‌پذیر در افغانستان هستیم. با […]
ILGA Asia Statement for the Iraqi Kurdistan Region: Widespread Violence Against LGBTIQ+ Citizens By The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Must Be Condemned
Detainees report severe restrictions on movement, torture and death threats. KurdistanApril 1, 2021 The Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) must end the arbitrary detention targeting LGBTIQ+ citizens and immediately release the detainees. The security police of the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government – Asayîş – arrested several citizens, including people under 18 years of age, in […]