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Less Equal: LGBTI Human Rights Defenders in Armenia, Belarus

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Less Equal: LGBTI Human Rights Defenders in Armenia, Belarus LESS EQUAL LGBTI HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN ARMENIA, BELARUS, KAZAKHSTAN, AND KYRGYZSTAN Amnesty International is a global movement of more than 7 million people who campaign for a world where human rights are enjoyed by all. Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion and are funded mainly by our membership and public donations. © Amnesty International 2017 Except where otherwise noted, content in this document is licensed under a Creative Commons Cover photo: “Affection is not propaganda”; graffiti in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (attribution, non-commercial, no derivatives, international 4.0) licence. © Amnesty International 2016 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode For more information please visit the permissions page on our website: www.amnesty.org Where material is attributed to a copyright owner other than Amnesty International this material is not subject to the Creative Commons licence. First published in 2017 by Amnesty International Ltd Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street London WC1X 0DW, UK Index: EUR 04/7574/2017 Original language: English amnesty.org CONTENTS 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMMARY 8 2. SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY 10 2.1 SCOPE 10 2.2 METHODOLOGY 11 2.2.1 PARTICIPATORY WORKSHOPS 11 2.2.2 CASE STUDIES 11 2.2.3 FOLLOW UP WORKSHOPS 12 2.2.4 SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS 12 2.2.5 ANONYMITY 12 3. PROTECTION OF LGBTI RIGHTS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW 13 3.1 PRINCIPLE OF NON-DISCRIMINATION 14 3.2 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, ASSOCIATION AND PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY 15 3.3 HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS 16 3.4 GENDER IDENTITY 16 4. COUNTRY CONTEXTS 18 4.1 ARMENIA 19 4.1.1 LEGAL FRAMEWORK 20 4.1.2 TRANSGENDER RIGHTS 21 4.1.3 OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT 21 4.1.4 FREEDOM OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY 21 4.1.5 FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION 21 4.1.6 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND MEDIA ENVIRONMENT 21 4.1.7 RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AGAINST LGBTI PEOPLE 22 4.2 BELARUS 23 4.2.1 LEGAL FRAMEWORK 24 4.2.2 TRANSGENDER RIGHTS 24 4.2.3 OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT 25 4.2.4 FREEDOM OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY 25 LESS EQUAL LGBTI HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN ARMENIA, BELARUS, KAZAKHSTAN, AND KYRGYZSTAN Amnesty International 3 4.2.5 FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION 25 4.2.6 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND MEDIA ENVIRONMENT 26 4.2.7 RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AGAINST LGBTI PEOPLE 26 4.3 KAZAKHSTAN 27 4.3.1 LEGAL FRAMEWORK 28 4.3.2 TRANSGENDER RIGHTS 28 4.3.3 OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT 29 4.3.4 FREEDOM OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY 29 4.3.5 FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION 29 4.3.6 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND MEDIA ENVIRONMENT 29 4.3.7 RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AGAINST LGBTI PEOPLE 30 4.4 KYRGYZSTAN 31 4.4.1 LEGAL FRAMEWORK 31 4.4.2 TRANSGENDER RIGHTS 32 4.4.3 OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT 33 4.4.4 FREEDOM OF PEACEFUL ASSEMBLY 33 4.4.5 FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION 33 4.4.6 FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION AND MEDIA ENVIRONMENT 33 4.4.7 RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AGAINST LGBTI PEOPLE 34 5. LGBTI RIGHTS MOVEMENTS: STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES, THREATS 37 5.1 STRENGTHS AND OPPORTUNITIES: COMMON TRENDS 37 5.1.1 RESILIENCE OF LGBTI HRDS 37 5.1.2 INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT 37 5.1.3 INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS AND MECHANISMS 38 5.1.4 ANTI-DISCRIMINATION COALITIONS 38 5.1.5 SOLIDARITY FROM SOME SECTIONS OF CIVIL SOCIETY 38 5.2 WEAKNESSES AND THREATS: COMMON TRENDS 38 5.2.1 LACK OF SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT FROM “MAINSTREAM” HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS 38 5.2.2 POLITICIZATION OF LGBTI RIGHTS 39 5.2.3 REPRESSIVE LAWS 39 5.2.4 NEGATIVE SOCIAL ATTITUDES 40 5.2.5 FAILURE TO PROSECUTE HATE CRIMES AGAINST LGBTI PEOPLE 40 5.2.6 ACTIVIST BURNOUT 41 5.2.7 “EXCLUDED FROM THE MAINSTREAM” OF HUMAN RIGHTS RHETORIC AND PRACTICE 42 6. CASE STUDY: KYRGYZSTAN “EXCLUDED FROM THE MAINSTREAM” 44 6.1 PERSPECTIVES OF LGBTI HRDS 45 6.2 PERSPECTIVES OF OTHER HRDS 46 6.2.1 FEAR OF THE CONSEQUENCES 46 6.2.2 LACK OF A UNIVERSAL APPROACH TO HUMAN RIGHTS 47 LESS EQUAL LGBTI HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN ARMENIA, BELARUS, KAZAKHSTAN, AND KYRGYZSTAN Amnesty International 4 6.2.3 DISUNITY IN CIVIL SOCIETY 48 6.3 STATE ACTORS 48 6.3.1 OMBUDSMAN’S REPORT 48 6.4 INTERNATIONAL ACTORS 49 6.5 INTERNATIONAL MECHANISMS 49 7. CASE STUDY: ARMENIA “LESS EQUAL” 51 7.1 PERSPECTIVES OF LGBTI HRDS 52 7.2 PERSPECTIVES OF OTHER HRDS 52 7.2.1 HOMOPHOBIA 53 7.2.2 FEAR OF ATTACK 53 7.2.3 LACK OF A UNIVERSAL APPROACH TO HUMAN RIGHTS 54 7.2.4 WHAT ENABLES THOSE WHO DO SPEAK OUT? 54 7.3 STATE ACTORS 54 7.4 INTERNATIONAL ACTORS 55 7.5 INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL MECHANISMS 56 8. CONCLUSIONS 57 9. RECOMMENDATIONS 59 LESS EQUAL LGBTI HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN ARMENIA, BELARUS, KAZAKHSTAN, AND KYRGYZSTAN Amnesty International 5 GLOSSARY WORD DESCRIPTION BISEXUAL A person who is emotionally and sexually attracted to persons of more than one sex1 GENDER Each person’s deeply felt internal and individual experience of gender, which IDENTITY may or may not correspond with the sex assigned at birth, including the personal sense of the body (which may involve, if freely chosen, modification of bodily appearance or function by medical, surgical or other means) and other expressions of gender, including dress, speech and mannerisms2 CISGENDER Cisgender people are individuals whose gender expression or gender identity accords with conventional expectations based on the physical sex that they were assigned at birth3 DISCRIMINATION The different treatment of someone, in law or in practice, in a way that impairs or nullifies the enjoyment of their rights, because of a characteristic such as ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation or gender identity4 GAY Refers to a man who is emotionally and/or sexually attracted to other men 5 GENDER MARKER A gender marker is a gendered designator that appears on an official document such as a passport or an identity card. It may be an explicit designation such as “male” or “female”, a gendered title such like Ms or Mr, a professional title, a gendered pronoun, or a numerical code which uses particular numbers for men and for women (for example, odd numbers and even numbers)6 HATE CRIME A “bias-motivated” crime committed against a person because of their real or perceived identity, or membership of a group, defined by personal characteristics such as disability, ethnicity, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, or social or economic status. 7 HETEROSEXUAL Refers to a person who is sexually and emotionally attracted to people of a different gender HOMOPHOBIA Unreasonable anger, intolerance or hatred toward homosexuality8 HOMOSEXUAL Refers to a person who is sexually and emotionally attracted to people of the same gender 1 ILGA Europe, “ILGA-Europe Glossary,” ILGA Europe, accessed August 25, 2017, http://old.ilga- europe.org/home/publications/glossary. 2 The Yogyakarta Principles, “The Yogyakarta Principles: Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity,” 2007, 6, http://www.yogyakartaprinciples.org/principles_en.htm. 3 Amnesty International, “The State Decides Who I Am: Lack of Gender Recognition for Transgender People in Europe” (London: Amnesty International, 2014), 16. 4 Amnesty International, “Armenia: No Space for Difference” (London: Amnesty International, 2013), 10. 5 ILGA Europe, “ILGA-Europe Glossary.” 6 Amnesty International, “The State Decides Who I Am: Lack of Gender Recognition for Transgender People in Europe,” 16. 7 See Amnesty International, “Targeted by Hate, Forgotten by Law: Lack of a Coherent Response to Hate Crimes in Poland” (London: Amnesty International, 2015), 9, for a detailed list of the international standards on hate crimes. 8 ILGA Europe, “ILGA-Europe Glossary.” LESS EQUAL LGBTI HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS IN ARMENIA, BELARUS, KAZAKHSTAN, AND KYRGYZSTAN Amnesty International 6 WORD DESCRIPTION HRD Human Rights Defender. Amnesty International considers an HRD to be any person who, individually or in association with others, acts to defend and/or promote human rights at the local, national, regional or international levels, without resorting to or advocating hatred, discrimination or violence INTERSEX An umbrella term used to describe a person whose genital, gonadal, chromosomal or hormonal characteristics do not correspond to the given standard for male or female categories of sexual or reproductive anatomy. Intersex variations may take different forms and cover a wide range of traits. The terms intersex bodied, intersexed or intersexuality can also be ways of naming the diversity of sex characteristics9 LESBIAN Refers to a woman who is sexually and emotionally attracted to other women 10 LGBTI Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex MSM Men who have sex with men (but don’t necessarily identify as gay or bisexual)11 “OUT” Being openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex. To “come out” is to reveal one’s identification as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or intersex person. To be “outed” is when a person’s identification as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or intersex person is revealed without consent12 QUEER An umbrella term that encompasses many identities and roles that do not fit within heteronormative and cisnormative frameworks. Queer theory challenges social norms concerning gender and sexuality, and claims that gender roles are social constructions.13 SEXUAL Each person’s capacity for profound emotional, affectional and sexual ORIENTATION attraction to, and intimate and sexual relations with, individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender14 SOGI Sexual orientation and gender identity TRANSGENDER Transgender, or trans, people are individuals whose gender expression or gender identity differs from conventional expectations based on the physical sex they were assigned at birth.
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