Kathmandu (Pahichan) September 2 – The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have formalized a partnership agreement to strengthen the capacity of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) in the Pacific in relation to the promotion and protection of the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.

“The Australian Government is committed to protecting the human rights of all persons. Advancing gender equality, equal human rights for LGBTI people, and strengthening NHRIs contribute directly to these commitments. Australia is proud to support the joint work of UNDP and the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (APF),” wrote the DFAT spokesperson.

The planned activities build on the successful UNDP and APF collaboration in 2015–2017 that included development of a manual and training tools for NHRIs on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) and development of guidelines for NHRIs to mainstream LGBTI and intersex into their operations, as well as sub-regional trainings on SOGIESC to NHRIs and LGBTI individuals. This collaboration will support national programming on LGBTI human rights in the Pacific, and strengthen the technical knowledge and exchanges in relation to LGBTI data collection and research.

“We are excited to have Australia as the newest partner in the Being LGBTI in Asia programme. The Pacific communities have often been underserved; with DFAT’s support, we are able to expand the reach of this important line of work with APF to countries in the Pacific”, said Edmund Settle, Policy Advisor at UNDP.

Being LGBTI in Asia is a regional programme supported by UNDP, the Embassy of Sweden in Bangkok, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Faith in Love Foundation and now, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs of Trade. We work to address inequality, violence and discrimination on the basis of SOGIESC, and promote universal access to health and social services.

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