When will Asean protect gender rights?

[Felix]

Rappler
Purple Romero
http://www.rappler.com/world/3506-when-will-asean-protect-gender-rights

MANILA, Philippines - It's one of the promises of the leaders in Southeast Asia this year – to come up with a human rights declaration for the region's 600 million people.

Advocates of gender rights have to ask, however: what did the authorities mean when they spoke of human rights? Were they referring only to the rights of the heterosexual citizens of the region, or did they also consider the rights of the members of the lesbian, gay and transgender community across the 10-member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations?

This question surfaced as the draft of the Asean human rights declaration (copies of which were obtained by the media in February) did not contain any clause ensuring that the rights of everybody – regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity – would be upheld.