Legislators discuss shared aims at dialogue in Bangkok

*Host Louisa Wall with five of the attending legislators*

The Global Equality Caucus has convened a dialogue between legislators and civil society stakeholders at a working dinner in Bangkok.

Hosted by GEC co-founder Louisa Wall, a former member of the New Zealand Parliament, and GEC Head of Operations Andrew Slinn, the dinner welcomed national legislators from the Cook Islands, Guyana, Liberia, Thailand, South Africa and Uganda, plus a former member of the Parliament of Bhutan and a city councillor from Malaysia.

Also in attendance were stakeholders from UNAIDS, Kaleidoscope Trust, APCOM and the Equal Asia Foundation.

The meeting was convened to facilitate shared learning between elected officials on LGBT+ rights legislation and support cross-strategisation on cases where progress is still needed.

Attendees hailed positive developments in Asia and the Pacific, including the recent passage of marriage equality in Thailand and the decriminalisation of same-sex relations in Bhutan and the Cook Islands. Legislators highlighted the importance of multi-stakeholder dialogue in pushing for decriminalisation, with lawmakers working with civil society advocates at each stage of the legislative process to centre community voices and cultivate wide societal support.

The meeting also addressed the rise of anti-LGBT+ rhetoric and restrictive laws, seeking to identify narratives and common strategies to push back against discrimination.

Attendees pointed to the ‘cost of homophobia’ and the need for a more coordinated narrative that anti-LGBT+ hatred can have a detrimental effect on a country’s economy through the socioeconomic exclusion of many citizens.

A recent report by Open for Business found that countries in East Africa, including Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, are losing billions in economic potential because of legal discrimination against LGBT+ people.

Attendees agreed there was a need to sustain pressure on the Ugandan government to repeal its draconian Anti-Homosexuality Act, with legislators offering international support to the Act’s opponents.

Concluding the dialogue, Louisa Wall commended the gathered legislators for their leadership on LGBT+ inclusion, noting the significance and importance of connecting champions across the Global South to develop strategies based on shared experiences.