Promoting and Protecting Human Rights in relation to Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Sex Characteristics A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions population, Indonesia, has never criminalised consensual adult same-sex conduct.92 The meaning of the religious texts and traditions in question are being re-assessed, with no single interpretation now given full acceptance. Universal human rights law has been a very important factor in encouraging this re-assessment and re-interpretation. The National Human Rights Commission of Korea reported: The notoriously obstinate prejudice and mal-understanding among protestant churches (30% of the Korean folks are protestant church-goers) in Korea over the human rights for the minority with diverse sexual orientation and gender identities still constitutes a challenging context in promoting and protecting human rights for LGBTI who had to live as invisible citizens, not disclosing their sexual and gender identities for fear of being discriminated or being the targets of hate speech in daily life; in fact, all the efforts of our Commission and human rights community to legislate anti-discrimination act and human rights education law (both bills prohibits discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation) has failed, in large part, with the objection of Korean protestant churches.93 The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines has had a similar experience when the Catholic Bishops’ Conference opposed an anti-discrimination bill on the basis that the bill would provide protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.94 However, a gay activist from Timor Leste noted: The Church is not systematically discriminating against LGBT. However, members of the Church would be very against LGBTs due to Church doctrine. Despite this, some priests and nuns cooperate and work together with the LGBT community. As well as this, many of the LGBT community go to church and receive communion without any problems. The criminal laws have been uneven in their terminology and scope. Sometimes they refer to samesex activity indirectly, through use of terms like ‘unnatural acts’ or ‘unnatural sex’95 or ‘acts against the order of nature’96 or ‘acts of gross indecency’.97 Some laws use the terms ‘sodomy’98 or ‘buggery’99. Sometimes they apply to male same-sex activity but not female.100 Sometimes they specifically cover ‘homosexual and lesbian intercourses’.101 Where same-sex activity remains criminalised, penalties are very severe, including the death penalty in some States. Three States in the Asia Pacific region continue to implement the death penalty for consensual adult same-sex activities: Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. In three others, the death penalty is provided but does not appear to be implemented officially: Afghanistan, Pakistan and Qatar. The death penalty is implemented outside the law by armed groups in parts of Iraq and Syria.102 Where the death penalty is not imposed, the crime of consensual adult same-sex activity is punished by imprisonment or whipping or both. 32 92 Recently, however, Islamic religious law (shari’a) has been applied in the province of Aceh in Indonesia. 93 APF, ‘National Human Rights Commission of Korea’, Briefing document for the workshop on the role of National Human Rights Institutions in promoting and protecting the rights of LGBTI in Asia and the Pacific, 24-25 February 2015, p. 13; at www. asiapacificforum.net/resources/workshop-briefing-paper-nhris-sogi-2015/. 94 APF, ‘Philippines Commission on Human Rights’, Briefing document for the workshop on the role of National Human Rights Institutions in promoting and protecting the rights of LGBTI in Asia and the Pacific, 24-25 February 2015, p. 23. 95 For example, Bhutan Penal Code 2004, s. 213. 96 For example, Indian Penal Code, s. 377. 97 For example, Singapore Penal Code (Revised) 2008, s. 377A. 98 For example, Samoa Crimes Act 2013, s. 67; Iran Islamic Penal Code of Iran 1991, Part 2. 99 Kiribati Penal Code 1977, s. 153. See ILGA report, State Sponsored Homophobia 2015, p. 93; at http://ilga.org/what-we-do/ state-sponsored-homophobia-report/. The earliest United Kingdom law on same-sex activity was the Buggery Act 1533. Later laws referred to “the abominable crime of buggery”: UK Offences against the Person Act 1861, s. 61. This term was used in laws in some colonies, including in Australia; for example, the NSW Crimes Act, s. 79. 100 The United Kingdom law that was the origin of most colonial laws never imposed criminal penalties on female same-sex activity. 101 For example, article 33 of the Omani Penal Code 1974. 102 International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, State Sponsored Homophobia 2015: A world survey of laws: criminalisation, protection and recognition of same-sex love, May 2015, p. 29; at http://ilga.org/what-we-do/state-sponsoredhomophobia-report/.