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Ensuring the rights of LGBTIQ+ Youth and Children are protected at Thailand’s 3rd UPR!
Manushya Foundation jointly with Young Pride Club, BUKU Classroom, Isaan Gender Diversity Network, Deaf Thai Rainbow Club, The Volunteer House for Children and Youth, and The Coalition of Innovation for Thai Youth collaborated on a joint UPR submission ahead of Thailand’s 3rd Universal Periodic Review (UPR) cycle. The submission examines the compliance of Thailand with the recommendations it received during its 2nd UPR cycle in relation to the protection of the rights of LGBTIQ+ Youth and Children in the country.
This is the third time Thailand has undergone review under the UPR. During the 2nd UPR cycle, Thailand did not receive any recommendations directly addressing LGBTIQ+ Youth and Children. However, it received 42 recommendations related to their rights. Of these recommendations, 41 were supported and one was noted. Our assessment demonstrates that the government persistently failed to fully implement these recommendations since its last UPR.
This submission documents Thailand’s treatment of LGBTIQ+ Youth and Children, who are facing severe challenges in accessing their human rights. While the Thai government ratified some core international human rights treaties applicable to LGBTIQ+ Youth and Children, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), protecting all children against sex and gender-based discriminations (General Comment N.13, 2011), and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), gaps in Thai legislation leave the rights of LGBTIQ+ Youth and Children largely unprotected.
In addition to the legal vacuum, LGBTIQ+ Youth and Children also experience multi-faceted discrimination, violence, and acts of prejudice – allegedly justified by cultural and religious factors and beliefs. LGBTIQ+ Youth and Children experience issues such as bullying in schools, confinement to specific employment sectors, difficulties accessing education and health services, lack of family acceptance and of self-acceptance, a heightened vulnerability to self-stigma, and an extensive misrepresentation of the LGBTIQ+ community, both in the media and in sexual education school textbooks.
This submission indicates that LGBTIQ+ Youth and Children face severe challenges in accessing their human rights, in the following manner:
Section 2 discusses legal gaps and weak enforcement of domestic legislation which leave the rights of LGBTIQ+ Youth and Children unprotected.
Section 3 discusses discrimination in schools, workplaces, and the military faced by LGBTIQ+ Youth and Children.
Section 4 discusses gender-based hate speech experienced by LGBTIQ+ Youth.
Section 5 discusses the degrading and humiliating treatment in private settings faced by LGBTIQ+ Youth and Children due to the lack of family acceptance.
Section 6 discusses barriers in accessing healthcare services and obtaining information regarding services faced by LGBTIQ+ Youth and Children.
Section 7 discusses the misrepresentation and underrepresentation of LGBTIQ+ Youth in the media.
Section 8 includes recommendations to the Thai government, addressing the challenges and rights violations discussed in foregoing sections.
This submission also provides an annex with an overview of the examined recommendations.