Pattaya Draft Declaration on Sex Work in Asia and the Pacific 2010

Please have a look at the PLRI link below for the full text of the draft declaration.

Preamble

Recognising that:

Sex workers of all genders are subject to violence, both in their personal lives and at work. This violence is a manifestation of stigma, discrimination and judgemental attitudes.

International and national trafficking law and policy has resulted in increased violence against and oppression of sex workers.

United Nations organisations and specialised agencies have previously agreed that criminal and other laws that lead to dangerous settings for commercial  sex and limit access to services must be repealed.

In many parts of the world, sex workers are amongst the most vulnerable to HIV and STIs.

Twenty years of experience has shown that effective HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for sex workers is possible only with their meaningful and active involvement.

Collective organising and community mobilisationand community led processes are key to ensuring that sex workers benefit from HIV policies and programmes.

Building capacity within sex worker networks and communities must be understood as part of the commitment to the respect, protect and fulfil the human rights of sex workers.

Sex workers who are socially included, have better economic and social status and are less vulnerable to human rights abuses and HIV.

It is necessary to provide and scale up access to rights based HIV programming for sex workers and their clients of all genders, HIV positive or negative.

Successful rights based interventions that have been shown to reduce HIV and STIs among female, male and transgender sex workers and clients must be strengthened and scaled up.

Coercive efforts to control or reduce sex work are contrary to human rights. Mandatory medical treatment or procedures, raids, forced rehabilitation, or programmes implemented by police or based upon detention of sex workers are all examples of coercive programming and in some circumstances may constitute torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

To be effective, HIV programming needs to be devised in true partnership with sex workers, and be dynamic, participatory, non-coercive and must address the diverse realities of human sexuality and sexual expression.

http://plri.wordpress.com/2010/10/15/pattaya-draft-declaration-on-sex-work-in-asia-and-the-pacific-2010/
http://iac.nswp.org/

Preventing Statelessness: Southeast Asian countries share lessons

Nguyen Thi Phuong, right, was stateless when this photo was taken at her mother's house in Ho Chi Minh City in 2007, after her marriage to a Taiwanese man ended. Through a new Vietnamese nationality law she got her citizenship back. (Courtesy of UNHCR)

BANGKOK, Thailand, Oct. 29 (UNHCR) – Cambodia's dramatic success in documenting its citizens after the devastating Khmer Rouge years and Viet Nam's new nationality law that has rescued thousands of "economic brides" from stateless limbo have been shared with experts from nine Southeast Asian countries as model ways countries can prevent and reduce statelessness.
Yim Sam Ol, from Cambodia's Ministry of Interior, told some 60 experts at a Bangkok roundtable of his country's struggle to rebuild after all citizen registration documents were destroyed between 1975 and 1979. Using mobile teams to reach into the most remote areas, Cambodia managed to raise the percentage of birth certificates issued from five percent to more than 90 percent in just over two years.
"Birth registration is an important measure that can prevent statelessness," said Mark Manly, head of UNHCR's statelessness unit and one of the organizers of the roundtable, co-hosted by the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand and UNHCR.
The two-day meeting, which ended Friday, was financed by the European Commission and comes as UNHCR begins a year-long campaign to help the world's estimated 12 million stateless people and encourage more countries to sign up to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
"The Cambodian registration campaign underlined the link between Cambodia and its citizens, which is an important step to prevent statelessness if Cambodians ever find themselves abroad without documents," Manly said.
At the same time, he added, "lack of documentation does not make you stateless." Manly explained that refugees, migrant workers and other displaced people often can't prove their status, but actually do have citizenship somewhere.
True statelessness comes about when a person has no claim to nationality in any country, sometimes because of dissolution of states (such as the former Soviet Union), or often because of a conflict of laws concerning citizenship and marriage.
Thousands of Vietnamese women who married Taiwanese men were left stateless because they were forced to renounce their citizenship in order to apply for citizenship in Taiwan. But if their marriages broke up before they got their new nationality, they – and often their children – came back to Viet Nam stateless, even in the country of their birth.
In 2009, Viet Nam passed a new nationality law that allows for dual citizenship and prevents women from falling into that limbo. Viet Nam has also systematically set about restoring citizenship to its stateless divorced women, most of who married for economic reasons.
Trinh Thi Hong Anh, from Viet Nam's Social Affairs Ministry, told the gathering that her ministry also intends launch a media campaign warning women about the potential hazards of marrying abroad. Vocational training and counseling will also be offered to women and children who come back home after failed marriages.
Rafendi Djamin, Indonesia's representative to the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, said ASEAN is quite open to learning from the whole world, "but we can also learn well from neighboring countries."
"We see a lot of similarities in terms of values and norms, so some of the lessons are more applicable because of similar values in Southeast Asian countries," he said.
Taking "best practices" from the meeting, Djamin said, the next step is to see what can be done to identify, prevent and reduce statelessness by working at a regional level.
By Kitty McKinsey in Bangkok

http://www.unhcr.org/4ccae1009.html

How the Guardian got it wrong on censorship in SE Asia

 From: Jon Russell at Asian Correspondent.

"It is usually positive to see southeast Asia's web censorship raised in mainstream titles like the Guardian, however I can't help agreeing with Elicano in thinking this article may do more harm that good. The assumption that the region is following China is hugely misleading and belies the complex domestic circumstances and cultures which are responsible for each country's own censorship issues.
As the Thailand government have shown, censorship in the region is far from black and white and shouldn't be lumped together to make for easy comparison with China."


http://asiancorrespondent.com/jon-russell/how-the-guardian-got-it-wrong-on-censorship-in-se-asia

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/oct/21/internet-web-censorship-asia

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/interactive/2010/oct/21/asia-web-censorship-bloggers

SBY warns Australia ahead of meeting

From Jakarta Post:

Just a day before talks with Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told Australia to stay away from the Papuan torture issue, vowing to bring to justice those involved in the torture.“There’s no need to pressure Indonesia. We have conducted an investigation and are ready for a trial or anything that is required to uphold justice and discipline,” he told a press conference on Monday.
Gillard arrived in Jakarta on Monday morning, and will have lunch with the President on Tuesday before heading to Yogyakarta to visit victims of the Mount Merapi eruption.
Indonesia, which just received the ASEAN chairmanship from Vietnam last week, has long been proud of its democracy and human rights record. Under Yudhoyono, the country wants to set an example in upholding human rights and democratic principles. 
The video posted online last month by the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission that showed Indonesian Military (TNI) members allegedly torturing Papuans has tainted Indonesia’s image, with local and international human rights organizations immediately expressing condemnation.
New York-based Human Rights Watch urged Gillard to “press for the accountability of abusive Indonesian security forces” through a letter it sent to Australia’s House of Representatives last week.
“The trial will happen soon, and it will be a just trial. If there is a mistake then we will punish the perpetrators. There will be no impunity,” Yudhoyono said.
The President, however, said the presence of the TNI in Papua was inevitable, “although the world doesn’t believe it, there are in fact separatist movements in Papua.”
The issue of the torture of Papuans suspected to be part of separatist movements, however, has overshadowed other Australian interests, such as the handling of human smuggling and the fate of its citizens on Indonesia’s death row.
Prior to Gillard’s attendance at the ASEAN Summit in Hanoi, she said she would suggest that leaders set up regional refugee centers.
“Certainly I will raise the issue of human smuggling and the movement of people,” Gillard told ABC Television. “The dialogue has been continuing.”
Gillard’s trip follows a tour by Immigration Minister Chris Bowen, who went to Indonesia, Malaysia and Timor Leste, which Australia has nominated as a potential home for the regional center.
Timor Leste has agreed to discuss the proposal, but remains cautious of the plan that would see asylum seekers held in the country while their refugee claims are assessed.
On a possible plea to let Australian citizens, including Schapelle Corby and the Bali Nine, off the hook, Gillard has said she would make it private with Yudhoyono.
Gillard told ABC News that it would be inappropriate to discuss if she would lobby Yudhoyono on behalf of the Australians.
“Clearly, Australia does not support the death penalty — that is our position as a nation,” she said.
“But when it comes to advocacy on behalf of individuals, it’s certainly in the best interests of those individuals to be doing those discussions privately, rather than publicly, and I intend to.”



http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/11/02/sby-warns-australia-ahead-meeting.html

Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) - Including Condom Programming

http://www.plri.org/resource/sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights-srhr-including-condom-programming

Response AP applauds the work of the PLRI in insisting on the human rights and labour rights of sex workers.

Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) - Including Condom Programming

This discussion paper was developed for the  for the 1st Asia and the Pacific Regional Consultation on HIV and Sex Work, 12 – 15 October 2010. Among its recommendations are
1. A human rights based approach should be applied to any HIV program targeting sex workers and their clients. The illegality of sex work in most counties in the region creates an environment that facilitates harassment and hinders the delivery of prevention and care. Programs must build the capacity of sex workers to engage in advocacy with policy makers to ensure protection of their fundamental rights to safe work, fair wages, reasonable working hours, quality health and social
security services.
2. The practice of mandatory or coercive STI and HIV testing and lack of confidentiality in programs targeting sex workers in some countries violates human rights. Sex workers in different countries are required to carry a health card, which provides law enforcement officers with additional ‘justification’ to harass and abuse them. Such approaches often make sex workers feel they are being targeted and punished and do not facilitate a sense of empowerment or partnership. The ethical principles of voluntarism and confidentiality should be incorporated into the design, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of all sexual and reproductive health and HIV programs.

 

UN conference ends with pledges to promote green growth in Asia-Pacific region

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=36322&Cr=Environment&Cr1=

"Government ministers from across the Asia-Pacific region today committed themselves at a United Nations conference to implement a plan to promote green growth that encourages economic development while still ensuring environmental sustainability."