CCHR Press Release : CCHR welcomes the Internatio​nal Day Against Homophobia and Transphobi​a and calls on all people to respect the human rights of LGBT people

CCHR Press Release: Stand Up for the Human Rights of LGBT People (in Khmer)
http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/55597570?access_key=key-1vopczjy50yhc8jh4t0l

CCHR Press Release: Stand Up for the Human Rights of LGBT People (in English)
http://www.scribd.com/fullscreen/55597645?access_key=key-20ugwvlxeo5y88n1m1sq


Dear All,

CCHR PRESS RELEASE, Phnom Penh, 17 May 2011

Stand up for the human rights of LGBT people

CCHR welcomes the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia and calls on all people to respect the human rights of LGBT people

The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (“CCHR”) welcomes the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (the “IDAHO”), a day on which events are organized all around the world to celebrate diversity and to call for respect for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (“LGBT”) people everywhere. The key message of the IDAHO is that homophobia and transphobia – rather than homosexuality and diversity – bring shame to society and should be fought.

As CCHR documented in its 2010 report, Coming out in the Kingdom: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People in Cambodia, LGBT people throughout Cambodia currently suffer from discrimination, abuse and even violence. They are ostracized by their families, denied job opportunities, discriminated against in the workplace, victimized by the police, and prevented from meeting freely and expressing themselves in public and with each other.

LGBT people are human beings like everyone else, and therefore have the right to be treated equally. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the various international human rights treaties that Cambodia has ratified, and the Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia all prescribe human rights for all – without exception. Everyone should recognize this fact, and respect LGBT people as they do others.

Ou Virak, President of The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), an independent, non-aligned, non-governmental organization that works to promote and protect democracy and respect for human rights throughout the Kingdom of Cambodia, comments:

“Cambodia has labored for far too long under the misapprehension that LGBT people are somehow different to ‘normal people’ and therefore don’t have the same rights as others. It is high time that everyone recognizes that LGBT people are entitled to the same human rights as everyone else, and that the Cambodian government promotes a culture of acceptance and respect for all. A thriving society is strengthened by its diversity.”

CCHR encourages everyone to wear a rainbow krama to celebrate the IDAHO and to show their respect for LGBT people in Cambodia. CCHR has designed rainbow krama – the colors of the international Gay Pride movement – which are available for purchase from our office in Phnom Penh.

For more information, please contact Ou Virak via telephone at +855 (0) 12 40 40 51 or e-mail at ouvirak@cchrcambodia.org.

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The Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) is a non-political, independent, non-governmental organization that works to promote and protect democracy and respect for human rights throughout Cambodia. For more information, please visit www.cchrcambodia.org.