Nepal LGBT community under shadow of fear: Rights group
2 April 2013 7:28 AM IST
Nepal should allow lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups to operate freely and end arbitrary arrests of LGBT people, Human Rights Watch said on Monday. The government should investigate threats and attacks against LGBT people, the rights body said.
Harassment, including by the government, has contributed to a climate of fear among LGBT people and activists in Nepal, and has interrupted vital activities, including HIV prevention work, it said.
‘The LGBT rights movement in Nepal is a regional and international leader but is under serious threat,’ said Graeme Reid, director of the LGBT Rights Program at Human Rights Watch.
‘While Nepal has made immense progress on LGBT rights in the past decade, the government cannot afford to ignore the many problems facing LGBT people inside its borders.’
Attacks on Nepal’s LGBT activists have escalated in recent months from threats against individuals, to physical violence and abduction, Human Rights Watch said.
Over the past six months, LGBT rights activists have reported being harassed by threatening text messages and being followed by people wearing masks who attempted to extort money or sex. Some have been forced by these masked figures to make negative on-camera statements against Blue Diamond Society, the national LGBT umbrella organisation. But the threats have not been investigated nor punished by authorities.
Harassment, including by the government, has contributed to a climate of fear among LGBT people and activists in Nepal, and has interrupted vital activities, including HIV prevention work, it said.
‘The LGBT rights movement in Nepal is a regional and international leader but is under serious threat,’ said Graeme Reid, director of the LGBT Rights Program at Human Rights Watch.
‘While Nepal has made immense progress on LGBT rights in the past decade, the government cannot afford to ignore the many problems facing LGBT people inside its borders.’
Attacks on Nepal’s LGBT activists have escalated in recent months from threats against individuals, to physical violence and abduction, Human Rights Watch said.
Over the past six months, LGBT rights activists have reported being harassed by threatening text messages and being followed by people wearing masks who attempted to extort money or sex. Some have been forced by these masked figures to make negative on-camera statements against Blue Diamond Society, the national LGBT umbrella organisation. But the threats have not been investigated nor punished by authorities.
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