Release of the key findings from the study – Legal Gender Recognition of Transge

Press Conference Release of the key findings from the study – Legal Gender Recognition of Transgender People:A Multi-Country Legal and Policy Review in Asia

A lack of legal gender recognition remains one of the most significant barriers to social inclusion and enjoyment of human rights for transgender people in Asia according to a multi- country study by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Asia Pacific Transgender Network (APTN).

The study entitled Legal Gender Recognition of Transgender People: A Multi-Country Legal and Policy Review is based upon a comprehensive review of existing laws, policies and practice conducted over 18 months in nine countries in Asia. Additionally, over 220 transgender people from more than 80 transgender and LGBTI civil society groups added their voice and lived realities to substantiate the study’s findings.

During the press conference, UNDP and APTN will share the results of the multi-country study and the transgender community panel will discuss how legislatures, the judiciary and civil society have been engaged to promote protective transgender legislation, policies and practice in their respective countries. The community panel will also highlight remaining challenges in the region and how they continue to impact the daily lives of transgender people.
 
Press Conference: Key findings from the study - Legal Gender Recognition of Transgender People: A Multi-Country Legal and Policy Review
Date and time: Tuesday, 19 September 2017 from 18:00 p.m. to 20:00 p.m.
Venue: Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand, Penthouse, Maneeya Center Building, 518/5 Ploenchit Road, Lumpini, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330
 
Refreshments and light dinner will be provided.
 
Agenda
 
Opening remarks (20 minutes):
-        H.E. Staffan Herrström, Swedish Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand
-        Nadia Rasheed, Team Leader, HIV, Health and Development, United Nations Development Programme
-        Phylesha Brown-Acton, Co-Chair, Asia Pacific Transgender Network
 
Presentation of key findings (20 minutes):                             
-        Jack Byrne, Human Rights Researcher
 
Transgender Community panel (45 minutes)
-        Manisha Dhakal, Executive Director, Blue Diamond Society, Nepal
-        Mitch Yusmar Yusof, Executive Director, SEED, Malaysia
-        Zainab Javid Patel, Petitioner in NALSA vs Government of India (transgender case)
-        Chu Thanh Ha, LGBT Rights Officer, Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment, Viet Nam
-        Wannapong (Nhuun) Yodmuang, Advocacy and human rights managment officer, Rainbow Sky Association of Thailand

Biographies

H.E. Staffan Herrström, Swedish Ambassador to the Kingdom of Thailand
H.E. Mr Staffan Herrström, born in 1955 in Sweden, is currently the Ambassador of Sweden to the Kingdom of Thailand, Lao Peoples’ Democratic Republic and the Republic of the Union of Myanmar since 2015 (residence in Bangkok).  He is responsible for promoting and protecting Swedish interests and to strengthen the relations between Sweden and the countries of accreditation including between companies, organizations and individuals.  An important task is to promote interest in universal values close to the heart of the Swedish Government including human rights and gender equality.  The Embassy is under his leadership responsible for the implementation of regional development cooperation in Asia and the Pacific and a bilateral development program in Myanmar.
 
Prior to this position, the Ambassador has been posted as Swedish Ambassador in Poland (2011 to 2015), Vietnam (2010 to 2011) and Tanzania (2007 to 2010).  Before joining the Swedish Foreign Ministry, he was Deputy Director General of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) (1995-2007).  In addition, the Ambassador was State Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office 1991-1994.  He has also worked as a journalist at the Swedish newspaper ‘Göteborgs-Posten’.
 
Ambassador Staffan holds Bachelor of Arts (Russian, Eastern European Studies, and Political Science) degree from Uppsala University in Sweden (1980).  He is married and has two daughters.


Nadia Rasheed, Team Leader, HIV, Health and Development, UNDP Bangkok Regional HubNadia Rasheed is the Team Leader for UNDP's HIV, Health and Development Team in Asia and the Pacific, based in the UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub. She works on addressing social determinants of health, with a focus on enabling legal and policy environments for addressing HIV and non-communicable diseases, supporting universal health coverage, and promoting inclusion of marginalized populations. She was previously the global Practice Manager for the UNDP HIV and Development Practice in New York. She has worked on a range of HIV and health issues, gender equality and women’s empowerment, and United Nations partnerships, representing UNDP as the global focal point for partnerships with the Joint UN Programme for HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).  She also previously worked with the UNDP Human Development Report Office.
 

Phylesha Brown-Acton, Co-Chair, Asia Pacific Transgender Network
Phylesha Brown-Acton is a champion for the rights of sexual minority groups within Āotearoa and the Pacific, she identifies as Fakafifine of Niuean descent. Phylesha is the founder of a newly formed Pacific LGBTQI organisation called F'INE (Family, Identity, Navigate & Equality) which is a whānau ora support service and the first support service of its kind in Āotearoa that caters to Pacific LGBTQI peoples and their families. Phylesha is the Co-Chair of the Asia Pacific Transgender Network (APTN) and a board member of the Auckland Pride Festival Board.


Jack Byrne, Human Rights Researcher, New Zealand
Jack Byrne is human rights researcher from Aotearoa / New Zealand, working on transgender human rights issues locally, regionally and internationally. He is the co-author of UNDP’s regional legal gender recognition report, and of the Asia Pacific Trans Health Blueprint. Jack has written and spoken extensively on legal gender recognition for academic, policy and transgender community audiences. He co-authored a Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Sex Characteristics (SOGISC) manual for UNDP and the Asia Pacific Forum (APF) of National Human Rights Institutions. Jack previously worked as a Senior Policy Analyst for the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, where he project managed its Transgender Inquiry.  He is a trans man and values opportunities to support dialogue between governments, national human rights institutions, and trans communities.