With apologies for cross posting:

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

AMARC condemns ruling on 377 in India, calls on members to rally behind the
right to identity

 

December 18, 2013, Kathmandu. The World Association of Community Radio
Broadcasters (AMARC Asia Pacific) strongly condemns the recent ruling of the
Supreme Court in India on Sec. 377 of its Penal Code, which criminalizes
concensual same-sex relations.

 

AMARC Asia-Pacific expresses its solidarity with the lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT) community in India. In its Bangalore (2010) and Seoul
(2013) Declarations, AMARC AP reaffirmed that everyone has a right to live
with dignity and without fear of persecution, and resolved "to create spaces
on the airwaves for diverse and marginalized voices, irrespective of gender,
race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity, class, caste,
religious beliefs or disability."

 

"The Supreme Court judgment on Sec. 377 is not only retrograde, but also
schizophrenic in the context of the government of India guidelines of 2006
specifically in the context of community radio content regulation," says
Ashish Sen, ex-president of AMARC AP. Sec. 377 is inconsistent with India's
international obligations in policy making as signatory to UN Declaration of
Human Rights (UNDHR) and International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR). It violates the right to equality, right to
non-discrimination, and rights to be protected against unreasonable
interference with privacy and arbitrary detention, which are enshrined in
the UNDHR and ICCPR.

 

"Moreover, the ruling on Sec. 377 legitimizes hate and prejudice against
perceived or actual LGBTs, making them even more vulnerable to acts of
violence and human rights violations. This was already documented in the UN
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' report, Born Free and
Equal," points out Maica Lagman, AMARC AP president.

 

"As community radio broadcasters, we are committed to giving voice to those
who are marginalized based on sexual orientation and gender identity. This
ruling is a backward step in human rights and only pushes LGBTs deeper into
silence," adds Lagman.

 

AMARC recognizes that community radio is an important tool in breaking down
social barriers and stereotypes that marginalise or exclude people based on
their gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity,
class, caste, religious beliefs or disability.  AMARC AP calls on its
members to stand behind the right to identity, and urges India's parliament
to uphold its international obligations and to overturn the ruling on 377.

 

-END-

 

Through service to its members, networking and project implementation, the
World Association of Community Radios (AMARC) brings together more than
5,000 community radios, federations and community radio partners in more
than 130 countries. The main impact of AMARC since its foundation in 1983
has been to accompany and support the establishment of a global community
radio sector. AMARC does lobbying and advocacy for the right to
communication internationally, nationally and at the local and neighborhood
levels, and defends and promotes the interests of the community radio
movement through solidarity, networking and cooperation. For more
information, please contact Suman Basnet, Regional Coordinator for
Asia-Pacific, [log in to unmask] or visit
http://ap.amarc.org/.  

 

_________________ 

Suman Basnet

Regional Coordinator

AMARC Asia Pacific

Kathmandu, Nepal

Email:  <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
[log in to unmask] 

Web:  <http://ap.amarc.org/> http://ap.amarc.org/

 

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