Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), America’s largest lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, hailed
the passage of a new constitution in Nepal that provides explicit
protections for LGBT people from discrimination, violence, and abuse--a
historic first for a nation in Asia. Nepal joins only a handful of
countries, including South Africa and Ecuador, that have enshrined equal
rights protections for LGBT people in their national constitutions.
Nepal’s Parliament endorsed the new constitution on September 16,
making it the first constitution the republic has passed since
abolishing its 239-year-old monarchy in 2008. President Ram Baran Yadav
is slated to promulgate the constitution at a ceremony in Parliament on
September 20.
“This is a momentous step forward for LGBT equality in Nepal. The
nation’s leadership has affirmed that its LGBT citizens deserve the
constitutional right to live their lives free from discrimination and
fear,” said Ty Cobb, Director of HRC Global. “We
congratulate LGBT Nepalis and their allies for this historic victory,
and hope to see other nations across Asia and the globe take similar
steps to ensure full legal equality for their LGBT citizens.”
In A Historic Step, Nepal Ratifies New Constitution That Includes LGBT Protections | Human Rights Campaign
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