In this podcast Hesti Armiwulan from Indonesia talks about attending the human rights conference.
Summary
In a recorded interview at Wellington Town Hall on March 16, 2011, Hesti Armiwulan, a commissioner with the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights, discusses the state of LGBT rights and human rights education in Indonesia. With a focus on advancing LGBT rights, Armiwulan highlights the implementation of the Yogyakarta Principles—a set of international legal principles relating to sexual orientation and gender identity—in Indonesian context.
During the interview with Gareth Watkins, Armiwulan describes a challenging landscape for the rights of LGBT individuals in Indonesia, a country with strict cultural and religious norms, where conservatism leads to widespread discrimination, stigmatization, and even violence against this community. Despite the presence of a number of organizations addressing LGBT issues, there remains a profound struggle to instill a comprehensive understanding of human rights applicable to the LGBT community.
Armiwulan elaborates on the nature of complaints received by the Indonesian National Commission on Human Rights, ranging from discriminatory local regulations to attacks from both police and societal members. Tragic reports include instances of violence against LGBT individuals, such as domestic violence and rape within families. This revealing dialogue underscores the persistent and pervasive human rights violations faced by the LGBT community.
In response to discrimination and crimes, Armiwulan’s institution, which holds a mandate to investigate human rights infringements, focuses on education and awareness campaigns as primary strategies. To cultivate a recognition of their rights among LGBT individuals, particularly those lacking formal education, the institution facilitates specialized training courses. Furthermore, it educates government and law enforcement officials on human rights principles to encourage respect and uphold the rights of all citizens, including those with diverse gender identities and sexual orientations.
However, Armiwulan acknowledges significant challenges to these efforts, including a restricted budget and the vast geographic and demographic scale of Indonesia, which has over 230 million people. This strain on resources leads to a quest for networking opportunities and external funding to support these initiatives.
The interview also touches upon the role of support networks and the potential of international conferences to inspire strategies to promote LGBT rights in Indonesia. Armiwulan expresses how attending the human rights conference is influential, providing valuable lessons and reinforcing the importance of a global movement for LGBT equality.
Armiwulan's insights convey a broader message of human rights advocacy—one that transcends generational boundaries. If someone were to listen to this recording three decades on, the message would be clear: human rights must be upheld for everyone, without discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
This summary is created using Generative AI. Although it is based on the recording's transcription, it may contain errors or omissions. Click here to learn more about how this summary was created.
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