THE ONGOING LGBTQ+ RIGHTS CRISIS IN MALAYSIA

By Landon Holben

For each step forward that the LGBTQ+ community and its allies make, there is almost always a counterexample that shows the world is still as dangerous a place as ever for the community. Recently, a constitutional referendum vote to explicitly limit same-sex marriage was struck down before it even reached the voting stage in Romania. Yet just a month before, world news headlines described the horrific public caning and fining of two homosexual women in Malaysia. The LGBTQ+ rights crisis is a human rights crisis and should be treated as such, especially in regions such as Southeast Asia where the community is often helpless in the face of state-sponsored homophobia and discrimination.

The punishment of the two women took place in Terengganu, a state to the east of Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur. The state is known to be governed by Sharia law, including special courts specifically for Muslims. Each woman was lashed six times after being caught attempting to have sex in a parked car. They were also required to pay a fine of 3,300 ringgits ($800) each. This punishment was carried out within a courtroom with many public observers. Current Malaysian anti-sodomy law, largely unchanged since 1826, provides for whipping and up to a 20-year prison sentence for homosexual acts.

On September 22, 2018, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the current head of government in Malaysia, responded to criticisms made by The Human Rights Coalition of Malaysia (Suhakam) by stating that LGBT rights and same-sex marriages were unacceptable in Malaysia due to its status as a Muslim-majority nation. That same day, Suhakam itself announced that they also do not support same-sex marriage, despite their championing of the universality of human rights and criticisms of the Malaysian government’s human rights record. This is a common theme in Malaysia, as many organizations criticize discrimination and violence against the LBGT+ community, yet maintain the stance that members of the community are going against Islam and need to return to the “right” path. Since the mid-1970’s Malaysia has been undergoing a period of Islamization, in which the government has set traditional Islam on a crash course with constitutional law. Anti-sodomy laws were rarely enforced in Malaysia through most of the 20th century, yet the politically-charged persecution of the former parliamentary Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has now set the nation well behind many of its Southeast Asian counterparts. Anwar was first charged and jailed in 1998 before the verdict was overturned in 2004. Charges were brought again in 2008, but after trials in 2010, 2011, and 2012 he was acquitted. The Malaysian Court of Appeal overturned this acquittal in 2014, sentencing Anwar to five years in prison, which he served until his pardon on May 16, 2018. It can be argued then, that discrimination has worsened in recent years due to a combination of stricter government adherence to traditional Islam and the public discrediting of Anwar. The general population of Malaysia is being held back from learning to accept progress for the LGBTQ+ community due to the current administration’s reliance upon traditional Islam as the basis for the law.

Singapore, another nation that inherited its laws against homosexuality from the British Empire, began to review these laws throughout the last decade, essentially leading the government to declare that private acts between consenting adults would not be prosecuted. This, coupled with a dramatic rise in public acceptance for same-sex relationships over the last five years, presents a promising outlook for Singapore’s future with human rights. This goes to show that if the government is willing to lessen discrimination laws, the general public will often follow suit. This is also the case in India, which legalized homosexuality on September 6, 2018, a decision that has enjoyed support from a majority of the general population.

The case could be similar in Malaysia if the government were to lessen their support for discrimination, as India especially is a deeply traditional and religious country, much like Malaysia. The Malaysian government, however, has publicly defended human rights epidemics such as child marriage as being a lesser problem than LGBTQ+ activity. The government has also contributed directly to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the nation by limiting public advertisement of condom-usage and treatment options. Malaysia is seventh highest in adult prevalence of HIV/AIDS in all of Asia, and even current government programs to curve the upward trend are ineffective due to the widespread discrimination and social stigmata around HIV/AIDS. This trend, which affects far more than just the LGBTQ+ community, could be reversed with government intervention and the allowance of resources to change social perspectives and combat the disease.

FAMINE, PEACE, AND WAR IN THE WORLD’S NEWEST NATION

By Tristan Guarnieri

On the twelfth of September, 2018, South Sudanese president Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar signed a peace deal, formally ending the South Sudanese civil war, which had lasted five years. With an estimated 400,000 deaths, the South Sudanese civil war has proven to be one of the deadliest armed conflicts in recent history. How did the conflict escalate so far? To understand this, we have to go to back to 2011, where this nation and its problems were born.

Gaining its independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan’s creation marked it as the world’s newest country. This independence, however, did not mean peace for the nation, as between 2011 and 2013 the government waged war against Sudanese armed forces occupying nine out of the country’s ten states. Simultaneously, growing inter-ethnic tensions led to other forms of conflict. Not only did these conflicts contribute to the nation’s instability, but conflicting claims over oil fields fueled tension between South Sudan and Sudan. These tensions culminated in a battle between South Sudanese and Sudanese forces in March of 2012 for the Heglig oil fields, which were eventually permanently claimed by Sudan. With the economy relying on oil it did not own and with continued widespread instability, South Sudan rapidly became one of the poorest countries in the world, experiencing incredibly low literacy and widespread poverty. South Sudan’s problems thus far have been a result of war against Sudan, but it was actually conflict within the South Sudanese government itself that led to the country’s downfall in late 2013. A power struggle between President Kiir and his deputy at the time, Riek Machar, led to a tumultuous five years of war between the president’s governmental forces and Machar’s rebel forces. The South Sudanese public were helplessly caught in the crossfire.

Despite bloodiness of South Sudan’s recent history, many worldwide remain in the dark about the South Sudanese civil war. This can be traced back to two main causes: South Sudan’s resources and refugee movement. South Sudan’s main resource is oil, but although they do have some oil fields, these are not near large enough to garner international interest,, especially considering the country’s current instability. Besides this, refugees from South Sudan have not been fleeing towards Europe, and it is near impossible to garner attention from the mainstream press without causing problems for western countries..

But why care about this conflict if it has ended? Unfortunately, this recent peace agreement is far from the first this country has tried. In fact, according to The Economist, there have been at least nine ceasefires since the civil war started in 2013, and all were eventually broken. There’s no telling how long this period of peace will last, which makes using this ceasefire to help the South Sudanese population all the more important. This help is desperately needed, as the real victims of this violent war have been civilians, who have . not only been killed in the violence, but continue to suffer silently through a UN classified famine that began in 2017. With over five million of the country’s 12 million people in severe hunger and 2 million displaced, humanitarian aid is urgently needed. It is imperative to get to get food and other forms of aid to these people before warfare resumes. Even with this urgency, organizations such as the UN are struggling to finance these efforts, with a recent UN appeal of 1.7 billion dollars to aid the country being only 45% funded. To aid those in suffering, we must help spread this country’s story and make governments and other organizations aware of South Sudan’s hardships. Without interference, South Sudan will likely continue down its destructive path, creating more torment for those who have already suffered too long.

AN EAST ASIAN REFUGEE CRISIS

By Emily Ma

Indefinite detention. Forced labor. Brutal torture. These are the realities that North Korean refugees face for escaping their totalitarian state. In accordance with a 2010 statement by the North Korean Ministry of Public Security, leaving the country without permission amounts to a “crime of treachery against the nation.” Despite the severity of this threat, thousands of men, women, and children risk their lives to escape across the 880-mile boundary between North Korea and China. Tightening border security by both countries has made this no easy feat. Yet even in the face of patrol guards, barbed wire fences, and surveillance cameras, these defectors still flee towards the hope of safety, freedom, and a better future.

Unfortunately, the struggle doesn’t end at the border. China currently refuses to recognize North Korean defectors as real refugees. It instead classifies them as illegal economic migrants, using the pretext of that label to forcibly repatriate them to their home country, despite the knowledge of the certain punishment they face upon return. According to a 2013 report by the UN Commission of Inquiry, China has deported tens of thousands of North Koreans over the past twenty years. Human Rights Watch has also reported crack downs on the networks of local guides that help facilitate the flight of these defectors, making future escape that much more difficult.

Even those that manage to evade law enforcement find themselves without the financial means to reach safety in countries like South Korea. Instead, they’re stranded, hiding illegally in a completely foreign world. In China, these vulnerable individuals have no recognized rights, and unscrupulous individuals, from brokers to human traffickers, are eager to take advantage of their desperation. As a result, many refugees are forced into invisible industries like prostitution or black-market manufacturing, living in fear of discovery by Chinese authorities.

While China certainly has a legitimate state interest in controlling its borders, as well as an agreement with North Korea that compels it to stop “illegal border crossing of residents,” China’s interest in preserving its UN obligations and international integrity should take precedence. As a party to the UN Refugee Convention, China’s current behavior violates objectives to protect refugees; it’s evident that these individuals meet the 1951 UN Refugee Convention definition of the term “refugee.” For one, these North Koreans are clearly fleeing for fear of persecution; Pyongyang has legalized inhumane penalization for any kind of political “dissent,” from practicing religion to listening to foreign music. Moreover, testimonies submitted to the Committee for Human Rights show that those who return to North Korea are interrogated and imprisoned without due process in labor camps where beatings, starvation, sexual violence, and execution are common.

By enabling the continued abuse of refugees, China has allowed itself to become complicit in North Korea’s human rights violations. Beijing’s refusal to change its policy in this case represents a failure to the international community because, by suppressing the voices of these refugees, China hinders other countries’ and supranational organizations' abilities to identify and understand Kim-Jong Un’s extensive crimes against humanity and take action against them.

The international community has a responsibility to hold China accountable. Faced with this humanitarian crisis, multilateral action is needed to pressure China to, at the very minimum, immediately cease its deportations, allowing these refugees the chance to at least seek asylum elsewhere. However, preferably, China should work with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to organize a refugee adjudication system that could determine official refugee status parameters and institute measures for protection and resettlement. Although this approach could have far-reaching implications for China’s deteriorating relationship with North Korea, it also has the potential to save thousands of North Korean victims.