Khóa luận tốt nghiệp: Ensuring equal rights of gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people: international law and reference value for Vietnam

VIETNAMNATIONALUNIVERSITY,HANOI SCHOOLOFLAW

Hanoi, 2022

GUARANTEE

I hereby declare that this is my own research work, that the conclusions and data in the thesis are truthful and reliable

Confirmation of instructor

Graduation thesis author

Nguyen Doan Khanh Trung

GRATEFULLNESS

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Assoc Prof Dr Nguyen Minh Tuan, who suggested the topic as well as the guide, who gave me useful advices, experiences and his enthusiasm Personally, I would like to thank the Faculty of Law - Hanoi National University for creating conditions for us to have the opportunity to develop ourselves The following is my dissertation, I hereby declare that it is my own research based on well-documented references

Table of contents

INTRODUCTION 5

1 The urgency of the subject 5

2 Purpose and mission of the study 7

4 The research methods used to conduct the thesis 9

5 Scientific significance of the Thesis 9

1.2.3 The importance and meaning of the law for groups of people 15

1.2.4 Ensuring equal rights for groups of people 16

1.2.5 Building subjectivity 17

CONCLUSION CHAPTER I 19

Chapter II: Law on ensuring equal rights of gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people 20

2.1 Legislation for gay, bisexual and transgender people 20

2.1.1 Views and laws of Vietnam in particular 20

2.1.2 Rights of LGBT people according to Vietnamese law 23

2.1.3 General international laws and regulations 26

2.2 Experience and lessons learned 37

2.2.1 Principles for ensuring the rights of LGBT people 37

2.2.2 Guarantee of rights in law 39

CONCLUSION OF CHAPTER II 45

Chapter 3: Directions and practical recommendations 46

3.1 Difficulties and inadequacies in practice 46

3.2 Specific recommendations and suggestions 47

3.2.1 Proposals on the issue of recognition of rights 47

3.2.2 Recommendations on the issue of building a mechanism to ensure implementation 53

CONCLUSION CHAPTER 3 55

CONCLUDE 56

List of references 58

INTRODUCTION

1 The urgency of the subject

In any era, social life always has a certain diversity and richness Expression of emotions, feelings or sexual orientation is no exception to that rule In the past, we almost only talked about a society with families that were a union between a man and a woman for the purpose of maintaining the species At that time, the fact that a person loves someone of the same sex or wishes to have another gender are very strange things, even considered pathological In fact, homosexuality, bisexuality, transgender or intersex have existed for a long time in society and are clearly depicted in today's modern society

Human rights are one of the highest values that all countries uphold and protect Each country builds its own legal system based on political, socio-economic conditions and traditional cultural values of the country to ensure that human rights are implemented in the best way and most complete The development of human rights is associated with the economic, political, cultural and social development of each country In the theory of modern human rights, the rights of gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people, as well as the rights of other groups such as people living with HIV/AIDS, migrant workers, etc., have received more and more attention than In which, the homosexual, bisexual, transgender and intersex groups are related a lot to issues of gender, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation and gender identity The rights of these subjects have become a controversial issue in many countries around the world in the process of law-making and enforcement

However, reality shows that the trend of supporting the rights of these subjects in the world is also increasing In Vietnam, gay, bisexual and transgender people have been increasingly studied by scientists in recent years In the field of legal

science, there is still a lot of research space on rights and laws on the rights of these subjects In theory, a number of issues have not been clarified, for example: the nature of rights of gay, bisexual and transgender people; legal reasons to recognize the rights of these subjects; position of rights of these subjects in the legal system These are issues that need to be thoroughly researched and explained in order to contribute to building and supplementing the system of theoretical foundations of rights and the law on rights of gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people

In practice, like many countries in the world, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people are a minority group in terms of population (besides heterosexual majority group) and are increasingly present features in Vietnamese society Overall, according to Vietnamese law, this group of people currently or have almost all of the same rights as other heterosexuals However, for various reasons, they have not yet been legally recognized for some rights such as the right to marry of the same sex, the right to have children, or have recognized rights but no enforcement mechanism (gender transition) count)…

Besides, some rights in other fields such as criminal justice, civil rights, legal aid, gender determination still have barriers in practice Along with the traditional concept of social classes, stigma and discrimination against these subjects are quite common From that, it can be seen that the law on the rights of gay, bisexual and transgender people in Vietnam still has certain gaps The Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam promulgated in 2013 emphasized that “human rights, civil rights in politics, civil, economic, cultural and social are recognized, respected and protected protected and guaranteed according to the Constitution and the law” (Clause 1, Article 14) and “Everyone is equal before the law No one should be discriminated against in political, civil, economic, cultural or social life.” (Article 16) These new provisions of the 2013

Constitution set forth many requirements for the improvement of the legal system on human rights in general and the rights of gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in particular In addition, Vietnam is currently in the process of implementing or developing and completing a number of legal documents related to the rights of these subjects such as the 2015 Civil Code, the Penal Code, and the 2015 Civil Code 2015 (amended and supplemented in 2017), the Law on Marriage and Family in 2014, the Law on Gender Transformation, the Labor Code Starting from the above context, the study of gay rights, Bisexual, transgender and intersex will contribute to perfecting the law to ensure human rights, improve the social value of the law in Vietnam and in line with the general trend of the world

Therefore, I decided to choose the topic "Ensuring the equal rights of gay,

bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people: international law and reference value for Vietnam" do graduation thesis of high quality jurisprudence program

2.2 Research mission

Based on the above research purpose, the thesis has the following research tasks:

- Research theoretical issues on homosexual, bisexual, transgender and intersex people; theory of rights and legislation on the rights of gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people; factors affecting the formulation and implementation of the law on the rights of these subjects; development trend of international law and international law on the rights of these subjects

- Research on legal practice on rights of gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in Vietnam this object and issues raised in law enforcement practice)

- On the basis of results obtained from theoretical and practical research, the research thesis proposes viewpoints and solutions to improve Vietnam's law on the rights of gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people gender and contribute to promoting the enforcement of the law on the rights of these subjects in the coming time

3 Research object, research scope of the Thesis

3.1 Research subjects

The research object of the thesis is awareness, practice and law on rights, the guarantee of equal rights, of gay, bisexual and transgender people in Vietnam as well as international reference values

3.2 Research scope

The thesis studies the rights of gay, bisexual and transgender people in the Vietnamese legal system, focusing on specific rights, which are limited, unrecognized or have been recognized but there are many problems in practice; There are comparisons with international law and the laws of some countries around the world on the rights of gay, bisexual and transgender people

4 The research methods used to conduct the thesis

Regarding the methodology, in order to solve the posed tasks, the thesis is based on the dialectical and historical materialism methodology of Marxism - Leninism; Ho Chi Minh Thought; theoretical viewpoints, lines of the Communist Party of Vietnam and laws of the State The thesis uses some specific research methods as follows:

The direct research methods are: analytical method, synthesis of legal provisions, statistics, the thesis also uses a little comparison to clarify the difference but has inheritance, perfecting regulations on a number of international and national laws different from ours

5 Scientific significance of the Thesis

The research results of the thesis will clarify the human and legal aspects of: Ensuring equal rights of gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people: international law and values Reference for Vietnam

- The thesis contributes to overcome the limitations and inadequacies of the law on the rights of gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people in Vietnam today by providing solutions to improve the legal system, Law enforcement is based on the requirements of the recognition, respect, protection and guarantee of human rights The solutions of the thesis can serve as a reference value for law-making agencies and law enforcement agencies on the rights of gay, bisexual and transgender people

- The thesis is a reliable and necessary reference source for scientific research and reference in research institutions, or for legal agencies and organizations in the process of perfecting the law on legal aid in Vietnam

Some groups of people are considered vulnerable in international human rights law including women, children, people with disabilities, people living with HIV/AIDS, displaced or displaced persons, people stateless people, migrant workers, minorities (ethnicity, race, religion, gender ), indigenous people, war victims, those deprived of their liberty, the elderly, etc Over time, this list may be expanded to include groups of people at high risk of human rights in a variety of contexts and contexts (internationally, regionally, country, in the family, at work or in society) Making up the bulk of the content on group rights, the rights of vulnerable groups constitute an important part of international human rights law Many of the hundreds of international human rights instruments (including international treaties) are adopted by the United Nations (UN) after two basic

1“International law on gay, bisexual and transgender human rights” - website of the Central Committee of the

Vietnam Bar Association, January 23, 17

conventions on civil, political and economic rights , society , culture in 1966 is to codify the rights applicable to vulnerable groups

International law has developed quite strongly in protecting the rights of gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people Regulations and recommendations of international law have had a lot of influence on the laws of countries on LGBT people's rights This has really become one of the new human rights issues that need attention in modern society

1.2 Gay, Bisexual and Transgender

1.2.1 General

In society in terms of gender, there are only two genders, male and female, so gay, bisexual and transgender people are related to another concept called sexual orientation Sexual orientation (sometimes called “sexual orientation” or “sexual orientation”) refers to an emotional or sexual attraction to someone of the opposite sex or of the same sex as oneself or both in the long run In the English

term, the word LGBT refers to a group of people with sexual orientation minorities

in the world, including 4 groups of people: lesbian (lesbian), gay (gay),

(transsexual/transgender) and bisexual Thus, according to gender identity, there are transgender and non- transgender people; According to sexual orientation, people are divided into 4 main categories ( 2) :

- Homosexuality: Includes both lesbian and gay men who are sexually and romantically attracted to people of the same sex on a permanent and permanent basis

2“Ensure the rights of gay, bisexual and transgender people in detention and detention in accordance with Vietnamese law” - Industry and Trade Magazine, May 16, 20

- Bisexuality: Those who have a gender identity (recognition, gender perception) different from that person's gender expression at birth, they always obsess about having the opposite sex from the "birth sex" study" when they were born, so they resorted to medical intervention to change their sex or "rediscover their true sex" This includes transgender people who have undergone surgery and transgender people who have not undergone sex reassignment surgery

- Heterosexuality: A romantic and sexual attraction to people of the same sex This is the most common sexual orientation of mankind and is a traditional concept of many countries around the world

- Asexual: A person who does not feel sexually attracted to anyone of any gender This is a completely different sexual orientation from heterosexual, bisexual or gay or people also known as LGBT+

With the above classification, homosexuality, bisexuality, and transsexuality are among the sexual orientations of mankind, unrelated to gender issues

In Vietnam, the concept of transgender has only been known recently In the past, NCG was lumped together as gay or third world However, along with the explosion of the internet and online forums (especially LesKing.com.vn; Thegioithu3.vn ) people living between the sexes are not completely satisfied with being seen as investors In fact, NCG often goes through the process of being confused in their own gender identity as well as facing transitional decisions, difficulties related to hormone surgery and openly expressing their gender ( 3)

1.2.2 Reality

3 “Ensuring the rights of gay and transgender people in criminal justice” - Legislative Research web, September 1, 13

According to sociological studies, the proportion of the LGBT community has remained almost unchanged in all societies and eras: it accounts for about 3-5% of the population of each country - this percentage includes people who have sexual relations sex with others people of the same sex infrequently If we take the safe average rate that many scientists admit is 3% of the population as LGBT, the number of LGBT people in Vietnam between the ages of 15 and 59 is about 1.65 million people (calculated according to the population of Vietnam) ) in 2007 there were 55.38 million people aged 15-59 years) ( 4)

Currently, the laws of some countries recognize equal rights and treat sex couples as husband and wife However, in many countries, even though homosexuality is not considered a crime, investors are still subjected to social scrutiny, discrimination, sometimes beatings and assaults, especially against those traffickers Some other countries, like Muslim countries , do not accept investors and homosexuals can be punished with imprisonment or even death There are at least 80 countries in the world, homosexual sex is still punishable by law, in some places life imprisonment, even this crime can be sentenced to death (there are 7 countries) ( 5)

same-In fact, to varying degrees and angles, almost all current international instruments on human rights refer to both individual rights and group rights Regarding the development of group rights, currently, in addition to the rights mentioned, LGBT people's rights are one of the rights that are being advocated for codification in international law This is a controversial issue in the field of human rights in recent decades LGBT rights advocates have founded organizations and

4“Ensuring the rights of gay, bisexual, transgender people and the issue of constitutional amendments”, Vietnam Legal Science Journal

5“Ensuring the rights of gay and transgender people in criminal justice” - Legislative Research web, September 1, 13

launched global movements to advocate for the recognition and codification of same-sex marriage rights; the right of same-sex male couples to adopt children; and above all the right of all LGBT people to not be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation and gender identity

Not only limited to national laws, the LGBT rights movement also mobilizes international and regional organizations This movement has been successful in receiving the support of the European Union and the Organization of American States The United Nations Declaration on Sexual Orientation and

Gender Identity was submitted on December 18, 2008 and was approved The text

of the Declaration condemns acts of violence, harassment, discrimination, exclusion, discrimination, prejudice, killing, execution, torture, arbitrary detention and deprivation of economic rights economic, social, and cultural values based on sexual orientation and homosexuality This declaration received the support of the European Union and was considered a new breakthrough in the field of human rights on the UN forum, but it was opposed by a number of countries, especially the United Nations Arab countries and the Vatican ( 6)

1.2.3 The importance and meaning of the law for groups of people

In recent years, society has become more open to gay people (who are homosexual) but in fact they still suffer from disadvantage, discrimination, and unfair treatment in public relations In Vietnam, the process of building, protecting and promoting human rights in general and the rights of gay, bisexual and transgender people in particular is demonstrated by joining the Conventions international law and recognized in legal documents such as the Constitution, the Civil Code, the Penal Code, the Labor Code, the Marriage and Family Law

6“International law on gay, bisexual and transgender human rights” - website of the Central Committee of the

Vietnam Bar Association, January 23, 17

However, this recognition is still cannot guarantee all the rights of homosexuals The reality of recent years has shown that the demand for marriage between people of the same sex, discrimination is still widespread, new relationships arise in terms of adoption, children born in the past few years Cohabitation also needs to be adjusted Therefore, building a legal basis is extremely important and necessary to ensure and enforce the rights of gay, bisexual and transgender people ( 7)

1.2.4 Ensuring equal rights for groups of people

LGBT are people with normal genetic, biological and hormonal structure; body is normal male or female; and they have a clear perception of whether gender is male or female They just differ from most people in their sexual orientation The reason why a person has a different sexual orientation than most people in society is still unknown to modern medicine However, this is not a conscious choice because this sexual orientation is formed at a very early age, the individual and the parents are completely out of control and not responsible for that tendency this

LGBT people are not mentally ill or have a personality disorder, their homosexual behavior cannot be transmitted to people with heterosexual orientation Therefore, it is not possible to force, treat or apply psychotherapy to eliminate homosexuality; Nor can a heterosexual become a homosexual Attempting treatment to change sexual orientation not only doesn't work, it can do a lot of harm ( 8)

Thus, LGBT is a minority group in terms of sexual orientation in society They do not have incurable diseases and this sexual orientation cannot be

Technology Magazine, 20/02/20

8“Ensuring the rights of gay, bisexual, transgender people and the issue of amending the Constitution” - Vietnam Legal Science Journal

transmitted They are normal people and their sexual orientation exists naturally from birth; Living environment and education do not affect the formation and development of LGBT in society However, because their sexual orientation is different from that of the majority of people in society, they are currently stigmatized, disrespected and not guaranteed minimum human rights (such as marriage, equality, etc.) equality in work, inheritance rights when spouses die ) Therefore, the law needs to have specific regulations so that they have equal opportunities like other people in society, their rights are protected

1.2.5 Building subjectivity

Every individual, citizen, human being is born with the right to enjoy all human rights without being discriminated against based on sexual orientation or gender identity Everyone is entitled to equality before the law and to the protection of the law, without being subject to such discrimination, whether or not the enjoyment of another human right is affected The law shall prohibit any such discrimination and ensure equal and effective protection against discrimination However, we need to go deeper into the subjectivity of gay, bisexual and transgender people to be able to remove barriers to defining gender boundaries between men and women

Other than being Male or Female, all of the choices or fields for personal information that every gay, bisexual or transgender person needs to do can be a compulsion for themselves There have been many companies, interview format, intern, slide, CV, have added the "other" section to gender selection, both to show two-way respect and to be able to rely on it to shape their image complete, develop directions for handling, working, settling, (if any/if violations occur) It can still be seen that there is no unity, unification, between working methods, handling, and clear names for individuals in this small community

In addition, groups of gay, bisexual and transgender people or whether people with skin color, nationality, voice, etc., no matter how different, all enjoy human rights enjoy equality, and are guaranteed by the State and the law about that right, the difficulty in building the status of a subject here is not the identification of gender, the association of rights and responsibilities, or the priority their gender and feelings first It is necessary to clearly show the specific "name" - for this group of homosexual, bisexual and transgender people For example, in addition to Men and Women, we can consider them as a group of "Other", with full rights and pursuits on par with the Male and Female genders It is necessary to clarify as well as solve the first problem about the subject of this community, then continue to take steps to perfect and strengthen legal documents and domestic laws as well as consult and apply legal documents international law, conventions or principles from other countries or territories

CONCLUSION CHAPTER I

Thus, it can be seen that, so far, the UN has made step-by-step efforts in pointing out human rights violations against LGBT people and intersex people, as well as requiring countries to take specific actions to comply with the law accordance with international human rights laws to put an end to human rights abuses With this clear UN position and the collective positive actions of people of conscience around the world, gay, bisexual, intersex and transgender people have a right to hope for a future of freedom, equality and no longer suffer unwarranted discrimination

LGBT rights are basic human rights LGBT people are also citizens and have legitimate rights But while Vietnam has focused on equality and respect for the LGBT community, the vast majority of LGBT people still face great stigma and pressure

There should be specific and detailed construction directions about the subject, name and status for this group of people in particular and the entire community with other sexual orientations in general

Chapter II: Law on ensuring equal rights of gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people

2.1 Legislation for gay, bisexual and transgender people

2.1.1 Views and laws of Vietnam in particular

In Vietnam, almost the law does not recognize the rights of investors However, some historical documents in our country have mentioned this issue, such as in the 16th and 17th centuries, there were a few kings whose concubines were men or history books say that King Khai Dinh has 12 wives but is powerless or doesn't like to be around women, only likes men The Hong Duc Law does mention rape, adultery and incest but does not mention homosexuality The French colonial government also did not outlaw homosexual acts in the colonies, although it determined female prostitution to be illegal Currently, although there is no law prohibiting same-sex sex , the Law on Marriage and Family prohibits marriage between people of the same sex

The Civil Code (BLDS) 2005 stipulates: In civil relations, the parties are equal No reason for differences in terms of ethnicity, gender, social class, economic circumstances, beliefs, etc religion, cultural level, profession to treat each other unequal (Article 5) Then, Article 36 stipulates the right to gender reassignment: “A person's gender reassignment shall be carried out in cases where that person's gender is born with a birth defect or has not been accurately determined, and requires prior consent medical intervention to clearly define sex”

( 9)

In order to detail Article 36 of the Civil Code, the Government issued Decree 88/2008/ND-CP, which stipulates the prohibited acts: “Performing gender equality for people who have completed their sexual orientation and prohibits

9“Ensuring the rights of gay and transgender people in criminal justice” - Legislative Research web, September 1, 13

discrimination against persons with sex reassignment.” ( 10) The Decree mentioned gender reassignment for people with birth defects in terms of gender or gender that has not been correctly identified These people are completely different from investors Currently, many investors strongly disagree with the provisions of this Decree 88, because they have closed the door of the Trade Union to return to their own desires The Decree only stipulates that gender reassignment for people with gender disabilities or who cannot distinguish between male and female, but not gender equality for people who have completed gender because these may be cases where there is a difference in gender identity psychological distortion ( 11)

However, the issue raised by the Decree is too narrow, just stopping at gender re-determination, not gender change, allowing "gender clarification" but not "gender re-determination" because if there is no gene or male personality, women do not want to convert, although there are many opinions that the restriction of gender reassignment comes from the cause of avoiding abuse because of commercial needs trade, or in sports, or evading a wanted warrant after committing a crime

The above restriction is somewhat contrary to the trend in the world, when many countries recognize the right of transgender people such as the US, Canada, Serbia, Thailand, Singapore, Philippines, India Argentina has just allowed transgender and gender change calculated on relevant documents on October 3, 2012 Most countries allow an unlimited number of transgender individuals to have genitals of the sex they do not want Outside of Thailand, which is the number one transgender center in the world, the second place suddenly belongs to the Islamic country of Iran 25 years ago, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini

11Civil Code 2015

enacted a law for transgender and gender change on related papers, now the Iranian government pays 50% of transgender costs

Obviously, people who do not have sex defects but have been transgender in foreign countries will not be recognized, or those who have transgendered but still have no chromosomal defects but voluntarily change their gender will have legal consequences The legal issues related to them are very complicated, especially the criminal and procedural regulations

The Law on Marriage and Family (Law on Marriage and Family) 1986 did not prohibit same-sex marriage, then there were a few same-sex weddings held but did not receive the consent of the public According to the Law on Family Marriage in 2000, Clause 2, Article 8 defines: Marriage is the establishment of a husband and wife relationship in accordance with the law on marriage conditions and marriage registration And also in this Law, it regulates cases where marriage is prohibited, including the ban on marriage between people of the same sex (Clause 5, Article 10)

The 2006 Law on Gender Equality also only identifies that Vietnam has two gender groups that are male and female There are no regulations to define another gender (gender indicates the characteristics, position, and role of men and women in the world) all social relationships, sex refers to biological characteristics of men and women - Article 5)

Thus, the current Vietnamese law does not recognize the existence of people with ethnic minorities, NCGs (except in the case of gender reassignees) as well as their marital relationships, so the Legal issues arise are left open because they are not allowed to change personal information However, along with the general development of science and human awareness, it is time for the law to recognize the existence of people with gender minorities, NCG to create equality and

recognize the existence of people with gender minorities and the role of investors in society From there, we can more effectively protect their legitimate rights and interests as well as handle their violations

2.1.2 Rights of LGBT people according to Vietnamese law

Firstly, there is still stigma and discrimination against homosexuals in political, cultural, economic and civil life

Homosexuals still suffer from discrimination today Discrimination against homosexuals does not only come from the community, public services, but also occurs at schools or from the families of gay people Domestic violence acts mainly against homosexuals when they come out with their sexual orientation Domestic violence is not just abuse, beating, but also verbal violence (such as disparaging, insulting homosexuals) Many gay people do not openly disclose their sexual orientation for fear that their family will not accept them as gay and that homosexuality is a disease, a trend, and a temporary competition So there have been cases of fathers raping children to cure homosexuality, mothers hiring people to rape their children because they think homosexuality can be cured ( 12) , or parents arresting, imprisoning, beating children for discovering their children "being" homosexual Not only is their family not accepting, gay people are also shunned by friends in the educational environment

Discrimination against homosexuals also occurs in the work environment Discrimination about the sexual orientation of employees among themselves and of employers and employees on issues of promotion, income, and job positions is still going on Currently, there is no law against discrimination based on sexual orientation as well as making discriminatory behavior based on sexual orientation

https://dantri.com.vn/suckhoe/bao-hanh-voi-nguoi-dong-tinh-den-tu -chinhgia-dinh-1368670270.htm

a form of labor discipline prohibited in the Labor Code (Labour Code) Therefore, it is necessary to have a mechanism and policy to protect homosexuals from discrimination in civil, economic, political and cultural life In the survey on “Is it because I am LGBT? Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in Vietnam” , when asked about the desire to enact a anti-discrimination law, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and identity 87.5% of those surveyed agree and think that the promulgation will give LGBT people (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender people) better protection And most people believe that with the improvement in social attitudes along with the generational shift, it is possible that the law will ensure the effect in practice

Second, awareness of homosexuals and gay rights is misleading and limited In the survey “Is it because I am LGBT, discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in Vietnam” conducted in 2015, only 3.7% of 2,362 gay people participated in the survey In Vietnam, it is strictly forbidden to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation Up to three-quarters of people in the LGBT community do not know how to use the law to protect themselves from discrimination, the rest have the answer that the Constitution, the Law on Marriage and Family, Civil Code, Law on Gender Equality, Law on Adoption, Law Against Discrimination Meanwhile, one in three respondents is aware of organizations that support people experiencing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity such as ICS, iSEE, PFLAG, Vietpride, 6+, CSAGA, CCIHP, Hanoi Queer, CECEM, United Nations This rate is quite low because the issue of discrimination is directly related to gay people, however, gay people themselves do not know the provisions of the law to protect their rights when they act encroachment Therefore, not only the society, but firstly, gay people must be the

pioneers in changing public awareness as well as fighting and protecting the rights of themselves and LGBT people ( 13)

One of the worrying issues is that the majority of the public's perception is not accurate about homosexuals The cause of the false perception of homosexuality is the lack of access to accurate scientific information sources, leading to a lack of proper understanding of homosexuality and sexual orientation In the "Research Report on Social Attitudes towards 130 Homosexuals" of the ISEE Institute in 2012 about society's understanding of homosexuality in Hanoi, Ha Nam, Ho Chi Minh City and An Giang province, there are up to 48% of the respondents think that homosexuality can be cured, 57% think that being gay is a social trend and 58% think that they will not allow their children to play with gay people The report shows that partly the limited public awareness of homosexuals is one of the causes leading to discrimination and stigma against homosexuals

Third, the law has not yet met the practical needs of homosexuals regarding marriage and family relationships

The practice of enforcing marriage and family rights has faced many difficulties in recent years due to problems arising from legal regulations and unresolved arising relationships The need for long-term cohabitation and marriage between people of the same sex is undeniable, it is increasingly common for same-sex couples to live together and is not a social trend at all

The Law on Marriage and Family 2014 has removed the provision "prohibiting marriage between people of the same sex" but still "does not recognize marriage between people of the same sex" On this basis, same-sex people married, lived together However, issues arising from property, adoption,

Technology Magazine, 20/02/20

children born during cohabitation or domestic violence and other disputes during cohabitation cannot apply the provisions of the Law on Marriage and Family family Accordingly, if a dispute occurs, the Civil Code will apply to settle it

2.1.3 General international laws and regulations

For decades, the United Nations has strived to fight for basic human rights in general, including LGBT people

An important document to mention is the UN Charter Since the end of World War II, the United Nations and the international community have presented doctrine to ensure the protection of human rights internationally Today, the United Nations maintains its role as a leading agency for the protection of human rights The UN Charter has become the most important document in advancing international human rights law In fact, the Charter does not impose any special human rights obligations on Member States, except for the general obligation to provide for "supportive and specific action" to "promote respect respect, upholding fundamental freedoms and human rights for all, without distinction of sex, language, or religion” This remains the standard for the promotion of basic human rights, because it is the first time that human rights have been recognized around the world Human rights are mentioned from the beginning to the end of the Charter including in the preamble of the Charter

To promote human rights, one of the basic principles of the Charter is equality and non-discrimination for all individuals The preamble to the Charter declares that “recognizing fundamental human rights, the dignity and worth of the human person, and the equal right of men and women…” similarly, Article 1 provides that “ promote and promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind as to sex, language or religion”

We can see that the issue throughout the entire Charter is human rights, more specifically it is the issue of equality, gender equality, religious equality and ethnic equality Here we want to look at gender equality In the past, all countries had discrimination between men and women, whether it was male preference or vice versa, so the UN Charter was created to prevent this situation, but today, there is a sexual orientation Homosexuality coexists with heterosexual tendencies and, therefore, it is imperative that the Charter be understood in a different way Indeed, for more than 20 years, the UN has been trying to recognize homosexuality as a "sexual orientation", so that all nations can see them as equals However, despite the UN's efforts, the Charter has not yet recognized equal rights for homosexual orientation, so when countries recognize the Charter, it can be understood in different directions The group of countries that recognize homosexuality but do not have legal protection understand that gender equality rights are equal between men and women The group of countries that recognize homosexuality and protect it by law believes that gender equality includes men and women and gay orientation (or sexual orientation in general) This issue has caused a lot of controversy in the past and no common voice has been found That situation has posed a demand for the UN to take stronger measures to eradicate discrimination and recognize equality for all, to amend the Charter to express the protection of human rights gay

Although the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms human rights in general, including the rights of LGBT people, stigma, discrimination and violence against them still persist around the world world, and became a special concern of the United Nations on human rights since the 90s of the twentieth century, and continued throughout the early years of the twenty-first century Even though laws in 76 countries discriminate and criminalize same-sex relationships, homosexuals are arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned (Office of the United

Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2012) ( 14) After decades when "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" were rarely discussed formally, concerns about human rights abuses have led the United Nations Human Rights Council - UNHRC) considers it a priority issue for discussion, and formally issues joint statements on LGBT rights The Joint Declarations on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity were initially proposed during the sessions of the UN Human Rights Council in 2006 and 2008 The debate revolved around political concerns about discriminatory law and the obligations of states to enforce international human rights law

In 2011 and 2012, the issue of LGBT people's rights was promoted more strongly In March 2011, 85 countries and territories signed the Joint Declaration on Ending Violence and Violation of Human Rights Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) In June 2011, a Resolution (Resolution 17/19) addressing violence against LGBT people was adopted at the 17th session of the UN Human Rights Council The support of Council members everywhere facilitated the release of the first Detailed Report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (A/HRC/19/41) in November 2011, summarizes the issue of violence and discrimination against LGBT people around the world The report presents evidence of systemic forms of violence and discrimination against individuals around the world because of their sexual orientation and gender identity The report also makes recommendations for states to protect the rights of LGBT people The content of this Report became the fundamental issues discussed in a subcommittee of the Human Rights Council in March 2012 – the first time the UN Intergovernmental body has formally debated the issue

http://motthegioi.vn/cau-vong-luc-sac/mot-chuong-moi-bao-ve-quyen-lgbt-19990.html , accessed January 7 , 2014

At the 19th session of the Human Rights Council in March 2012, Navanethem Pillay ( 15) The High Commissioner for Human Rights of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) has asked countries to write "a new chapter" in UN history, contributing to an immediate end to violence and discrimination against LGBT people At this session, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also made a speech, describing acts of violence and discrimination against LGBT people as "a great tragedy for those who have a conscience and are stain on our conscience" In particular, the Secretary-General also noted that there are still places in the world where the law still criminalizes and discriminates or there are barriers to gay, bisexual and transgender people “The UN Charter and the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights make it clear that the rights of everyone, everywhere, must be protected We are seeing a lot of abuse and discrimination directed at others just because they are LGBT To lesbians and gays, bisexuals and transgenders, may I say this: You are not alone Your efforts to end abuse and discrimination are also our joint efforts Today, I stand with you and call on all nations and peoples around the world to stand with you A historic ladder is coming We must stop encroachment, decriminalize homosexuality, ban discrimination and educate the public…” (quoted by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, March 2012)

In order to systematize the issues posed to LGBT people based on a status report on LGBT people, as well as to indicate the obligations of states related to international human rights laws, June 2012, The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has published a handbook entitled "Born Free and Equal - Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in International Human Rights Law" (HR/PUB/12/06) With the view that, wanting to protect individuals based on

15The head of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, a South African lawyer, has been in office since 2008.