• Society

Same-Sex Couples Seek Marriage Protections

• By Chhuon Kongieng
• December 6, 2023 5:10 PM

PHNOM PENH – Lack of a marriage certificate excludes same-sex couples from a lot of equality protections, says Ly Pisey, coordinator of Rainbow Community Kampuchea (RoCK.

She spoke at a forum in which government representatives replied that discussion on the matter is open. 

The event on Dec. 4 was part of dialogue between LGBT+ communities and the government on advancing legal marriage equality for LGBT+ couples. 

Pisey said that if a couple want to buy property together, they cannot register ownership as husband and wife.

Such issues created difficulties for same-sex couples who worked hard to earn money and save to buy property such as land, houses and cars.

She said the benefits and protections in co-ownership are different from joint ownership. She wants to create marriage equality that can assure the same benefits as those of oppose-sex relationships and add more protection.

“It doesn’t mean that we have zero protection. We still have a law that can protect us buying joint property,” she said. 

“To be able to register as husband and wife, we can access more protection and that’s why we keep asking the government to continue considering this request.”

Keo Remy, Senior Minister and head of the Cambodian Human Rights Committee, said their demand is right because it is their rights but takes time to change people’s mindset and when families understand this, it helps the community understanding.

He added that challenges such as discrimination still happen, not only in Cambodia but in other countries. The trend in Cambodia is more positive since the LGBT+ communities never cause any problem in society that disrupt development. 

He said that instead they prove their value with their capability, knowledge, and good behavior and surely can be human resources to develop the country. 

Doeun Chandara, representing the Ministry of Interior, said discussion is always welcome and within the ministry there are many working groups including the group responsible for the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

He said civil society organizations who work with LGBT+ communities should send request, including the specific objective, so that the government can help to achieve such needs and targeted goals. 

Tes Rathnira, representative of the Cambodian Human Rights Committee, said the committee never ignored requests from civil society organizations or the LGBT+ communities. In the future, they can also submit proposals for discussion, she said.

She said the government already has a mechanism and there are five joint working groups in charge of writing reports to the United Nations including the UPR mechanism which is also related to LGBT rights. 

As the next step, Pisey said the community will expand its members by encouraging each other to live as who they are without fear, embracing their identity with inner strength and confidence. 

They will also continue to raise public awareness to clarify that being LGBT is natural and should be widely acceptable in family life, employment and societal development. 

Pisey said that such clarity needs to be communicated clearly to the public by the community and with the community while the media plays an important role.

The next step for marriage equality was to discuss the law. 

“It isn’t a one-time event. it is not just one year,” she said. 

“It is the process after the government door remains open for us. We will continue to discuss what law is related to marriage equality in Cambodia, what is the possibility to study and discuss more.”

Talks on marriage equality for the Cambodian LGBT+ community have been backed by the government, Ministry of Interior, and the Human Rights Committee. 

Civil society organizations and the LGBT+ communities will consider setting up a joint working group and propose change to the government.