UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 22) Timor-Leste acknowledges that it has not yet ratified the CRPD, however now it is making preparations for the ratification process. The Ministry of Social Solidarity and Inclusion (MSSI), Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MFAC) has established a team to make preparations for ratification.

National Report:
Para 83) The Government acknowledges that some members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community have faced negative stigmatization and violence in the community. However the Government is committed to protecting all citizens from violence and discrimination. Article 52 of the Timor-Leste Penal Code considers the circumstances are aggravated if the crime is motivated by sexual orientation, which results in heavier penalties. Therefore any member of the LGBT community who feels that they have suffered an act of stigmatization or intimidation that harms their physical, psychological or mental integrity committed by another person purely based on their different sexual orientation is entitled to make a complaint to the competent judicial authorities in accordance with the legal procedure set out in the Criminal Procedure Code.
Para 84) The policy of the State guarantees and ensures that all citizens have the same rights and duties to live free, including the LGBT community. Although Timor-Leste does not yet have a specific law on civil unions regarding the private lives of LGBT members, the State continues to endeavour to increase the knowledge and awareness of citizens by disseminating laws and human rights to promote, respect and protect the rights of LGBT members in TimorLeste. Although East Timorese law does not recognise civil unions between persons of the same sex, Timor-Leste does not penalize persons of the same gender who are in an intimate relationship.
Para 85) Timor-Leste has achieved positive progress in the protection of LGBT at the political level. For example, in 2017 the Government supported a LGBT National Carnival which was held in Dili, and this carnival was attended by entities such as members of the LGBT community, religious groups, member of the Government and Government officials, and this event is held every year.

UN Compilation:
Para 11) The United Nations country team noted that there was hardly any reference to discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity in national legislation or policies, including in the exhaustive list of grounds in which discrimination was prohibited in the Constitution. Nevertheless, sentiments of discrimination based on sexual orientation constituted “aggravating circumstances” if a crime was committed. Despite the fact that sexual relations between consenting adults of the same sex were not criminalized, same-sex unions were not recognized by law.
Para 12) The United Nations country team also noted that rules, practices and systemic discrimination in schools, based on differences concerning sexual preferences and/or gender identities, led many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex students to miss school, with implications for access to the job market and future qualified work.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 22) AI stated that the Government had failed to comprehensively implement laws, policies and practices, including awareness training, to improve non-discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression and sex characteristics. The Ministries were yet to implement comprehensive training to ensure sensitivity to issues of sexual orientation, gender identity, expression and sex characteristics. The Ministry of Health should actively engage with the community to ensure the right to health is protected and respected without discrimination.
Para 23) Kaleidoscope Human Rights Foundation (KAHRF) stated that while Timor-Leste had taken substantial steps in recent years to protect the rights of LGBTI+ individuals, further work was required in order to safeguard members of the LGBTI+ community from entrenched community violence and discrimination. Despite announcing an intention to engage in legislative reform in 2017, Timor-Leste had not substantially altered its laws relating to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status. Bias based on gender identity and intersex status continued to not be treated as an aggravating factor in sentencing.
Para 24) JS4 emphasized that ignorance and negative attitudes about LGBTQI people remained pervasive. They were reportedly being subject to stigmatization, including physical and sexual violence, sometimes by their own families.
Para 25) AI noted that same sex unions and marriages were not recognized. One of the important impacts of the lack of recognition of same sex relationships (who were not considered a household unit), was that they had been left out of food and monetary relief provided as a pandemic response, compounding existing inequalities.

"National Report:
Para 50) The Timor-Leste Constitution guarantees that all people have the right to marriage which states that women and men that have free consent have the right to get married in accordance with Article 39.3, which defines 17 as the minimum age for marriage, but according to the civil code the minimum age for marriage is 16 but this requires the authorization and knowledge of parents or the party charged with responsibility. Timor-Leste recognizes that Timor-Leste has not yet defined the minimum age for marriage based on international laws. However, Timor-Leste's Strategic Development Plan (SDP) 2011-2030 has specifically included a plan to continue educating the community through the dissemination of information about the impact of early marriage that can have negative impact on a person's life and a person can lose their rights to gain access to education and it can also have a negative impact on a person's reproductive health, especially for girls"

Timor-Leste has promoted the rights and welfare of women through policies and a national action plan on gender equality, has increased women’s participation in the political decision-making process, has strengthened the framework of legal measures on gender-based violence, has combatted violence against women, and girls and has strengthened measures to combat domestic violence against women and girls. … Timor-Leste supports these recommendations to engage in efforts to further improve the percentage of women within formal work arrangements, to strengthen their capacity to actively participate in supply chains and markets, to further reduce sexual violence and gender-based violence, to further combat gender-based violence and promote gender equality and pay more attention to violence against women and children including violence based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.