16 September 2025, Manila, the Philippines – Since 2023, APCOM, a regional non-profit organisation focusing on health, rights, and wellbeing in Asia and the Pacific, has been working collaboratively with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender, and intersex (LGBTQI) civil society organizations (CSOs) to hold an annual Learning Week to exchange information among a range of relevant stakeholders including non-governmental and civil society organizations, with the first Asian Development Bank Learning Week taking place in October 2023.
This year, for the 3rd Asian Development Bank Learning Week, however, things unfolded differently, with ADB’s presence and collaboration notably absent. Despite invitations being extended and initially accepted, all ADB staff scheduled to speak at the sessions withdrew at the last minute including the ADB NGO and Civil Society Center.
APCOM’s coalition, including regional LGBTQI organizations, the ASEAN SOGIE Caucus, ILGA Asia, Intersex Asia, and Pacific Sexual and Gender Diversity Network- brought close to 50 LGBTQI activists from the region to Manila, Philippines, where the ADB is headquartered, for the 3rd ADB Learning Week from September 8-9, 2025, hoping to engage directly with the multilateral bank on LGBTQI inclusion. Building on ADB’s earlier commitments, participants anticipated a continuation of meaningful dialogue and partnership. Instead, they were left disappointed and seeking clarity on the Bank’s commitment.
As one of the activists, Bambang Prayudi, from Perkumpulan Suara Kita, an LGBTQI human rights organization in Indonesia, noted,
“It’s really unfortunate that we have this situation. But we understand if there is some trepidation to engage with the LGBTQI community given the changing geopolitical context and a dismaying pushback on rights across the spectrum. The LGBTQI community will continue its advocacy to demand accountability from the ADB to include us in its quest for a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific. That promise should include the LGBTQI community. The lessons of the past have clearly demonstrated that exclusion ultimately undermines and harms individuals, communities and entire nations both socially and economically.”
The activists pivoted from the earlier planned activities with the ADB staff to engaging directly with the ADB Board members, and shared their concerns on how the latest development reflects backtracking from a renowned institution that had increasingly been more progressive on LGBTQI inclusion and engagement with LGBTQI communities, in keeping with the Bank’s Strategy 2030 which aims to sustain its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty and embrace an inclusive Asia and the Pacific.
Last year, ADB approved a new Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) that, for the first time, explicitly includes sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) in its definition of disadvantaged and vulnerable groups. The policy is set to take effect on 1 January 2026, with rollout efforts already underway, including capacity-building for ADB management and staff. While this marks a big leap for the Bank, its true impact will depend on consistent implementation and, above all, sustained and genuine partnership with the LGBTQI community.
Activists conveyed to the Board that in December 2024, ADB management approved an Operational Approach to Sexual and Gender Minorities’ Inclusion: A Roadmap for 2025 -2030 that would give rise to an environment where persons of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) are not just accepted but fully embraced and empowered. But soon after, the ADB took down the document from its website without explanation. Its sudden removal has left many in the LGBTQI community uncertain about what comes next, as they were not consulted, raising questions about how firmly this commitment will be carried forward.
The activists met with several Board of Directors of the Bank to request that the Roadmap be put back on ADB’s website. LGBTQI activists were also disappointed that the ADB in 2025 did not commemorate the International Day Against Homo-, Bi-, Intersex-, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), on 17 May, a day dedicated internationally to raise awareness on the discrimination and violence faced by the LGBTQI community, which the Bank has been doing in collaboration with APCOM since 2019.
Midnight Poonkasetwattana, Executive Director of APCOM, said: “ADB needs to have continued dialogue with the LGBTQI community and hold regular meetings with us if it seeks to implement policies that claim to benefit us. They have to remember: Nothing about us, without us. They cannot enact SOGIESC-inclusive policies without involving the LGBTQI community.”
LGBTQI community representatives in Manila are calling on ADB to uphold accountability in its stated commitments. As a community recognized as disadvantaged and vulnerable in the region and globally, they demand that their rights must be safeguarded against harm under ADB programs and projects. The LGBTQI community representatives have made recommendations to the ADB that have been submitted to the ADB President, Management, and Board of Directors.
“More than policies on paper, our constituencies seek meaningful inclusion — to be consulted, engaged, and heard in the design, implementation, and monitoring of initiatives that affect their lives,”
Midnight, APCOM Executive Director
“We sincerely hope ADB, whose policies are so crucial in setting an example for its Member States and other stakeholders to follow, will stand strong in these challenging times and uphold principles of equality and social justice for all.”
APCOM would like to thank Global Affairs Canada, through its International Assistance Project,
for supporting our annual ADB Learning Week initiative since 2023.
To learn more about our Canada supported project,
please visit Connecting Voices for LGBTQI
Socio Economic Inclusion and Human Rights in Asia.
See our Asian Development Bank engagements below:
2nd ADB Learning Week 2024
1st ADB Learning Week 2023
