Asunción,
Paraguay, June 4, 2014
Mr. Secretary General, Ministers, members of the official delegation,
civil society colleagues:
The lesbian, gay, bisexual,
travesti, transsexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTTTI) organizations gathered
in the city of Asuncion, from 3 to 5 June 2014 in accordance with the
guidelines established by the General Assembly of the OAS to determine a
regulatory framework to increase and strengthen the participation of civil
society in the OAS and the Summits of the Americas, state that:
The LGBTTTI collective express satisfaction with reference
to the central theme of this Assembly ´´Development
with Social Inclusion´´, on the grounds that exclusion, regardless of the
reason, produces undesirable social and economic effects that must be taken
into account by States. Social groups which are discriminated against are
excluded from the benefits of development, have higher levels of poverty and
are more vulnerable to violence.
For development to be
inclusive, it needs to have a human rights perspective that takes into account
the specific
characteristics of populations experiencing discrimination; such as LGBTTTI,
afro-descendants, indigenous people, people with disabilities, sex workers,
senior citizens, people deprive of their liberty, among others.
The exclusion of one segment of the
population from the benefits of development not only is a violation of their
human rights, but also impoverishes the social capital
of nations as a whole. There can be no full development if LGBTTTI people are
marginalized regarding their right to education, work, health, justice.
Harassment and bullying
of gays, lesbians and trans children and youth in schools, and in some cases their
direct exclusion from the school system, denies them the necessary skills for
later integration into the labor market. When this is combined with
discrimination in hiring and arbitrary terminations due to homophobic
prejudices, the
result is that a large number of citizens are prevented from exercising their
rights in the workplace. The resulting poverty is particularly evident in the
case of transsexual and transgender people who suffer extreme employment
discrimination, and the lesbian, whose marginalization is aggravated by sexism that affects them as women.
Measures to
prevent and punish employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and
gender identity are essential for the achievement of full development. The
States must also implement affirmative action policies by offering professional
and technical training of the LGBTTTI population, in order to make more
effective those policies aimed at incorporating all social groups in
development plans.
Another area of
great concern for the LGBTTTI communities that of is safety and violence, given
that Latin America and the Caribbean remains the region with the
highest number of hate crimes. The majority of the countries in the region
neither recognizes nor punish violence motivated by
homophobia/transphobia/lesbophobia, which increases the
vulnerability of this social group as well as increases impunity. For trans
people, the lack of legal recognition of their identity puts them in a
situation of insecurity that further exposes them to violence-including thatcommitted bythe
police-andimpedes theiraccessto justice.
Our collective expresses its concern
for the invisibilization of LGBTTTI persons in the CARICOM countries and for
their failure to assume their political responsibilities. The lack of
recognition of their rights as citizens of this sector of the population not
only affects their dignity and quality of life, but also further promotes
social and economic marginalization as well as prevents their inclusion to the
process of creation of human capital that are indispensable for individual
development.
On the other
hand, we wish to express our appreciation to Member States for the adoption of
the Inter-American Convention against All
Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance, and the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and
Related Intolerance. We urge all countries of the region to join to these
conventions, thus demonstrating their commitment to human rights of all
citizens, without exception.
We similarly
express our satisfaction to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for
the creation of a Rapporteurship for the Rights of the LGBTI Persons. We also
reject any attack against the autonomy and independence of the Inter-American
Commission.
We finally express
our dismay at the intolerant speech and incitement to hatred by the
fundamentalist sectors in Paraguay and other countries in the region, including
some senior state officials, who openly continue to oppose the recognition of
the rights of the LGBTTTI persons as included in the resolutions and
conventions adopted by this organization.
In consideration
of the above, we demand of the Member States:
1.
Sign, ratify and execute the Inter-American Convention Against All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance,
and the Inter-American Convention against
Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Intolerance.
2.
Adopt legislation and public policies in line with the
commitments taken in the resolutions on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and
Gender Identity, adoptedduring prior general assemblies.
3.
Adopt measures that ensure access to justice, and guarantee
due process for all persons, aiming to eradicate impunity, regardless of sexual
orientation and gender identity.
4.
Adopt comprehensive health strategies, with specific
strategies for LGBTTTI populations, and particular emphasis on the unique needs
of trans persons.
5.
Revise legislative frameworks, repealing laws that
criminalize sexual relations between individuals of the same sex.
6.
Adopt laws that recognize the gender identity of trans
people.
7.
Eliminate medical procedures where intersex children are
subjected to genital mutilation, and develop protocols based on human rights
and respect for their gender identity.
8.
Promote direct participation of LGBTTTI persons and civil
society organizations in the dialogues, consultations, design, and preparation
of national development plans.
9.
That the CARICOM states, within the next two years, develop
policies that meet the needs of LGBTI citizens and improve the mechanisms in
the planning of the domestic policies to include services for LGBTI youth.
10. We urge Member States to
provide financial resources, in the context of the Decade of Afro-Descendants, to
implement actions that guarantee full development and restitution of rights and
of LGBTI Afro-descendants of the Americas.
11. Consider the proposal for
an Inter-American Convention of Sexual Rights and Reproductive Rights.
That the General Assembly:
Approve the draft resolution “Human
Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression” presented by the
Brazil delegation and the co-sponsoring countries, whose initiative we
appreciate.
LGBTTTI Coalition Members at Coalition Meeting prior to OAS General Assembly in Paraguay
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