Last Thursday, December 4,
2014 the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) presented
its shadow report “On Devil’s Island: A
UPR Submission on LGBT Rights in Guyana” at a Pre-Session to Guyana’s
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) which was hosted in Geneva by the international
non-governmental organization, UPR Info. The report focused on the situation of
sexual rights in Guyana, with special attention focus to the rights of lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons in Guyana. SASOD’s Social Change
Coordinator, Chelauna Providence, in her statement, highlighted discriminatory
laws and practices that hinder the civil, political, economic and social rights
of LGBT Guyanese.
Also presenting at the
pre-session was Child Link’s Director, Omattie Madray, on the situation of
children’s rights in Guyana, reiterating the calls to abolish corporal punishment.
She posited that though the Government of Guyana noted several recommendations
to repeal laws that criminalise same-sex intimacy and cross-dressing in the
first UPR cycle, and agreed to host consultations on these issues, very little
has been done in the past four years.
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| Child Link’s Omattie Madray and SASOD’s Chelauna Providence in Geneva |
SASOD’s statement also
emphasized that the Guyana Constitution does not make provision for sexual
orientation and gender identity as grounds for discrimination, resulting in
LGBT persons living in a repressive socio-cultural environment that limits
their access to services. Providence pointed out that there have been at least
five unsolved murder cases of transgender and homosexual persons in
circumstances which suggest they were hate crimes between 2013 and 2014. She
attributed this to high levels of homophobia and transphobia and hate speech in
the public sphere, intended to incite ill-will against LGBT persons, such as
the comments made by Government Minister Juan Edghill on iRadio’s “Hard Talk”
on June 15 this year.
Despite the Government of
Guyana’s acceptance of Argentina’s recommendation to adapt laws and mechanisms
to combat discrimination against groups in vulnerable situations, it was cited
that LGBT persons still face higher levels of unemployment and underemployment,
and those who are employed have no legal protection from discrimination on the
basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity under the Prevention of
Discrimination Act 1997.
Providence’s statement also
mentioned the so-called “Modern Education Bill” which was introduced to
Parliament on June 20, 2014 which did not specify sexual orientation and gender
identity in its proposed non-discrimination clause.
SASOD proposed several
recommendations to the missions represented for the Government of Guyana,
including; recalling Juan Edgehill as a member of Parliament and removing him
as a Government Minister, amending Article 149 of the Guyana Constitution to
include sexual orientation and gender identity as grounds for discrimination,
and reviewing the sex and sexuality theme in the Health and Family Life
Education (HFLE) curriculum to include objective information on sexual
orientation and gender identity.
Representatives from
Colombia and the Netherlands expressed particular concern about the situation
of LGBT people in Guyana and the Government’s responsibility to protect and
promote the human rights of all Guyanese, including LGBT citizens. A total of
22 missions with a diplomatic presence in Geneva attended the UPR Pre-Session
on Guyana, including representatives from Latin America, West Africa, Europe
and North America.
Guyana’s UPR will take
place at end of January of 2015, where the United Nations’ Human Rights Council
in Geneva will respond to the national report on human rights by the Government
of Guyana and make recommendations for improving Guyana’s human rights
situation. SASOD’s participation at the Pre-Session was supported by COC
Netherlands and UPR Info.
Click here to read SASOD's UPR Pre-Session Statement
presented by SASOD’s Social Change Coordinator, Chelauna Providence in Geneva.
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