Local Civil Society Groups Raise Discrimination with OAS Human Rights Body

A delegation of four organizations representing the Guyana Equality Forum (GEF) presented on “Discrimination in the enjoyment of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Guyana” at a thematic hearing before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) at its 154th session of hearings in Washington, DC, last Friday, March 20, 2015. The IACHR is a principal and autonomous organ of the Organization of American States (OAS) whose mission is to promote and protect human rights in the American hemisphere. The Commissioners present at the hearing were Prof. Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, Chair of the Commission, James Cavallaro, Rapporteur for Guyana, and Felipe Gonzalez.
The petitioners representing the GEF were the Sisterhood of Support, Services and Sustainability (S4) Foundation, Guyanese Organisation of Indigenous Peoples (GOIP), Deaf Association of Guyana (DAG) and the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD). The GEF is a network of local civil society groups working for equal rights in Guyana.

Petitioners representing the Guyana Equality Forum (GEF):, SASOD’s Joel Simpson, DAG’s Sabine McIntosh, GOIP’s Colin Klautky, S4’s Imarah Radix and SASOD’s Schemel Patrick 

'Human Rights Need Your Leadership' – IACHR tells Guyana Government

Joint Media Release from Red Thread, FACT, A.I.D.S. and SASOD

Four Guyanese civil society organisations - Red Thread, Family Action Consciousness Togetherness (FACT), Artistes In Direct Support (A.I.D.S.) and the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) - working on intersectional rights issues affecting child across the country, made submissions at a hearing with the state of Guyana before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on "Violence, Sexuality and Gender Issues Affecting Children in Guyana" during its 149th Ordinary Period of Sessions in Washington, D.C. on Monday, October 28, 2013.  

The hearing focused on three specific issues currently affecting children in Guyana: (1) corporal punishment; (2) discrimination and abuse based on sexual orientation and gender identity; and (3) comprehensive sexuality education in schools.

Karen De Souza, National Coordinator of Red Thread, reported that the principal narrative on corporal punishment is that children are out of control and teachers need the whip to regain and/or maintain control of and exercise authority over them. The Ministry of Education’s guidelines on maintaining order speak to the regulated and documented use of corporal punishment in schools “as a last resort.” However, the use of corporal punishment in schools is commonplace, to the extent that teachers appear not to recognize when they are using this form of abuse on the children in their care. Additionally, the very fact of allowing “regulated and documented use of corporal punishment” gives teachers permission to use it.

Children have suffered needless injuries because of teachers’ violence. Past newspaper reports of dislocated shoulders, fractures and marks left on children have only served to intensify the chorus that children are out of control and that teachers need protection. Eight-year old Guyanese Daria Nicholson, who presented at the hearing, described her feelings of shame, anger and sadness having received several lashes from her class teacher because she forgot her exercise book at home. She was never asked by her teacher to provide an explanation.

Daria Nicholson (centre) presenting at the hearing, flanked by Karen De Souza (left) of Red Thread and her mother Zenita Nicholson (right) of SASOD

For the second time, in 2012, the National Assembly appointed a select committee to receive submissions on the abolishment of corporal punishment in schools, but the committee has not yet reported to the National Assembly. The civil society delegation reported that the government seems to be pandering to the misguided view that discipline is equivalent to punishment, rather than honouring the state’s obligation to put an end to all forms of violence against children. “Corporal punishment must be abolished,” De Souza reiterated at Monday's IACHR hearing.

Annette Jaundoo, Executive Director of FACT pointed out that, “the state has no effective systems in place to deal with these kinds of issues where children are violently abused because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, whether real or perceived, by their families, teachers, caregivers or persons who are responsible for their wellbeing and safety.” There is little or no support in schools for these children. Students face discrimination and are targeted not only by their peers but also sometimes by teachers, whose personal views may be homophobic.

Further, information about health and sexuality is one of the only critical tools that young people have to protect themselves from disease, and to make informed decisions about well-being and sexuality. Desiree Edghill, Executive Director of A.I.D.S., shared that NGOs working along with the teachers to implement the Health and Family Life Education (HFLE) programme in schools found that the teachers were not only behind in the roll-out of the HFLE manual, but they were also selecting certain exercises to conduct, rather than following the format of the manual and how they were trained to execute them. “It is important to follow the format, because the exercises build on and flow into each other,” Edgehill told the IACHR hearing on Monday. She also reported that children were more comfortable discussing sexuality and gender issues and issues of abuse with NGO staffers, rather than their teachers.

(From left to right) Desiree Edgehill (A.I.D.S.) presents with Annette Jaundoo (FACT), Karen De Souza (Red Thread), Daria Nicholson and Zenita Nicholson (SASOD)

The Honourable Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Ms. Jennifer Webster, M.P. responded on behalf of the Government of Guyana at the IACHR hearing. Unfortunately, the Government misunderstood the nature of the hearing and spent the better part of the allotted time challenging procedural matters related to individual petitions, which this hearing was not. Commissioner Dinah Shelton, who is the Rapporteur for Guyana, reiterated the IACHR President's response to Minister Webster that the hearing was not an individual petition, but a general hearing, as no individual name or case was the basis for requesting the hearing.

(From left to right) Civil society presenters, IACHR Comissioners (centre table) and Hon. Minister Jennifer Webster, M.P. and Guyana's Ambassador to the OAS, H.E. Bayney Karran

The delegation proposed several recommendations to the Government of Guyana and the IACHR, including that the Sex and Sexuality theme of the HFLE curriculum is reviewed and objective information on sexual orientation and gender identity aimed at preventing violence, abuse and discrimination in schools is incorporated, as well as providing training at Cyril Potter Teachers Training College curriculum on understanding of sexuality and gender issues affecting children in Guyana's schools.

Concluding her responses to the Minister's report that the National Assembly has convened a special select committee to hold public consultations on these issues, which are still ongoing, Commissioner Shelton emphatically stated that human rights shouldn't be put to a vote, and that these issues need government leadership, even in advance of public opinion, including positive measures to prevent violence.

IACHR Commissioners at the Guyana Hearing (left to right): Rosa Maria Ortiz, rapporteur with responsibility for children's rights, Jose De Jesus Orozco Henriquez, President of IACHR, and Dinah Shelton, rapporteur responsible for Guyana

The IACHR is a principal and autonomous organ of the Organisation of American States (OAS) whose mission is to promote and protect human rights in the American hemisphere and act as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. It is composed of seven independent members who are elected in their individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly, serve in their personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin. Created in 1959, the Commission has its headquarters in Washington, D.C. 

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Video Recording of the Hearing on Violence, Sexuality and Gender Issues Affecting Children in Guyana on the IACHR YouTube Channel: http://youtu.be/vFTa6ZL1UBk

COALITION OF LGBTTTI ORGANIZATIONS WORKING IN THE OAS CELEBRATE THE APPROVAL OF THE FIFTH RESOLUTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY

The Coalition of LGBTTTI Latin American and Caribbean organizations, formed by groups belonging to more than 23 countries expresses in this communiqué its assessment of the activities of the 42nd General Assembly of the Organization of American States, which took place in Cochabamba, Bolivia on June 3^rd-5^th, 2012.

The  Caribbean delegation L-R Standing Caleb Orozco-Belize,Kareem Griffith -Trinidad & Tobago,Maurice Tomlinson-Jamaica &Teneke Sumpter-Suriname; Seated Namela Baynes Rowe-Guyana and Razia Torriani Bolivian Trans Activist

The LGBTTI Coalition

This Assembly adopted the fifth resolution AG/RES. 2721 (XLII-O/12) “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.” Such resolution, which is the result of the long term advocacy of the group, includes all the issues contained in the previous resolutions, calling on member states to introduce measures against discrimination and human rights violations and to implement public policies. Furthermore it requests the IACHR to prepare a study on legislation and provisions in force in the OAS member states restricting the human rights of individuals by reason of their sexual orientation or gender identity and to prepare, based on that study, guidelines aimed at promoting the decriminalization of homosexuality”.

About the Coalition’s activities

Beyond the resolution that has been formally adopted, the Coalition celebrates the consolidation of its space as civil society component after five years of advocacy work within the OAS and in the region, before, during and after the General Assemblies.

In the days preceding the 42^nd General Assembly, the Coalition organized a parallel event in preparation for the advocacy and participation within the OAS. The main discussion topics were: (a) implementation of the resolution “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”; (b) Interaction with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (with specific focus on thematic hearings); (c) Interaction with the Commission on Juridical and Political Affairs; (d) Advocacy in the negotiation process of the draft Convention against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance; (e) Advocacy with member states.

During the two days, invited participants included Jorge Sanin, director of the Department of International Relations of the OAS, who highlighted the importance of the commitment of the LGBTTTI civil society in all processes of the OAS and the increasing visibility of the issue within the OAS, particularly with reference to the Hemispheric Forum.

The Coalition met MP Gladys Prieto Moreyra, Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of the Bolivian Parliament, and MP Saul Limbert Garabito, member of the same Human Rights Commission. They both welcomed the Coalition, expressed their commitment on the rights of LGBTTTI people and, in particular, their support to the La won Gender Identity, that has been recently endorsed by the Vice-Minister of Justice and will be sent for discussion to the Bolivian parliament in the next days.

The Coalition also had a meeting with Mr. Darío Paya, ambassador of the Republic of Chile at the OAS, who spoke about the need that society move forward in the inclusion and respect for diversity, and congratulated the Coalition for his presence at the OAS.

During the informal dialogue with the Secretary General of the OAS and the civil society in San Salvador, six delegates of the LGBTTTI coalition addressed to Secretary General José Miguel Insulza their concerns regarding the undue influence of religion on states and the weakening of the principle of secularity; violence and discrimination that LBTTTI women suffer within their own families and communities; hate crimes and discrimination, discriminatory archaic buggery and cross dressing laws, particularly in the English-speaking Caribbean; the need of recognition of gender identity for travesti, transgender, transsexual and intersex people; the need of completing the negotiation process of the Convention against Racism and all Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance; and the importance to consider the proposal for a Convention on Sexual and Reproductive Rights advanced by civil society.

Mr. Insulza confirmed the OAS’s commitment to fight for recognition of the rights of LGBTTTI individuals and the need to move forward in the negotiation of the Inter American Convention against Racism and all Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance. He also committed to facilitate a meeting between member states, civil society and the Inter-American Commission on the issue.

The dialogue between Civil Society and the Heads of Delegation of the OAS Member States took place on June 3^rd. Raiza Torriani, Bolivian trans activist, was the spokesperson for the LGBTTTI Coalition. The full text of the speech is published below. In her intervention, Raiza made reference, with particular emphasis, on the situation of LGBTTTI people in the English-speaking Caribbean, mentioning each member of the Coalition in attendance from that region, who stood up calling the attention of the Heads of Delegation and the audience. As result of this action, the state representatives of St. Kitts & Nevis, Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago expressed their concerns on the issues and committed to raise the question to their respective governments. The representatives of Brazil and Argentina also expressed their commitment of their countries on the rights of LGBTTTI people.

We welcome the increasing interest for the work of the coalition that represents an acknowledgment of the work carried out in these years.

We thank COC Netherlands, UNAIDS, UNDP, MamaCash and the Campaign for an Inter-American Convention on Sexual and Reproductive Rights, and Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights for their support to make our participation to this General Assembly possible.

The participants of the Coalition of LGBTTTI Organizations of Latin America and the Caribbean within the OAS were:

1. AIREANA - Camila Zabala – Paraguay,
2. ASOCIACIÓN LIDERES EN ACCION -Germán Rincón Perfetti - Colombia,
3. COALITION ADVOCATING FOR INCLUSION OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION – Kareem Griffith – Trinidad and Tobago,
4. COLECTIVA MUJER y SALUD, Claudia Saleta – Dominican Republic,
5. COLECTIVO UNIDAD COLOR ROSA – Claudia Spellmant – Honduras,
6. TALLER COMUNICACIÓN MUJER, Tatiana Cordero - Ecuador,
7. AIDS FREE WORLD - Maurice Tomlinson – Jamaica,
8. MULABI-COSTA RICA – Natasha Jiménez – Costa Rica,
9. ORGANIZACIÓN DE TRANSEXUALES POR LA DIGNIDAD DE LA DIVERSIDAD – Andrés Rivera Duarte – Chile,
10. ORGANIZACIÓN TRANS REINAS DE LA NOCHE – Johana Ramírez – Guatemala,
11. GRUPO IDENTIDADE RED AFRO LGBTI – Marcos Cesar Gomez – Brazil,
12. RED LATINOAMERICANA Y DEL CARIBE DE PERSONAS TRANS - Marcela Romero- Argentina,
13. RED NICARAGUENSE DE ACTIVISTAS TRANS – Silvia Martínez – Nicaragua,
14. SOCIETY AGAINST SEXUAL ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION- Namela Rowe - Guyana,
15. UNIBAM – Caleb Orozco – Belize,
16. WOMEN’S WAY – Tieneke Sumter – Suriname
17. TRANSREDBOLIVIA TREBOL - Raiza Torriani - Bolivia

As partners of the Coalition: Stefano Fabeni and Marcelo Ernesto Ferreyra – Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights

Cochabamba, June 5th, 2012

DECLARATION OF THE COALICION OF LESBIANS, GAYS, BISEXUALS, TRAVESTI, TRANSEXUALS, TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX OF THE AMERICAS BEFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE OAS.

DECLARATION OF THE COALICION OF LESBIANS, GAYS, BISEXUALS, TRAVESTI, TRANSEXUALS, TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX OF THE AMERICAS BEFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE OAS.

COCHABAMBA, BOLIVIA, JUNE 3rd, 2011

Mister Secretary General, Ministers, Members of the Official Delegations, Civil Society Representatives,

We, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Travesti, Transsexual, Transgender and Intersex organizations, convened in Cochabamba, Bolivia, from May 30^th to June 1^st, 2012, in accordance with the directives established by the General Assembly of the OAS in its resolutions AG/RES.2092(XXXV-O/05); CP/RES.759(1217/99); AG/RES.840(1361/03); AG/RES.1707(XXX-O/00) and AG/RES.1915(XXXIII-O/03), which determine a regulatory framework to enhance and strengthen civil society participation in OAS activities and in the Summit of the Americas process, express our concern that food security is limited to the right to food, while we consider that it is also related to the rights to work, health, housing, education, equality and non-discrimination, a dignified life, respect for nature and the collective rights of indigenous peoples.

We show our concern for the situation of exclusion and vulnerability of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, transgender, travesti and intersex people, as well as afro-descendant people, migrants, refugees, women, youth, differently abled people, the elderly, indigenous peoples, ethnic groups, people living with HIV, religious minorities, and those who live in situations of armed conflict or natural disasters. In these circumstances, they are exposed to the most severe discrimination, which prevents them from accessing to a good quality of life.

As intersex and trans persons, whose identity is not recognized, we are not primary subjects in the development of public policies; we are expelled from schools and from our homes, while the society and governments deny the recognition of our condition of human beings, forcing us since childhood to live on the streets, exposed to sexual exploitation. This affects the development of our personality and the exercise of our basic rights.

Several countries do not secure our rights and do not protect our lives; in others we are criminalized by the law, and private and public healthcare services consider our conditions as pathologies.

Indifference, omission and complicity by many states in cases of discrimination and violence against the LGBTI community make those more severe and limit the enjoyment of the basic needs of our communities. This situation is even more serious in the case of the legislation of 11 Anglophone Caribbean countries. We are here with our colleagues from Belize, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, countries that criminalize same-sex conducts between consenting adults. In fact, the lack of political will of the Anglophone Caribbean member states denies human rights and, as a consequence, represents a limit for job opportunities and for decision-making on public policies related to HIV, as well as increase the number of homeless among youth.

As lesbian women we demand that the states recognize the different types of families, as well as their inclusion in national census; the contribution we offer to food security for our families and our children must be recognized. The lack of recognition of the way we contribute as LBTI women to the wellbeing of our families and to state economy though our productive and reproductive work does not make it visible our contribution to life.

Similarly, we recall the attention on the impact that domestic violence has on food security, as it is impossible in circumstances whereby the right to food for our children is denied and when our economic autonomy is limited or denied.

Finally, we urge member states to respect the principle of secularism, as the lack of separation between church and state increase oppression, discrimination, social exclusion.

Therefore we demand:

To the Member States:

- To adopt laws and public policies in accordance with the commitments taken in virtue of the resolutions "Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity" approved in the previous General Assemblies.

- To adopt laws that recognize the right to identity of trans persons taking as an example the good practice represented by the law recently approved by Argentina.

- To repeal laws that criminalizes same sex intimacy.

- To realize all efforts required in the shortest period of time to finalize the adoption of the Draft Inter-American Convention against Racism and All Form of Discrimination and Intolerance.

- To consider the proposal for an Inter-American Convention on Sexual Rights and Reproductive Rights.

- To sign, ratify and implement all Inter-American instruments for the protection of human rights.

- To effectively strengthen their commitment with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, with the Support of the Secretary General of the OAS, and abstain from initiatives that might weaken the Inter-American system of protection of human rights.

To the General Assembly:

- To approve the draft resolution “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” presented by the Brazilian delegation, whose initiative we fully endorse.

We are not born vulnerable; lack of recognition makes us vulnerable.

AG/RES. 2721 (XLII-O/12)

HUMAN RIGHTS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, AND GENDER IDENTITY

(Adopted at the second plenary session, held on June 4, 2012)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT resolutions AG/RES. 2435 (XXXVIII-O/08), AG/RES. 2504 (XXXIX-O/09), AG/RES. 2600 (XL-O/10), and AG/RES. 2653 (XLI-O/11), “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity”;

REITERATING:

That the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in that instrument, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status; and

That the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man establishes that every human being has the right to life, liberty, and security of his person without distinction as to race, sex, language, creed, or any other factor;

CONSIDERING that the Charter of the Organization of American States proclaims that the historic mission of the Americas is to offer to man a land of liberty and a favorable environment for the development of his personality and the realization of his just aspirations;

REAFFIRMING the principles of universality, indivisibility, and interdependence of human rights;

TAKING NOTE:

Of the creation by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Unit for the Rights of Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexual, Transsexual, and Intersex Persons (LGBTI), and of its work plan, which includes the preparation of a hemispheric report on this issue;

Of the Second Report of the IACHR on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in the Americas, according to which organizations that promote and defend the human rights of LGBTI persons play a fundamental role in the region in terms of public oversight to ensure compliance with the states’ obligations vis-à-vis the rights to privacy, equality, and nondiscrimination, and are faced with obstacles, among them, murder, threats, criminalization of their activities, the failure to take a focused approach to the investigation of crimes committed by both state and non-state actors against them, and discourse calculated to discredit the defenders of the rights of LGBTI persons; and

Of the Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, presented to the United Nations General Assembly on December 18, 2008; and

NOTING WITH CONCERN the acts of violence and related human rights violations as well as discrimination practiced against persons because of their sexual orientation and gender identity,

RESOLVES:

1. To condemn discrimination against persons by reason of their sexual orientation and gender identity; and to urge the states within the parameters of the legal institutions of their domestic systems to eliminate, where they exist, barriers faced by lesbians, gays, and bisexual, transsexual, and intersex (LGBTI) persons in access to political participation and in other areas of public life.

2. To encourage member states to consider, within the parameters of the legal institutions of their domestic systems, adopting public policies against discrimination by reason of sexual orientation and gender identity.

3. To condemn acts of violence and human rights violations committed against persons by reason of their sexual orientation and gender identity; and to urge states to strengthen their national institutions with a view to preventing and investigating these acts and violations and ensuring due judicial protection for victims on an equal footing and that the perpetrators are brought to justice.

4. To urge states to ensure adequate protection for human rights defenders who work on the issue of acts of violence, discrimination, and human rights violations committed against individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

5. To request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to pay particular attention to its work plan titled “Rights of LGBTI People” and, in keeping with its established practice, to prepare a hemispheric study on the subject; and to urge member states to support the efforts of the Commission in this area.

6. To request the IACHR to prepare a study on legislation and provisions in force in the OAS member states restricting the human rights of individuals by reason of their sexual orientation or gender identity and to prepare, based on that study, guidelines aimed at promoting the decriminalization of homosexuality.

7. To urge the member states that has not yet done so to consider signing, ratifying, or acceding to, as the case may be, the inter-American human rights instruments.

8. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly on the implementation of this resolution. Execution of the activities envisaged in this resolution will be subject to the availability of financial resources in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Heightens Commitment to LGBT Rights at Hearing on Punitive Measures and Discrimination in the Caribbean

Georgetown, Guyana, November 9, 2010 - On Tuesday, October 26, 2010, four representatives of the Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities in the English-speaking Caribbean participated in a thematic hearing before five of the seven Commissioners of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington, DC. The Commissioners who sat for the hearing were Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro (First Vice Chair); Dinah Shelton (Second Vice Chair); Rodrigo Escobar Gil; Luz Patricia Mejía Guerrero and María Silvia Guillén.

The IACHR is the body of the Organization of American States (OAS) responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Inter-American system and the hearing was facilitated in accordance with OAS resolution 2600 ‘Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity’ which mandated the IACHR to report on the status of human rights of LGBT at the next General Assembly of the OAS in June 2011.

The petitioners, representing organizations from Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, presented a 72-page report detailing the situation of LGBT people in the region and requested the assistance of the IACHR in helping to repeal the laws that criminalize same-sex sexual behaviors, expression and identities in the Anglophone Caribbean.

One of the key points made in the hearing, was that the existence of the laws that criminalize same-sex sexual behaviors, expression and identities result in widespread societal stigma and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, significantly restricting LGBT people’s ability to live safe, happy and fulfilling lives.

Maurice Tomlinson, of AIDS-Free World (Jamaica), reviewed the various laws and their penalties, and gave examples of how they affected gay men in the region; Patsy Grannum of MOVADAC- Movement Against Discrimination Action Committee (Barbados), spoke about how the laws impacted lesbian women; Ashily Dior of CAISO- Coalition Advocating Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (Trinidad and Tobago) advocated for the rights of transgender individuals and Sherlina Nageer of SASOD- the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (Guyana) discussed the deleterious effect of the laws on the response to HIV in the region.

The petitioners urged the Commissioners to consider that the Caribbean countries which retain these colonial-era laws against homosexuality foster an environment in which real and perceived homosexuals are regularly threatened, harassed, raped, murdered, and otherwise ill-treated. Because their sexual identity has been criminalized, LGBT people in these countries often feel unable to seek legal remedies when their human rights are violated.

Finally, the petitioners called for the repeal of these discriminatory laws as an essential step in winning the Caribbean’s response to HIV, since stigma and discrimination often prevents LGBT people from seeking vital HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services.

The Commissioners acknowledged the seriousness of this issue and pledged their full support to LGBT individuals and organizations in the Anglophone Caribbean that are working on these issues. The Commissioners also urged affected individuals and organizations to continue to inform and involve them about the status of LGBT human rights in accordance with the OAS resolution, and to utilize all the tools and mechanisms available through the Inter-American human rights system in their efforts. In its release reporting at the conclusion of the 140^th period on November 5, the Commission affirmed its commitment to intensify its efforts to defend the rights of LGBT persons and prepare a hemispheric report on this issue.

The participation of the petitioners at the hearing and the preparation of the report was made possible through support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), the Open Society Institute (OSI), AIDS-Free World, Global Rights and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC).

ENDS

Related Information:

IACHR Press Release on the 140^th Period of Sessions:

http://www.cidh.org/Comunicados/English/2010/109-10eng.htm

Audio File of the Thematic Hearing on the Punitive Measures and Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Identity in Caribbean Countries at the 140^th Period of Sessions of the IACHR:

http://www.cidh.oas.org/prensa/publichearings/Hearings.aspx?Lang=EN&Session=120&page=2

Photo Caption:

LGBT Panelists at the IACHR Thematic Hearing on October 26, 2010, during the 140^th Period of Sessions (from left to right): Patsy Grannum (MOVADOC – Barbados), Stefano Fabeni (Global Rights), Maurice Tomlinson (AIDS-Free World – Jamaica), Sherlina Nageer (SASOD – Guyana), Marcelo Ferreyra (IGLHRC) and Ashily Dior (CAISO – Trinidad and Tobago).

Contact Persons:

In Georgetown, for SASOD, Sherlina Nageer (English): +592 653-3734; or +592 672-3483

In Buenos Aires, for IGLHRC, Marcelo Ferreyra (Spanish, English): +54 11 4665 7527

ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE COALITION OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,TRANSVESTITES, TRANSSEXUALS, TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX ORGANIZATIONS OF THE AMERICAS

The Coalition composed of organizations from 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries and its partner Global Rights, are denouncing the coup in Honduras, which we consider not only an affront to the national constitution and the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS), but also an attack on democracy, respect, equality, rights and lives of the Honduran people.

As always in crisis scenarios, the most affected people are those under hightened vulnerable conditions, such as our lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transsexuals, transvestites, transgender and intersex Honduran brothers and sisters. Our colleague Vicky, a Honduran trans-woman, and other members of the LGBT sector, have been killed as a result of this brutal military intervention. As well, human rights activists and people who were born in a free country are in imminent danger, have now lost their freedom and their individual rights are suspended.

The LGBTTTI Coalition expresses its solidarity with the Honduran democratic sectors, who, rejecting military interventionism and political assassinations, arbitrary arrests, beatings and intimidation, demostrate on the streets to express themselves and
fight with their hands against hand-guns, machine-guns and tanks. We reject military interventionism, and request that those who cowardly and through force have taken power, to desist and restore the country to the democratically- elected president President José Manuel Zelaya; engage new communication chanels and a democratic and peaceful
solution to differences and problems they have. We urge the international community, international organizations, governments and civil society to remain mobilized and alert until the return of constitutional order in Honduras.

Coalition members:

1. AIREANA – Paraguay
2. C TTT- Honduras
3. COLECTIVA MUJER y SALUD - Dominican Republic
4. CORPORACION OPCION – Colombia
5. ENTRE-TRANSITOS – Colombia
6. GRENCHAP – Grenada
7. HUMANA NACION TRANS – México
8. IGLHRC – Argentina
9. INSTITUTO RUNA – Perú
10. LIDERES EN ACCION – Colombia
11. SMU - Suriname
12. MESA JOVEN POR LA DIVERSIDAD SEXUAL - Colombia
13. MULABI – Regional
14. ORGANIZACIÓN DE TRANSEXUALES POR LA DIGNIDAD – Chile
15. RED AFRO LGBTI – Brasil
16. J FLAG – Jamaica
17. RED LACTRANS – Argentina
18. RED TRANS Nicaragua – Nicaragua
19. SASOD – Guyana
20. TALLER MUJER Y COMUNICACIÓN – Ecuador
21. UNIBAM – Belize
22. VELVET UNDERGROUND – Trinidad and Tobago

OAS approves second resolution on “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”

At its 39th General Assembly convened in San Pedro Sula , Honduras , from June 1 – 3, 2009 , the Organisation of American States (OAS) approved its second resolution on “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”.

This resolution is the result of the advocacy and coordination activities realized in the past three years by 24 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Travesti, Transgender, Transsexual and Intersex (LGBTTTI) groups of 17 countries forming a Coalition of Latin America and the Caribbean, that meets every year before the General Assembly to coordinate its advocacy work within the OAS.

During the informal dialogue between the Secretary General of the OAS and the civil society on May 31, 2009 (photograph attached), in San Pedro Sula, José Miguel Insulza highlighted the need that the secretariat realizes a special report focusing in particular on hate crimes and the situation of human rights violations against individuals because of their sexual diversity.

The day after, in the context of the dialogue between the heads of delegations of member states and the civil society, Claudia Sosa Medina, Honduran transgender woman, read a statement (see below) as spokesperson of the coalition in which activists from Honduras, Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Brazil, Ecuador, Suriname, Guyana, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada and Belize, requested to the ministers of foreign affairs of the OAS member countries to intervene against acts of violence against LGBTTTI persons in the Americas.

The Coalition expressed its concern for the lack of reference to the notion of gender identity and expression in paragraph 5 of the Declaration of San Pedro Sula, which makes reference to violence caused by discrimination: “Gender identity of travestis, transgenders and transsexuals is a fundamental element of our individual freedom and self-construction”.

The representative of the government of the United States reminded the General Assembly of the commitment of President Barack Obama in supporting laws for the development of policies that recognize the rights of LGBT people, highlighted the signature of her country to the UN declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity, and expressed their opposition to the so-called sodomy laws.

Brazil sponsored the draft resolution “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”, while Colombia underlined that the issue is particularly important for the government, and that the parliament has approved instruments to eliminate discriminatory acts against LGBT people. Finally Saint Kitts & Nevis expressed its opposition to any form of violence against any individual, regardless of the orientation of the human being.

On June 4, 2009 , during the fourth plenary session, the Annual Report of the Permanent Council (2008-2009), which contains the resolutions approved by the Permanent Council itself was presented. Among those, the resolution AG/RES. 2504 (XXXIX-O/09) “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” was approved. Its text (also below) not only ratifies what established last year by the resolution AG/RES.2435 (XXX VII I-O/08) also entitled “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”, but also makes reference to the Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity presented at the UN General Assembly on December 18, 2008.

The new resolution, sponsored by Brazil, not only condemns acts of violence and human rights violations perpetrated against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, but also express its concern for violence against human rights defenders that work on these kinds of violations, calling on the states to ensure their protection and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American system to take action on the topic. Finally, the resolution reiterates its request to the Committee on Legal and Political Affairs to include the issue of “sexual orientation and gender identity” in its agenda during the next ordinary period of sessions.

As a Coalition, we celebrate the approval of this second resolution that we consider one of the tangible and historical results of our advocacy work started in 2006 by Global Rights, Mulabi - Espacio Latinoamericano de Sexualidades y Derechos and IGLHRC – LAC, by coordinating the creation of this coalition that initially focused its work on the advocacy for the inclusion of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression in the draft Inter-American Convention against Racism and all Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance.

We thank the OAS, UNDP, Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, and Global Rights for their support which made our participation at this year’s General Assembly possible.

The participants of the Coalition of LGBTTTI Organizations of Latin America and the Caribbean within the OAS were:

AIREANA - Camila Zabala – Paraguay, Colectivo TTT San Pedro Sula- Claudia Sosa - Honduras, COLECTIVA MUJER y SALUD, Julie Betances – Dominican Republic, CORPORACIÓN PROMOCIÓN DE LA MUJER, Soledad Varela - Ecuador, CORPORACION OPCION, Diana Navarro - Colombia, ENTRE-TRANSITOS - Camilo Andrés Rojas - Colombia, GRENCHAP - Kimany Parke - Grenada, HUMANA NACION TRANS-Hazel Gloria Davenport - Mexico, IGL HRC - Marcelo Ferreyra – Argentina, INSTITUTO RUNA-Belissa Andia – Peru, ASOCIACIÓN LIDERES EN ACCION -Germán Rincón - Colombia, SURINAME MEN UNITED - Kenneth Van Endem - Suriname, MULABI, ESPACIO LATINOAMERICANO DE SEXUALIDADES Y DERECHOS- Marina Bernal- México- Colombia, ORGANIZACIÓN DE TRANSEXUALES POR LA DIGNIDAD DE LA DIVERSIDAD Andrés Rivera – Chile, RED AFRO LGBTI - Edmilson Medeiros BRAZIL, J-FLAG - Maurice Tomilson – Jamaica, RED LACTRANS - Marcela Romero- Argentina, RED TRANS Nicaragua - Silvia Martínez – Nicaragua, SOCIETY AGAINST SEXUAL ORIENTATION DIDSCRIMINATION- Namela Baynes Henry - Guyana, UNIBAM - Devon Gabourel - Belize, VELVET UNDERGROUND Angela Francis - Trinidad and Tobago.

As a Coalition partner: Stefano Fabeni-Global Rights

Photograph Caption: OAS Secretary General, Jose Miguel Insulza (third from left), SASOD Co-Chair, Namela Baynes-Henry (second from right) and other Coalition members at the informal dialogue with representatives of civil society on May 31, 2009 , in San Pedra Sula, Honduras.

RESOLUTION

AG/RES. 2504 (XXXIX-O/09)

HUMAN RIGHTS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, AND GENDER IDENTITY

(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 4, 2009)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

BEARING IN MIND resolution AG/RES. 2435 (XXXVIII-O/08), entitled “Human rights, sexual orientation, and gender identity”;

REAFFIRMING:

That the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in that Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status; and

That the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man establishes that every human being has the right to life, liberty, and the security of the person;

CONSIDERING that the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS) proclaims that the historic mission of America is to offer to man a land of liberty and a favorable environment for the development of his personality and the realization of his just aspirations;

REAFFIRMING the principles of universality, indivisibility, and interdependence of human rights;

TAKING NOTE of the Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity presented to the United Nations General Assembly on December 18, 2008; and

NOTING WITH CONCERN acts of violence and related human rights violations perpetrated against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity,

RESOLVES:

1. To condemn acts of violence and related human rights violations committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

2. To urge states to ensure that acts of violence and human rights violations committed against individuals because of sexual orientation and gender identity are investigated and their perpetrators brought to justice.

3. To urge states to ensure adequate protection for human rights defenders who work on the issue of acts of violence and human rights violations committed against individuals because of sexual orientation and gender identity.

4. To request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the other organs of the inter-American system to continue to pay sufficient attention to this issue.

5. To reiterate its request for the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs (CAJP) to include on its agenda, before the fortieth regular session of the General Assembly, the topic of “Human rights, sexual orientation, and gender identity.”

6. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its fortieth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, the execution of which shall be subject to the availability of financial resources in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.

SAN PEDRO SULA DECLARATION OF THE COALITION OF LESBIANS, GAYS, BISEXUALS, TRAVESTI, TRANSSEXUALS, TRANSGENDERS AND INTERSEX OF THE AMERICAS.

Mister Secretary General, Ministers, Members of the Official Delegations, Civil Society Representatives,

We, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Travesti, Transsexual, Transgender and Intersex organizations, convened in San Pedro Sula, Honduras on May 29, 30 and 31, 2009, in accordance with the directives established by the General Assembly of the OAS in its resolutions AG/RES.2092( XXXV-O/05) ; CP/RES.759(1217/ 99); 840(1361/03) ; AG/RES.1707( XXX-O/00) and AG/RES.1915( XXXIII-O/ 03), which determine a regulatory framework to enhance and strengthen civil society participation in OAS activities and in the Summit of the Americas process, highlighting the importance of the resolution AG/RES. 2435 (XXXVIII-O/08) , express our concern for the omission of the concept of gender identity and expression from paragraph 5 of the draft declaration of San Pedro Sula, which makes reference to violence generated by discrimination. Gender identity and expression of travestis, transgenders and transsexuals are fundamental elements of the exercise of our cultural freedom and self-construction.

In the American hemisphere the atrocities committed have been documented over a decade. Several reports mostly drafted by non governmental organizations highlight the existence of countless extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, tortures and killings as a consequence of the so-called “social cleansing” campaigns or by extermination groups, such as in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador.

However, it should be noted that these identified forms of discriminatory acts and violence are the most evident and extreme kinds of rights violations, those which essentially affect the rights to life and personal integrity.

These are not only limited to physical attacks, police mistreatment, abuse by authorities and hate crimes. Within families and the community, practices of private violence, like forced marriages, submission to stereotypes and gender roles that limit the free development of the personality and sexuality, forced segregation and torture in “rehabilitation” clinics, that often end with suicide. Violence within the judicial system, manifested by the legal process for sex and name change, implies humiliating clinical exams, forced surgery and mutilation.

Being Afro-descendant, woman, indigenous, youth, migrant, elderly, or living with disability, among other reasons for marginalization, are factors that aggravate violence against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

We believe it is fundamental that discrimination is combated with appropriate and effective legal instruments that moreover promote a culture of non violence.

In this context we should draw attention to the situation in the eight English-speaking Caribbean countries that still keep in force the so-called “sodomy laws” which are used by the state, security forces and private actors to harass, intimidate and persecute us. These laws which have been consistently classified as human rights violations, create a climate of violence which has been identified by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights during their recent visit to Jamaica.

The countless cases of killings, tortures, sexual violence, arbitrary detentions, public humiliations to which travesti, trangender, transsexual, lesbianas, gay, bisexuals and intersex people, as well as sex workers, are daily subjected in Central America and the Caribbean, and particularly in Honduras, perpetuate a context of hate and impunity with complete indifference by the state.

For these reasons, we demand that States, and particularly the government of Honduras, to develop transparent and serious investigations that should take place with full respect for the law, as well as to severely punish those actors that commit felonies covered by impunity and moral values that feed and justify hate and prejudices.

Therefore, we demand:

That the OAS includes gender identity in its program on the right to identity in order to give States the possibility to develop the necessary legal framework to eliminate social exclusion through the legal recognition of trans persons.

That member states of the English-speaking Caribbean repeal laws that criminalize sexual intercourse between consenting adults of the same sex and all other laws that limit the free development of personality or incite to social violence.

That Member states commit to defining national comprehensive policies aimed at implementing good practices in all social, educational and professional contexts and the creation of bodies that monitor the existing situation on human rights violations.

That the General Assembly approves the draft Resolution AG/doc. 4962/09 “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” presented by the Brazilian Delegation, whose initiative we fully endorse.

That the General Assembly approves the draft Resolution AG/doc. 4959/09 “Draft Inter-American Convention against Racism and all Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance” and that Member States commit themselves to finalize the negotiation of the draft accepting the substantive progress achieved during the past years.

Given this situation of war against our desire, our bodies and our identities, we advocate for a culture of peace.

AIREANA - Camila Zabala – Paraguay, C TTT- Claudia Sosa - Honduras, COLECTIVA MUJER y SALUD, Julie Betances – República Dominicana, COMUNICACIÓN MUJER, Soledad Varela - Ecuador, CORPORACION OPCION, Diana Navarro - Colombia, ENTRE-TRANSITOS - Camilo Andrés Rojas - Colombia, GREEN CHOP - Kimany Parke - Grenada, HUMANA NACION TRANS-Hazel Gloria Davenport - México, IGLHRC-LAC - Marcelo Ferreyra – Argentina, INSTITUTO RUNA-Belissa Andia – Perú, LIDERES EN ACCION-Germán Rincón - Colombia, MEN UNITED - Keneth Van Emdem - Suriname, MULABI, ESPACIO LATINOAMERICANO EN SEXUALIDADES Y DERECHOS, Marina Bernal, México-Colombia, ORGANIZACIÓN DE TRANSEXUALES POR LA DIGNIDAD Andrés Rivera –Chile, RED AFRO LGBTI - Edmilson Medeiros BRASIL, RED J-FLAG - Maurice Tomilson – Jamaica, RED LACTRANS - Marcela Romero- Argentina, RED TRANS Nicaragua - Silvia Martínez – Nicaragua, SASOD- Namela Baynes Henry - Guyana,UNIBAM - Devon Gabourel - Belize, VELVET UNDERGROUND Angela Francis - Trinidad and Tobago.

As a Coalition partner: Stefano Fabeni-Global Rights