Washington D.C., September 5, 2017. The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights held a workshop on the universal human rights system for members of the Red Posithiva and the Red de Mujeres Trans de México on August 29, 2017, at the Hotel Krystal Urban in Cancun, Mexico.

Carlos Quesada, Race and Equality’s Executive Director, led a workshop on the most recent international-level advances affecting the LGBTI community, including the 2011 UN Resolution on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, the first report on LGBTI rights by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – Discriminatory Laws and Practices and Acts of Violence Against Individuals Based on Their Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity – as well as the 2012 Born Free and Equal Manual.

Also discussed were regional advances made through the Inter-American Human Rights System, including resolutions on topics relating to sexual orientation and gender identity, the work of the Rapporteurship on the Rights of LGBTI Persons and the Inter-American Commission’s 2015 report: Violence Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Persons in the Americas.

Patsy Yajhana España Chan, Yucatan State Director and South-Southeast Zone Coordinator of the Red de Mujeres Trans de México, told of the constant human rights violations suffered by LGBTI persons, especially transgender women, on the Yucatan Peninsula. Given this situation, she said, the information provided in the training was vitally important, and more work needed to be done to build upon what was learned.

In addition, Robert Guzmán, Executive Director of the Red Posithiva – a network that promotes HIV awareness and testing and advocates for sexual and reproductive rights – emphasized the urgent need to report on the current human rights situation of the LGBTI population in Cancun and the surrounding area.

The workshop is part of Race & Equality’s ongoing efforts to train members of the Mexican LGBTI community, especially in the states of Yucatan and Quintana Roo, to help them defend the rights of LGBTI persons in the country.