Leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean at the 49th General Assembly of the OAS: “We are facing a grave situation of human rights violations””

Leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean at the 49th General Assembly of the OAS: “We are facing a grave situation of human rights violations””

Over the course of the 49th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), held in Medellín, Colombia from June 25-28, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) held various events, particularly with participation by human rights, Afro-descendent, and LGBTI leaders from Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Paraguay, Brazil, Nicaragua, Mexico, Bolivia, and the Dominican Republic.

These meeting and discussion spaces sought to reflect upon and study the social and political conditions facing human rights in Latin America. These conditions currently have a particular effect upon historically marginalized and invisible populations such as Afro-descendants and LGBTI persons, as do violations of fundamental rights through persecution and harassment by different governments in the region against rights defenders.

We reiterate our condemnation of the absence of Cuban activists who were denied exit from the country by migration authorities, this being a strategy of coercion and repression by the Cuban state to prevent civil society leaders from publicizing the human rights situation on the island.

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The Inter-American Form Against Discrimination was held on June 25. Afro-descendant and LGBTI activists from Latin America took part alongside the re-elected Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay, Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons of African Descent and Against Racial Discrimination and Rapporteur on the Rights of Women at the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights.

During their dialogue, activists described the social and political situation with regards to human rights in the region. The president of the Network of Afro-Latina, Afro-Caribbean, and Diaspora Women emphasized the need for women across the region to raise their voices to be heard, speak out, and participate as subjects of human rights. Likewise, the Brazilian activist Rodei Jericó de Géledes expressed the great challenges faced by the Afro-Brazilian population with regards to guarantees and recognition of their rights, especially Afro-Brazilians with diverse expressions of gender and sex, who suffer the highest percentage of homicides worldwide, with Afro-LGBTI people being the most frequent victims.

In a similar vein, the Colombian LGBTI rights activist and director of Caribe Afirmativo Wilson Castañeda indicated that although the Colombian peace process is unique in the world today by virtue of its reaffirmation of the rights of LGBTI conflict victims, Colombian LGBTI persons continue to be crushed by violence and hate crimes, fueled by hateful public discourses and state indifference to the victims. Castañeda told the audience that “peace is costing us our lives.” This dark side of the Colombian peace process includes the announcement by INDEPAZ that 837 social leaders have been killed, with 17 new alleged cases coming recently.

Commissioner Macaulay shared with the audience the importance of the Inter-American Convention Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Related Intolerance, making clear that the Commission has found that Afro-descendants in the Americas suffer from structural discrimination affecting all social rights to which they are entitled.

The representative of the National Conference of Afro-Colombian organizations, Hader Viveros, stated that Afro-descendants continue to be seen as objects rather than subjects, and thus continue to be victims of discrimination and non-recognition of their true needs. María Martínez de Moschta presented evidence to this point, signaling that over 117,000 people remain stateless in the Dominican Republic thanks to state decisions motivated by senseless racism.

Finally, Christian King, director of the organization Trans Siempre Amigas (TRANSA) in the Domincan Republic, and Cecilia Ramírez, director of the Black Peruvian Women’s Development Center (CEDEMUNEP), shared with the participants the importance of being present in international legal bodies such as the OAS General Assembly, highlighting the possibility of using these spaces to bring civil society demands to the fore and to make Latin American social movements’ social and political agendas visible in the struggle for human rights.

Read here the statement of the Afro-Descendant coalition at the OAS General Assembly.

49ª OAS General Assembly

The statement of the Afro-Descendant coalition was represented by Erlendy Cuero Bravo afro colombian activist of the National Association of Afro-Colombians Displaced (Asociación Nacional de Afrocolombianos Desplazados – AFRODES).

Discussion: “The Implementation of the Peace Accords: Social Innovation and Development in Afro-Colombian Territories”

Afro-Colombian leaders held the discussion “The Implementation of the Peace Accords: Social Innovation and Development in Afro-Colombian Territories” on June 25 during the General Assembly. Costa Rican Vice-president Epsy Campbell, Angela Salazar of the Colombian Truth Commission, and Margarette May Macaulay of the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights also participated.

Leading the discussion, Vice-president Campbell called upon leaders to continue struggling, building, and working for peace despite being faced with Colombia’s “labor pains” as the social and political conflict drags on. Commissioner Salazar stated that the role of the Afro-descendant population in the implementation process is challenged mostly by the lack of recognition for Black history and experiences in Colombia.

The conversation, which centered upon the systematic killing of social leaders, brought up the deaths of over 400 activists according to the national Ombudsman’s office. Recalling the recent case of María del Pilar Hurtado, all those present condemned this trend.

Audes Jiménez, Afro-Colombian leader and representative of the Network of Afro-Latina, Afro-Caribbean, and Diaspora Women, said, “While President Iván Duque is occupied with the immigration of Venezuelans into Colombia and his migration policies, a genocide against social leaders is underway in Colombia, and this must be in he attention of the General Assembly.” She added that in the Caribbean coastal region, killings, attacks, and persecution continue, especially against ethnic groups defending their land and territorial rights.

Francia Márquez, another Afro-Colombian leader, stated that Afro-Colombian people feel abandoned and ignored by the state, allowing Black, indigenous, and campesino communities in the country to be wiped out by violence as they work tirelessly to care for the Earth. “Peace requires us to think of alternative development“. In the name of ‘development,’ we are being killed, threatened, and treated as a military threat,” she said. 

It was also clear that structural racism causes women to continue being killed and victimized: “we are furious because we are speaking about peace into an empty discourse, peace has still not arrived to our territories, and we have been the ones suffering deaths,” she added.

Nixón Ortíz, LGBTI activist and director of the Arco Irís Afro-Colombian Foundation of Tumaco, remarked that the lack of commitment from the Colombian state to implement the Peace Accords has led to foci of violence in Afro-descendent territories, which remain unprotected and unattended. “We want to say that we have been resisting with our bodies, songs, and dances. Our weapons are our traditions. But the lack of governance in the territories puts whole populations at risk,” he added.

Finally, Father Emigdio Custa Pino, Secretary General of the Nacional Conference of Afro-Colombian Organizations (CNOA), invited the audience to continue struggling, building, and resisting despite the deaths of leaders, to assume the responsibility of those no longer present, both for those present and those who are to come.

Discussion: “Where is Nicaragua Heading? Challenges to Human Rights in the Context of Crisis”

A Nicaraguan delegation traveled to Medellín to participate in the General Assembly and interact with the diplomatic missions in attendance. These civil society members, human rights defenders, and ex-political prisoners participated in the event “Where is Nicaragua Heading? Challenges to Human Rights in the Context of Crisis,” organized by Race and Equality alongside CEJIL.

The opening remarks went to the Vice-president of Costa Rica, Epsy Campbell, while the panel consisted of Marlin Sierra, executive director of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), Azahalea Solís, member of the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy, Lucía Pineda, head of 100% Noticias news and former political prisoner, Roberto Desogus, Nicaraguan lead for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Sofía Macher, member of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts on Nicaragua.

During the event, which went on for over two hours, the first three panelists described their experiences defending human rights and working in journalism in the case of Lucía Puneda, while the panelists representing international bodies described the ongoing work of monitoring from outside the country, as well as their commitment to returning once the authorities choose to authorize their missions.

The following day, Lucía Pineda participated in a breakfast with Colombian and international journalists from digital, print, and television outlets. Throughout her stay in Medellín, after having spent almost six months in prison for reporting through 100% Noticias, she was interviewed by various outlets interested in telling her story and making visible the demands of the Nicaraguan people.

The photo exhibition “Put Yourself in My Shoes” launches at the OAS

During the 49th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), human rights activists from several Latin American countries participated in the premier of a photography exhibition titled “Put Yourself in My Shoes.” The exhibit is the result of a collaboration between Race & Equality and Edgar Armando Plata, M.A. of Universidad del Norte (Colombia).

The exhibit illustrates the work of activists and rights defenders, exploring their fundamental role in defending and advancing human rights. It is on display at the Colombo Americano Institute of Medellín and will be open until August 2019.

Launch of the CIDH Report “Recognition of the Rights of LGBTI Persons” : Afro-LGBTI Perspectives from an Intersectional Lens

At the 49th General Assembly of the OAS, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) presented its recent report “Recognition of the Rights of LGBTI Persons,” a look at the state of rights for people with diverse sexual and gender expressions. Activists from Brazil, Nicaragua, Peru, and Colombia spoke of the grave situation of vulnerability and violation of fundamental rights that LGBTI persons continue to face throughout the region. The Afro-Peruvian trans woman activist Belén Zapata stated that hate crimes and violence against LGBTI people in Peru are not criminalized, with no laws penalizing these acts despite several documented cases. “We must not continue dying and having our killers out in the streets committing other crimes,” she said regarding the killings of trans people.

The Afro-Brazilian trans leader Alessandra Ramos state that LGBTI people in Brazil are faced with a grave situation of vulnerability and rights violations, particularly because the government of Jair Bolsonaro does not recognize people with diverse sexual orientations or gender experessions. She said that Brazil is the leading country in killings of trans people, with 163 trans victims of hate-crime killings last year. Faced with this situation, she expressed “We exist in order to resist, and we resist in order to continue existing.”

Finally, the Afro-LGBTI Network of Latin American and the Caribbean made a public statement with regards to human rights impacts, violations, and structural discrimination affecting Afro-LGBTI people in the region based upon their sexuality, race, and ethnicity.

Read here statement of the Afro LGBTI Network of Latin America and the Caribbean

Pride Day: The 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots

Washington, June 28th, 2019.  On June 28th, millions of people around the world commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion. Stonewall is considered a historic event for the LGBTI movement in the world, and is named after an event that took place in a gay bar located in New York called Stonewall Inn.

At that time, many North-American states treated homosexual relationships as crimes, and in New York people were forced to wear clothes according to their biological sex. Bars could not even sell drinks to homosexuals or anyone who would challenge cisheterossexuality. Many police raids used to happen in which owners, employees and customers would be arrested.

On June 28th, 1969, police entered the Stonewall Inn bar and began arresting employees and customers. However, instead of simply submitting, on that day the people decided to resist. Customers started throwing coins at the policemen, resisting the very common police raids. Then the revolt intensified and even Molotov cocktails were thrown at the door.

This unexpected reaction of people who were tired of all the repression of that time began a series of protests in the following days. A year later, these people organized the first Pride March. However, by telling this story you can risk making some figures who led those episodes and who were extremely important for the history of the LGBTI movement invisible. This is the case of Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson.

Silenced Voices: Sylvia Rivera and Marsha P. Johnson

Sylvia Rivera was one of the emblematic figures in the revolts started at the Stonewall Inn, and is recognized as one of the activists who were in the front line of the riots, being essential to the agitation and mobilization of the protesters.

Sylvia was born in 1951 in New York. She was poor, Latina and a sex worker. Her parents were two immigrants from Puerto Rico and Venezuela, and she suffered abuses by the police all her life. She was abandoned by her father in the first years of her life and her mother committed suicide when Sylvia was only 3 years old. She started living on the streets when she was 11 years old.

Sylvia was a close friend of Marsha P. Johnson: black, transgender, poor and a sex worker. Born in New Jersey in 1945, she arrived in New York at the end of the 60s. Although very little is known about her childhood, it is known that Marsha was a great political activist: she would shout in the streets, mobilize marches, give interviews and just like Sylvia, she would be constantly criminalized.

Both Rivera and Johnson were at the front line of the Stonewall resistance processes, but they were more than that. A year after the Rebellion, Johnson and Rivera founded the organization Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (S.T.A.R.), which provided shelter, food and clothing for some 50 trans people living on the street in conditions of poverty. Marsha and Sylvia supported this project with the money from their own sex work. However, in an interview in 1989, Rivera says that when she and Marsha asked for help from other organizations in the community made up of teachers and lawyers (white and upper middle class) that could help with some resources, those people turned their backs. There was nobody to help them.

In fact, as the LBGTI movement would grow, mostly gay men, usually white, would assume leadership and ostracize trans people like Johnson and Rivera, because they believed that figures like them, with all their unusual clothes, on the one hand, could bring them more disrespect to the community and, on the other hand, would make difficult the argument that there was no difference between gays, lesbians and heterosexuals.

The apex of the tension was in the March of 1973, when Rivera was booed while she reminded that, were it not for the drag queens, there would be no gay liberation movement and that they were the front line of the resistance.

For an intersectional pride

The story of the involvement of people like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera in the Stonewall Riots highlights how the LGBTI community cannot be seen in a homogeneous way, as if all experiences were the same and, above all, as if rights reach the LGBTI population in the same way once achieved.  They don’t. More than that, this story explores the limits of alliances inside the LGBTI community, which cannot use trans people only as a bridge to conquer rights or status.

Besides that, Marsha and Sylvia embody intersectionality in their lives, evidencing the importance of considering several social markers to think about the processes of constructing identities, such as race, class, nationality, ethnicity, identity and expression gender, sexual orientation, among other axes of oppression.

Johnson and Rivera give us the opportunity to reflect that, rather than just including, for example, references to gender in race debates and vice versa, intersectionality should be a tool to make a commitment to experiences, knowledge, struggles and agendas policies that emerge from the resistance to the various axes of domination and oppression. This is even for evident for those who are in the lower spheres of recognition of humanity – as was the case of Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera and continues to be the case of so many black and Latin trans persons, who continue to figure as the victims of many human rights violations.

In these 50 years of the Stonewall Riots, Race and Equality wants to renew our commitment to the resistance of people whose lives are marked by oppression based on their race, identity or gender expression, sexual orientation, class or nationality, and we take this opportunity to invite the entire LGBTI community to engage in a struggle for equality that does not close its eyes to those who do not enjoy white, gender, male and class privileges or any conditions that allow them to experiment a humanity that is not experienced by all. The struggle for equality cannot leave behind those who need it the most.

Afro-Colombians, be strong, and hope for peace in your country!

On May 21, Colombia’s National Afro-Colombian Day is commemorated. This day was established by Law 725 of 2001, in order for Colombians to remember Black people’s struggles and fights to achieve their liberty. On this day, we bring awareness to the roles Afro-Descendant, Black, Raizal, and Palenque peoples have in constructing Colombia as a country and recovering Colombians historical memory. Additionally, we must highlight how they have been able to build their own communities for developing their ancestral territories, and, above all, autonomously defend their own lives in all its dimensions.

Law 725 establishes that national municipalities are required to support Afro-descendent Colombians by granting them access to health services, education, and work, as well as provide them with equal social, political, and economic conditions. Nonetheless, after slavery was abolished in Colombia 168 years ago, there are still situations impeding real inclusion for the Afro population. This reality is worsened by the State’s evident neglect of territories which are mostly inhabited by Afro communities.

Historically, Afro leaders have had to fight to keep their territories, as well as to save their own lives. The importance of highlighting these efforts made by the Afro-Colombian, Black, Raizal, and Palenque population goes beyond having activities which recognize that Colombia has a long history of marginalizing and failing to meet the needs of the Afro-descendant population. Additionally, there must be State and community efforts to strengthen our social bonds, dignify the living conditions of Afro-Colombians, increase their opportunities for employment, and protect Afro human rights defenders, who are constantly working to defend people’s lives and territories.

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race & Equality) will continue supporting, defending the rights of, and standing by Afro-Colombian people, communities, and organizations. Our call continues to be for the Colombian State to remember the international commitments made in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination for protecting the rights of Afro-descendant people. Likewise, we encourage the prompt enforcement of the proposed activities for the International Decade for People of African Descent in order to close social gaps between individuals by decreasing marginalization, discrimination, and racism in Colombia.

We urge the international community to continue analyzing the situation and experiences of Afro-Colombian people in the country. These groups are significantly affected by multiple forms of violence that, even after the signing of the Peace Accords, still threaten their lives and integrity. This reality is a thorn in the side of Colombians that inhibits the construction of a just and equal country, without any forms of racism and discrimination.

International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.

While commemorating the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, we remember the unmet obligation of all countries, especially those in Latin America and the Caribbean, to support persons with diverse sexual identities and gender expressions, as well as to acknowledge and protect their rights. Respect for these rights must be the base for creating public policies and programs that create diverse, peaceful, and just societies.

Although there has been considerable progress in the recognition of LGBTI rights for people around the globe, violence that endangers the physical and moral integrity of those who express diverse sexual orientations or gender identities is still prevalent. A general lack of concern and complicity on the part of the general population perpetuates and makes it impossible to overcome structural violence against LGBTI people. In addition, the lack of access to health, education and work services of these individuals reproduces dynamics of poverty, discrimination and violence.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, acts of hate and discrimination are often based in religious beliefs or principles. These dogmas frequently restrict identity to binary gender norms that do not recognize diverse expressions, and prevent this population from asserting their rights in social and political spheres.

The Experience of LGBTI People in Latin America 

The outlook for LGBTI people in Latin America and the Caribbean for 2019 continues to be discouraging. They are facing the threat of losing advancements that were already fought for and won because of efforts of fundamentalist groups that are continuously spreading misinformation and stigma against LGBTI individuals.

Similarly, it is concerning that intolerance continues to be one of the main motives behind murders committed against LGBTI people, which are often carried out with excessive cruelty. Statistics on these crimes are mostly collected and analyzed by civil society, while States show a lack of interest in collecting this information or in adequately documenting and investigating these crimes.

Brazil, for example, is a country with one of the highest rates of murders of trans persons, according to a report presented by Brazil’s National Association of Travesties and Transsexuals (ANTRA) and the Brazilian Trans Education Institute (IBTE). The report documents that in 2018 alone, a total of 163 trans individuals were violently murdered because of their sexuality and gender expression. According to ANTRA’s president Keila Simpson, these cases occurred during an election period and were motivated by anti-LGBTI speeches given by some of the Brazilian presidential candidates. This situation continues to deeply concern civil society organizations that are working on the defense of LGBTI rights, especially in the context of the current Bolsonaro regime in Brazil. This regime has emphatically refused to denounce or even acknowledge the existence of the concerning violations of LGBTI people’s rights.

Likewise, in the Dominican Republic, the situation for LGBTI people is alarming because of the lack of public policies that promote social acceptance. Civil society organizations have reported many cases of violence against these individuals, but they are not taken into account by state institutions or mass media. According to the last annual report made by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, this situation results in greater discrimination against LGBTI people, who also face discrimination based on nationality, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, gender, etc.

The Dominican State’s refusal to acknowledge the rights of LGBTI rights allows for social acceptance of violence and aggression towards these individuals. Even state authorities often do not see this violence as a problem, as described in a report published by Amnesty International and TRANSSA Trans Siempre Amigas on abuse, violence, and police harassment against trans women sex workers. These women are victims of constant acts of violence perpetuated by police agents who are motivated because of prejudices around their gender identity.

During this significant day, it is important to consider the difficulties that people with diverse sexual identities and gender expressions have in accessing justice. Particularly, laws and government programs in most of the countries of the region have partially or completely ignored the specific ways the LGBTI population’s rights are violated. State responses to these violations must be designed for the specific needs of this population. For example, according the Victims Registry (Registro Único de Víctimas – RUV), created as a part of the Colombian peace process, 3.368 victims of the armed conflict are reported and recognized as LGBTI. Most of them are reported as victims of forced displacement, threats, homicides, and crimes against sexual freedom and integrity. However, one person may have been victim of multiple crimes. Colombia must use these statistics to create programs to address the specific needs of the LGBTI population, who have been victimized in multiple ways.   

Challenges for inclusion

To decrease the poverty and marginalization experienced by LGBTI individuals, shared prosperity for all social groups must be promoted. States have a duty to work toward this, given that one of the principles of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to “not leave anyone behind.” Additionally, the five areas for the protection of LGBTI people prioritized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) are: 1) economic wellness; 2) personal safety and elimination of violence; 3) education; 4) healthcare; and 5) political and civic participation.

There are still many challenges in the region for protecting the rights of LGBTI people. One of these challenges is the lack of data about the LGBTI population and their needs. If States have no information on LGBTI people, they cannot design programs that will have the needed impact. This lack of data also impedes the development of progressive policies that can achieve the SDGs and the goals of the UNDP.

LGBTI people are victims of intersectional forms of violence that interact with prejudices about their sexual orientation or their gender identity. For example, the violence against an Afro-descendent trans woman who lives in a rural area must be thought from an intersectional perspective that considers these different aspects of identity. This intersectionality is lived by many LGBTI individuals and is not contemplated by States when planning strategies to guarantee their rights. In consequence, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, and intersexual individuals are revictimized because their reality is not adequately analyzed.

Regional governments should start implementing intersectional policies that recognize the multiple oppressive experiences lived by each person. These policies must recognize that individuals do not fall under one category, but experience the world in ways influenced by their many different identities, including race, age, sexual orientation, and gender identity. In most cases, these identities interact and are experienced intersectionally. Having separate policies for different population categories continues to isolate people and produces more barriers to access to rights.

Secondly, there must be recognition of the particularly vulnerable populations that require immediate and clear protection from the State. Homicidal violence and violence perpetuated by State armed agents against trans people in general, and Afro LGBTI people in particular, shows the need for a prompt solution. The structural discrimination against this population requires a significant intervention from the States and should be prioritized in the region in order to substantially decrease those cases of violence and abuse.

Finally, the current context shows an increase in the popularity of religious fanaticism, which endangers not only the safety and integrity of LGBTI individuals, but also the development of democratic and secular States. Religious fanaticist ideas are boomerangs that tend to hit their own promoters. Tactics of moral blame, sexual repression, or criminalization of people based on religious beliefs promote social instability and lead to a radicalization of opinions and actions. The defense of a secular State is more important than ever when specific religious groups are trying to violently impose their beliefs on others.

Statement 

The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race & Equality) joins its voice to thousands of organizations working for the protection of LGBTI people’s rights so that “Justice and Protection for Everyone” can be a commitment assumed by the States and a reality for all individuals. In making this commitment, policies and actions have to be made to protect those that have historically been more vulnerable and oppressed by those who have abused their power.

Race & Equality is aware of the importance of listening to the voices of LGBTI people and calls on States to promote education and dialogue so that inequality, discrimination, and marginalization can be eradicated. Likewise, we urge the international community to continue making statements to promote the protection of LGBTI individuals, especially in this moment of crisis for human rights throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Race and Equality Condemns attack against Afro-colombian leaders

Photo by:  Verdad Abierta

Colombia. May 6, 2019. The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights strongly denounces the attack on the Afro-Colombian organization Black Communities Process (PCN, for its initials in Spanish) that occurred on Saturday, May 4th, in the North of Valle del Cauca. Social leaders of organization were attacked by armed men with gunshots and a grenade while they were holding a meeting in La Trinidad, Vereda Lomitas.

As an organization working on the defense of human rights, we condemn any aggression on human life, especially assaults that systematically threaten and end the lives of human rights defenders in Colombia.

During the first four months of 2019, 35 leaders were killed in Colombia. However, the State has not issued a strong response against many of these crimes.

We are aware of the valuable work for the defense of human rights carried out by Afro-Colombian organizations and their essential contribution to the construction of a peaceful and equal country. Therefore, we believe that the protection of Colombian leaders is necessary for a society that defends life, territory, equality, and justice.

We urgently call on the international community to continue speaking out and demanding that the Colombian State protect social leaders who face serious security threats throughout the country.

May 21st  of this year marks the 168th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in Colombia. This date is not only a good time to exalt the Afro-Colombians in a mediatic way, but a motive to take all necessary measures to make Colombia a truly inclusive country where the human rights of all citizens are guaranteed and where exercising the defense of life and peace is not a crime.

COMMUNITY RESISTANCE: VIOLENCE AGAINST AFRO LGBTI INDIVIDUALS IN TUMACO

Tumaco was in the news media last month due to an ongoing humanitarian crisis of widespread violence towards the civil population. The problems of Afro LGBTI individuals are not being taken into account by any specific State institution, but community initiatives struggle to change this reality.

A HISTORICALLY DISPUTED PLACE

Tumaco is a municipality that has historically faced many challenges, such as a high presence of armed actors as a consequence of trade in illicit drugs as well as having the highest illegal growing areas for coca leaf, ascending to 19.000 hectares in 2018.

The civilian population continues to be the principal victim of attacks by armed actors throughout the region. Violence intensifies for Afro LGBTI people, who are constantly discriminated against by their families, within their close social circles, and by State institutions.

Tumaco is living a political crisis which is not being duly reported on by the national news media. Tumaco’s elected mayor is currently detained awaiting trial because he is accused of committing a series of crimes associated with the diversion of millions of Colombian pesos of public funds. In consequence, there the citizens have no confidence in the most important local state institution (the Mayor’s Office). This situation decreases the population’s sense of presence of adequate state institutions, and spreads violence by promoting spaces in which armed forces can feel safer to commit violent acts without sanction.

THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG: THE SITUATION OF AFRO LGBTI INDIVIDUALS

Afro-LGBTI individuals are currently suffering from human rights violations, but they are also a part of a group that has been historically discriminated against. The intersection between past and present violations is important to discuss. Afro-Colombian communities have been relegated to inhabit the country’s geographic periphery and live in conditions of extreme poverty. This is a result of racism that is not being talked about.

The mere existence of Afro LGBTI people in the region bothers sectors of armed groups because of prejudices associating them with crime, poverty, and disease, among other biases. Afro LGBTI individuals are submitted to crude forms of violence, including threats, torture, and even homicides, either at home, on the streets, or in institutional spaces.

On top of that, these prejudiced beliefs  are shared by other members of their own community. Thus, there are not many ways in which the community can understand how victims of prejudice-based violence face specific daily struggles. This demonstrates the need for more work on informing people about the respect of all forms of diversity in their own communities, so that everyone can begin to speak about how they live their own dynamics of violence in safe spaces.

In Tumaco, LGBTI people are potential victims of typical violence due to the armed conflict, but also due to prejudice-based violence. In addition, state institutions do not have specific details of violence forced upon LGBTI people in the context of the armed conflict because victims do not tend to denounce those crimes to the police or the Prosecutor’s Office. This happens in most cases because there is a persistent fear of new threats or violence if they report the crimes. According to Nixon Ortiz, Executive Director of ‘Fundación Afrocolombiana Arcoiris de Tumaco,’ in the context of Colombia’s armed conflict, the Afro LGBTI population faces serious situations of forced displacement. These cases are not being fully denounced to the authorities “because of fear, so the population has not yet been able to tell their whole truth.” The zone is still living in violence, but the violent practices are different. Nixon describes that, “before there was more noise, now [violence] is committed more silently.” This means that previously, the violence predominately took the form of physical aggressions, but now there are more cases of private threats. This worries him and his concern is understandable. In “noisy” cases, the institutional and social responses have not been adequate. Now, in this context of subtle demonstrations of violence, sources of help will be even weaker.

There are no signs of a prompt solution to the current situation of violence. Nixon describes how the path of progress in the eradication of violence is difficult in a country as collapsed and as polarized as Colombia, with a government that is not capable of responding to victims’ needs to access human rights and dignified living conditions. In addition, many of the people in power in state institutions have radical, anti-LGBTI beliefs and have no motivation to improve the quality of life of this population.

Nixon stresses that violence is suffered in remote areas of Colombia, but civil society is working to change this situation. According to Nixon, the Afro-LGBTI civil society in these areas is working on initiatives to defend their human rights. These initiatives reclaim music, poetry, and chants from the cultural heritage of the Afro-Colombian population. These projects are important because LGBTI people’s Afro culture and social customs were taken away from them because of violence and forced displacement. In order to encourage these initiatives and turn them into successful policies at the state level, Nixon stresses that it is necessary for the State to “sit down and talk with the local population,” because he believes that social change has to begin with strengthening those initiatives formed in remote areas with their own cultural approaches.

“TODAY, THERE ARE MORE OF US”: LOCAL RESPONSES

Community initiatives like that of Arcoiris must be made visible to the state institutions in Colombia that have the duty to protect civil society. Community projects’ activities are focused on documenting needs that are not met by the state. The projects seek to use this data to have a better idea about where to begin focusing their efforts. In addition, these initiatives include community social activities that can begin to eliminate social prejudices and build forms of reconciliation and true peacemaking. This is currently happening in Tumaco with the Afro LGBTI initiative of Arcoiris, which creates spaces inside the municipality where people can learn about diversity and begin to make consensus between them, setting their prejudices aside. Highlighting those initiatives –and even more important, guaranteeing safety for those who participate in them- may be a significant source of knowledge for the state to create better strategies to improve the quality of life of those who live in Colombia’s remote areas.

For Nixon, base organizations help to strengthen social relationships, because they provide important education to the people of the region about social diversity and they always seek to highlight the importance of diverse societies that recognize their own Afro experience. Therefore, he proposes that the State give more attention to local community projects, providing them with strategic help beyond mere financial aid, such as different forms of mentoring or technical training.

Arcoiris also works with the local government because of its presence in their territory. Thus, they have been working with the Secretary of Government, the Secretary of Gender Issues of Tumaco, and the Department of Nariño. Significantly, Arcoiris members have brought attention to the LGBTI population in Tumaco and they have achieved local, national and international recognition for their work. They have also been able to teach LGBTI individuals about their own rights. In this way, Nixon comments how “when we started, there were few of us; today there are many more of us.”

Arcoiris proves how people who are discriminated against because of their gender expression, sexual orientation, or race can decide to unite, break the silence surrounding the violence exerted on their bodies, and propose solutions through community action by working on events, forums, social activities, and proposing alternatives of public policy to their local authorities. This community project identifies problems that were not visible by working directly with people and asking them about situations that are being currently unattended by the state, and that have not been brought to the attention of state institutions or even among the general society. At the same time, these initiatives generate bonds of affection and support between individuals who are victims of prejudice-based violence in the territories.

LGBTI IN TUMACO’S AGENDA

The community project of Arcoiris is based on respecting the differences of race, gender expression, and identity among individuals, but it also seeks to reject unnecessary divisions. Arcoiris wants to unite the LGBTI population across the region, while bringing attention to the particular issues faced by the Afro-LGBTI population. Their commitment extends beyond holding one-off events, but rather to also develop deeper relationships in order to “collectively look at the needs of the territory in order to move forward.” The example of Arcoiris demonstrates why attention must be focused on the protection of this community leaderships as well as projects that are working to improve living conditions, so that all individuals can feel like a part of their community as equals. This is especially true for Afro LGBTI people, who have been victims of discrimination and violence, as mentioned before.

Having the presence of state agencies in the region is not enough to achieve equality. The presence of institutions that guarantee dignified living conditions is a duty of the state, and in Tumaco, these services have historically not been provided. However, social equality also begins with changing the way in which we define how communities work, including the importance of respecting all forms of sexuality, gender identity, and diversity in general. Local initiatives are working in order to teach people within their municipalities or communities about this idea of diversity. Projects focused on making activities that build a society that includes all people in Colombia on the basis of real equality can help us to construct a nation at peace when it is most needed. Local initiatives that spread this idea of a better society have to be made visible and protected by the State so that everyone can reconstruct a country that has been excessively burdened by a form of violence towards individuals that is clearly racist, sexist, homophobic, and transphobic, and that seeks to perpetuate all kinds of oppression structures.

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About the autor

Cristina Annear
Junior Lawyer for Colombia at Race and Equality

 

Race and Equality Calls for Peace, Justice and Democracy for Venezuela

Colombia, 1st May 2019 – On April 30th, the interim President of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, called on the Venezuelan population to join “Operation Freedom”, a massive demonstration to usher in what he himself describes as the “beginning of the end of the usurpation” of the Nicolás Maduro regime. Along with Guaidó, who issued the call in the early hours of the morning from the military base La Carlota in Caracas, was also the opposition figure Leopoldo López, who until yesterday was a political prisoner, and was freed from house arrest by defecting soldiers. The Maduro regime has described these actions as an attempted coup d’état.

In spite of this, the Venezuelan people took to the streets to demand the military forces to join them on the call for justice and freedom. However, the Police and National Guard, who are still allied to the Maduro regime, suppressed demonstrators of several cities by running over them, by using tear gas and rubber bullets, leaving dozens of people injured.

The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) strongly condemns the violence and repression carried out by Venezuelan authorities against the people who demand justice, democracy and freedom through their legitimate right to protest. We urge the Venezuelan State to put an end to the violence, to guarantee peace and the right to life, freedom of expression and opinion, as well as the personal integrity of the demonstrators who today call for democracy through the constitutional path.

We urgently call on the international community to continue speaking in the face of the serious human rights crisis that Venezuela is going through, which has left more than three million people displaced to different countries in the region, as reported by UNHCR Americas, as well as serious attacks to the fundamental rights of the people who continue to demand their freedom.

Race and Equality Recognizing the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Message from Carlos Quesada – Executive Director Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights

Today, March 21st, we again commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In observing what is happening in the world and in our continent, I can only think about how discrimination, racism, xenophobia, and intolerance are gaining ground. They are highly present in the media, in politics, in our societies and in our daily lives. Fighting for the elimination of all forms of discrimination, xenophobia, homophobia, and intolerance is one of the fundamental pillars to promote social cohesion, the right to live, and diversity.

I want to call attention to the fact that in our continent, only three countries have ratified the Inter-American Convention Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Related Intolerance: Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Antigua and Barbuda. It is imperative that the rest of the States in the region truly assume the commitment to combat, punish, and eliminate this scourge that eats away at our societies. We urge States to sign and ratify this important Inter-American instrument, especially as a part of the Action Plans they should develop during the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015 – 2024).

We cannot allow Afro-descendants in the Americas to continue being the most marginalized populations and the most affected by the structural racism that is reflected in few state investments, high rates of illiteracy, under-representation in decision-making bodies, and under-representation within the system of administration of justice. Young Afro-descendants continue to be victims of racial profiling and police brutality. Afro-descendant women continue to have little access to health and education, which perpetuates high levels of poverty.

States are preparing to begin a new census round (2020) where we hope not only to have quanitifiable data on how many Afro-descendants there are, but also on the socioeconomic conditions of these populations. States must use this data to make a better use of their resources and invest in the most impoverished areas, which coincide with the areas in which Afro-descendants live.

In this second decade of the 21st century, it has become clear that Afro-descendants, thanks to their resilience, expect more than good intentions: they expect real structural changes. More Afro-descendant academics, politicians, professionals, and businesspeople have demonstrated not only the contributions they have made to their countries, but also that they are part of, have built, and will continue to build the identities of the countries where they live, from Canada to Argentina. This is true whether they are called black, African-Americans, Afro-latinos, palenqueros, raizales, o pretos!

From Race and Equality, we will continue to make visible, combat, and denounce the scourge of racial discrimination and other related forms of intolerance together with our partners in the hemisphere, who with their experience and struggle have made progress at both the national and international level.

“The Bid for Peace Cannot Go Backward” – Pronouncement regarding the decision of the national government to oppose the Statutory Law on the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) in Colombia

Out of extreme concern for the recent objections presented by the President of the Republic of Colombia, Iván Duque, to the Constitutional Court with regard to the Statutory Law on the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), the International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race & Equality) issues a special call to the Congress of the Republic of Colombia to preserve what has been agreed to and guarantee the operations of the JEP, so as to ensure that the opposition of the national government does not represent an obstacle and ignorance regarding the decisions and progress made which in this commitment would guarantee truth, justice, reparations, and guarantees of non-recurrence to the Colombian people, especially the victims involved.

A document filed with the Constitutional Court on Monday, March 11 of this year by President Iván Duque made official the declarations issued by the Colombian leader in which he warns about the need to object to six of the 149 articles comprising the Statutory Law on the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP).

Said objections not only represent a retreat in complying with the agreement for a stable and lasting peace and the international commitments the country presents today in this area, but rather, constitutes, in and of itself, grave consequences to the legal security of the more than 13,000 ex-combatants of the FARC-EP [and] members of the army and National Police who embraced the JEP and left their weapons behind after the signing of the peace accord, which would clearly indicate an uncertain process in contributing to the truth and the call to build peace that would involve millions of Colombians, above all, the more than 8,376,463 victims of the armed conflict reported by former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos last year.

We join our voice to that of Members of Congress, activists, human rights defenders, academics, and journalists to reiterate our concern to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. António Guterrez, regarding the attempts by the national government’s decision to harm and impede the implementation of the peace agreement, the structure and operations of the JEP as the administrator of the protocols comprising a transitional justice process, and the system designed to honor the rights of the victims.  “A goodly portion of the objections that have been put forward are aimed at not recognizing the decisions made by the Constitutional Court last year regarding this law.  In other words, turning to the figure of objection on forum non conveniens, the hope is to not recognize the ruling by which the Court declared constitutional some regulations of the law, under the condition that they would be interpreted in the manner indicated by the sentence itself,” not the defenders of the peace accord who are signatories of the letter.

We again call on the national government of Colombia, the Congress of the Republic, and all parties involved to continue taking a chance on the construction of a country in democracy, justice, and peace.  We urge the Colombian State to respect international agreements reached within the framework of this peace process, so that they will bring about all of the ways of guaranteeing respect for the fundamental rights of the people, especially of the victims of the conflict.  Lastly, we ask the international community to take a stance regarding this decision that represents a stalling of the peace process.  We furthermore urge the United Nations to include the incidents herein referenced in the next report of the UN Verification Mission to the Security Council.

“We lesbian, bisexual, and trans women are not only killed for being women, but also for having chosen to be women.” – Laura Weinstein

“There is no single way of being a woman; there are numerous ways.”

International Women’s Day represents an opportunity to continue defending the fight for recognition of women’s rights.  It is, however, also a space for calling on the Colombian society and State to recognize the diversity and multiplicity of the women who make up the social construct.  Race & Equality spoke with Laura Weinstein, a defender of the rights of trans persons in Colombia and Director of the Fundación Grupo de Apoyo a Personas Trans [Support Group Foundation for Trans Persons] (GAAT), who declares that in order to make progress in building an inclusive, equitable, democratic, and peaceful society, those diverse women who have to date been ‘invisibilized’ and doubly violated must be recognized.

What is the state of the rights of lesbian, bisexual, and trans women in Colombia?

Although we have made important strides in the area of women’s rights, including Colombia’s diverse women, I believe it is not enough, especially because great progress is still needed in recognizing the existence of lesbian, bisexual, and trans women (LBT), not only because society still does not understand the experience of LBT women’s lives and identity, but also because it would appear that the rights we fight for are different from the rest of society, of persons who have access to various rights, and it’s not like that, which is exactly what places us in a different fighting spot.

I would say that the first thing we need to do is to make our society understand that we are not demanding different rights than those that exist which all of us should enjoy; we are not talking about a different type of rights, but rather, the same rights that precisely because of our sexual identity or orientation are denied us or in the majority of cases delimited.  [An example is] the case of trans women accessing their identity, the complications in receiving medical attention to ensure we are not violated, work, education, and many other social participation spaces that delimit us.  In the case of lesbian and bisexual women, there is even less understanding regarding their rights because the idea that these women are “confused” has held sway socially and that “sooner or later” it will be resolved – a situation that not only violates these women’s freedom, but also makes them utterly invisible.  In addition – and this must be said – trans women’s being women is questioned, that’s why they put us on a different level, as there are difficulties related to being women, but these women have other particularities and other needs, as it puts you in spaces that are a lot more complex.

The lack of recognition of the actual effects on women of diverse sexual and gender identities by the women’s movement throughout the region is still very obvious.  Can drawing attention to the importance of treating these effects experienced by LBTI women in a differentiated manner as a part of the struggle for and defense of women’s rights be considered discriminatory or exclusionary, or do you believe it is necessary to address it in a differentiated manner?

  I do indeed believe it is important to speak about them, speak about their effects and the way in which their rights should be guaranteed, because what is not named doesn’t exist.  And so, by not making them visible we are simply hiding a reality that needs to be counted.  We are additionally saying that nothing’s going on, that all of us are in the same situation, in the same place, and it’s not like that.  A cisgender heterosexual woman, for example, is killed for being a woman, a truly grave thing; but in the case of lesbian women or trans women, not only do they kill us for being women, but also for having decided to be women.  Becoming women puts us in a different place from that construction of being a woman, because let’s not forget that being a woman is not something you are born with but rather, is a construction based on the relationship of the other (males and females) that configures you, yourself.  Thus, I feel it is important to speak and talk about the needs that exist – in this case, of LBT women – though recognizing that in and of itself, deciding to be a woman already puts you in a different place than what is societally entailed by being a man or woman.

What are the principal violations committed against LBT women in Colombia?

GAAT’s work is concentrated on the trans population, though we must understand that we have a direct relationship of struggle with lesbian and bisexual women.  For example, in the latter case, the impacts are completely invisible because socially those women are unrecognized, it is as if they don’t exist; they are women who are commonly considered “confused” or “indecisive” and this clearly leads those women to question who they are, as if something were wrong with them, and, well, it shouldn’t be like that.  In the case of lesbian women, [what occurs are] systematic corrective violations of “what you need is a man” so that there will supposedly be a “rectification” of their sexual orientation and they can thus come to see what they are missing in their lives.

In the case of transsexual women, there is also the idea related to the negation of the privilege with which they are born, because of this, but when a person says “it’s just that this isn’t me,” “this is not what I want to experience or go through,” she has a death that is assumed as a betrayal, and the betrayal is paid for through the loss of life, but it’s not just that they kill you, but also the loss of access to all of the rights that any other person could have.  That’s the type of violence we experience and feel; but surely there are many other things, for example, the subjugation of trans women within the framework of the war, in that they are utilized as weapons of war and sexual weapons.  That is, they look like women and as such are showy, though they also have the strength of men and that is taken advantage of for the war.

What do GAAT and Laura Weinstein call on the Colombian State and society in general to do regarding the recognition of LBT women’s rights?

The call is to recognize the identities and great variety of we women who exist, and not only limit it to gender orientations and identities but rather, ensure that there is no single way of being female, that there be a multiplicity of ways of defining ourselves as women: Afro women, campesina women, [and] women who are heads of households are examples of this.  So I believe that it’s important that the Colombian society and State recognize the very important role played by these diverse women in this country’s progress, which the State has oftentimes ‘invisibilized.’

The same thing goes for society as well – it must truly provide space for women because women are the ones who have leant so much strength to this country and have demonstrated that we exist here and that we can live here, and that the role women play has been fundamental.

What strategies or mechanisms should the Colombian State or society put in place to recognize the rights of lesbian, bisexual, and trans women?

 It’s important to recognize their existence, that’s where everything starts, recognizing that the Other exists, that the Other has a place in society, that regardless of who it is or how the person is, he/she deserves life.  I think that’s where we need to start.  We need to launch campaigns recognizing the existence of other identities, other ways of being, not like others describe them – as being “other women” – thereby implying that these women are “normal,” while those other women are “different.”  No – rather, we should be able to find the multiplicity of what it means to be a woman, because we are exactly that, diverse and different.

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