#VenezuelaMigrates: Civil Society Organizations launch Plan of Action to protect migrants and refugees from Venezuela

#VenezuelaMigrates: Civil Society Organizations launch Plan of Action to protect migrants and refugees from Venezuela

WASHINGTON, DC. November 16, 2018.- Since the beginning of the year, The International Institute of Race, equality and Human Rights, as part of the organizations belonging to the Venezuelan Human Mobility Group, have been following the with great concern  the human rights situation of migrants and refugees forced to leave Venezuela. As a result, we called for a concerted regional response on August 22. This was followed up on September 19 with an initial blueprint that could support this work.

Despite efforts made so far, national and international spaces continue to require greater efficiency and coordination in their regional response to the crisis. To date, there is still little clarity throughout the continent on the best protocols to respond the needs of three million migrants and refugees from Venezuela, in a manner that complies with international standards for the protection of human rights and comprehensive humanitarian assistance.

Meanwhile, the high-risk situations of violence and discrimination that many migrants and refugees face at all stages of their journey continue to increase. Likewise, the specific needs of those migrants and refugees, particularly the needs of those belonging to groups in situations of vulnerability who are most exposed to violence and discrimination, have become more acute.

In light of this, the Venezuelan Human Mobility Group – of which The International Institute of Human Rights is a part of – developed the Civil Society Action Plan for People from Venezuela that Require National and International Protection, which establishes a road map to improve coordinated responses to this this situation.

The document addresses the specific actions required by all the actors involved, clarifies state obligations, makes recommendations to the States, establishes our commitments as civil society members and organizations, issues recommendations to other members of civil society throughout the region and provides guidelines to international organizations and allies. All of the above with respect to the following central axes:

  1. The correct legal characterization of migrants and refugees, State´s obligations regarding both, the application of the Cartagena Declaration in the Venezuelan context and the mechanisms of regular migration.
  2. Intersectional approaches  to address multiple factors of discrimination faced by different migratory groups based on their gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, among others.
  3. The actions required to properly assist each step of a migrant and refugee´s journey, including long-lasting solutions that guarantee access through transit and to their destination countries, as well as guarantees of their rights in their countries of destination.
  4. Regional monitoring and advocacy strategies that brings together all the key actors involved in the development of responses to the situation of Venezuelan people facing a situation of human mobility.

We trust that this document will be useful to all actors tasked with crafting a human rights based approach in the face of this displacement crisis; as well as other current and future migrant and refugee situations that may arise in the region. Likewise, we hope that proposals that involve groups in a high state of vulnerability, such as women, children and adolescents, the LGBTI community and people of African descent, can be implemented with caution.

For more information about the Venezuelan Human Mobility Group visit: www.movhuve.org

October 26: International Intersex Awareness Day

Within the framework of International Intersex Awareness Day, the International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race & Equality) calls for an end to the discrimination, exclusion, torture, patholization, unnecessary medicalization, and ‘invisibilization’ of intersex persons and their families in the region.  In this sense, Race & Equality reminds [people] that intersex persons are those whose sexual anatomy does not physically adjust to culturally-defined standards for the ‘feminine’ or ‘masculine’ body.  Having said that, what does that actually mean?  We set forth some questions and answers below so as to best approach this issue:

Is intersexuality the same as hermaphroditism?

No.  Although in the cultural imagination hermaphroditism is associated with the figure in Greek literature that has external sexual characteristics associated with the presence of a penis, a vulva, and breasts, in fact in botany and zoology hermaphroditism refers to the reproductive capacity of a plant or animal that can even self-inseminate.  When we refer to people, there is consensus in the scientific community that it is more appropriate to refer to intersexuality.  Some activists, such as Mauro Cabral, prefer to refer to themselves as intersex persons, thereby lending political value to this discussion beyond medical-legal discussions.

 Is intersexuality the same as transgenderism?

 No.  Although both concepts can converge, it is important to have a clear understanding that:

  1. Intersexuality is a biological characteristic that is associated with persons’ genetic and corporeal development (what we traditionally have called ‘sex’) and can be externally visible in the body of a person from the moment of his/her birth.
  2. Transgenderism is more associated with how a person constructs him/herself over the course of his/her life and how he/she presents him/herself to society (what we refer to as ‘gender identity’), although this process can include corporeal interventions to bring the body more into agreement with the [person’s] gender identity.

If intersexuality is biological and innate to a person, why is it necessary to have an intersex day?

  1. It is important to keep in mind that despite the fact that intersexuality if a biological reality, many people are not aware of this fact and by extension, of the existence of intersex persons.
  2. The denial of this biological reality in the educational arena (it is not taught from a young age) is also reflected in the legal sphere, which only recognizes ‘two biological sexes,’ even though the reality is much broader than that; this produces important consequences in the lives of intersex persons.
  3. The origin of this day dates back to 1996 when intersex activists protested in front of the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Pediatrics in Boston against the genital mutilations and hormonal treatments performed on intersex persons at an early age without their informed consent.

Are intersex persons the victims of human rights violations?

Yes.  Intersex persons have been the victims of multiple violations reflected in various spheres of their lives:

  1. Their existence is denied in the legal and medical arenas, given that in many countries only two sexes are legally recognized: male and female. Nonetheless, this is changing with the recognition of gender neutrality.
  2. As a result of the foregoing, surgical procedures are imposed on intersex persons from a very early age. Current protocols are applied to them, even though that means carrying out unnecessary surgical interventions with the intention of ‘normalizing’ their genitals, without the person first giving his/her informed consent.  It should be noted that these interventions give rise to irreversible consequences in the emotional, physical, and sexual life of those individuals, including sterilization and genital mutilation, without them being medically necessary in the great majority of the cases.
  3. Human rights protection entities – such as the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission – have documents grave violations of intersex persons’ human rights, above all with relation to discrimination, ‘invisibilization,’ the lack of official information, medical treatments they tend to receive since birth and throughout the course of their lives, barriers to accessing their medical charts, and even difficulty with obtaining recognition of their legal status in public identity registries.
  4. According to the testimonies of diverse intersex persons, the nature of the interventions oftentimes gives rise to the need for multiple surgeries at different times in their lives, producing chronic pain, possible health problems, and the need to carry out extremely invasive routine procedures comparable to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or torture.

For all of these reasons, Race & Equality condemns the patholization and childhood genital mutilation practices endured by some intersex persons, and calls on the States in the region to assume their international obligations without further delay to protect human rights and comprehensively recognize, guarantee, and protect, with no patholization and in consultation with intersex persons, their human rights.

GATHERING OF ELECTORAL CANDIDATES IN PANAMA AND THE AFRO-PANAMANIAN POPULATION

On September 9, 2018, Afro-Panamanian candidates to elective office in Panama participated in the Gathering of Afro-Panamanian Candidates, a collective space that sought to sensitize candidates’ political participation based on the recognition of their ethnic, historical, and cultural identity.  In addition, this encounter was conceived of as a space for dialogue and reflection between the politicians and the community in general on the sociopolitical dynamics faced by Afro-Panamanians, and the possibilities for including and acting upon proposals that respond to the needs of this population.

Gerardo Maloney, the event organizer, feels that this activity, as a strategy for approaching and sensitizing the community and candidates who self-identify as Afro-Panamanians, becomes a great opportunity for work that is discussed, collaborative, participatory, and democratic: essential aspects for decreasing the gap [created] by clientelist processes that permeate Panama’s electoral processes and fail to provide adequate responses which the community deserves and needs.  In addition, Maloney emphasizes the need to reach presidents, various government organs of control, political parties, and others, so that the process of raising awareness regarding the responsibility of candidates’ political participation relates to the needs of the people.

The candidates who participated in the event were from various political parties, and included a presidential candidate, candidates for the national assembly, mayoralties, and representative candidates for ‘corregimientos’ [small villages], noted Gerardo Maloney, who additionally said, “In these events, we try to have a get-together based on identity, and leave the actors’ and candidates’ political identity somewhat to the side while all of us SPEND TIME TOGETHER, because this was precisely about the community getting to know the candidates and for the candidates to get to know each other independently of [their] political parties.”

The candidates had the opportunity during the event to discuss their proposals and commitments which, among other elements, highlighted the need for the Afro-descendant population to progressively participate more in decision-making spaces.  They additionally expressed their commitment to the objectives of the International Decade for People of African Descent, the development of politics of inclusion [and] recognition, and affirmative actions for promoting Afro-Panamanians’ rights to health, education, [and] employment, among others.  For its part, The Political Platform – established as a plan of development priorities that brings together the guidelines of the Durban Plan of Action and Decade Objectives – urged the candidates to be sure to include among their proposals elements guaranteeing the respect for diversity and full rights as citizens for all of the actors who comprise the nation, regardless of their ethnic or cultural origin.

Likewise, Afro-Panamanian youth who participated in the activity expressed their interest in having an encounter between these candidates and young people, declaring that this space should be consolidated as an opportunity to insert the issue of sensitization into the political arena with regard to Afro-Panamanians, especially in the context of the very important ethnic self-identification in the 2020 census route.

Race & Equality applauds this type of initiative and with full conviction declares that the path to the inclusion and recognition of the rights of Afro-Panamanians requires this community to win and be represented in State-level decision-making spaces, in order that from there progress be made in designing and executing structural plans that entail a dialogue with Afro-Panamanians’ dynamics and provide responses to their demands.

International Bisexuality Day: A Day to Remember the Sexual Diversity that Comprises and Complements Our Society

Washington, September 22, 2018 – Each year since 1999, International Sexuality Day is commemorated on September 23rd: a day to remember the sexual diversity that comprises and complements our society, as well as the urgent need to continue working for the recognition of the rights to individual liberty, autonomy, and identity of all persons, regardless of their sexual orientation, and especially the assertion and recognition of the rights of bisexual persons.

To that end, we applaud with appreciation the recent press communiqué on International Bisexuality Day issued jointly by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and experts from the United Nations: we believe that these types of statements are essential in the fight against the ‘invisibilization’ of the barriers and discrimination that impact bisexual persons and provide concrete data that help to eradicate misconceptions that are permeated by stigmas surrounding bisexuality.  To that end, the authors state in the communiqué that bisexuality refers to “the capacity for emotional, romantic, and/or physical attraction to more than one sex or gender.”  From our work with our counterparts in the region, we note with concern the frequency with which the sexual orientation of bisexual persons causes them to experience significant discrimination, in that socially they are categorized as ‘indecisive,’ ‘undefined,’ or ‘promiscuous,’ in this manner alluding to an as-yet ‘undecided’ sexual orientation which needs to be ‘defined’ as heterosexual or homosexual.  The stigmas to which bisexual persons are subject result in the ‘invisibilization’ of their realities and experiences, as well as the lack of awareness regarding the multiple challenges [and] barriers [they face], as well as the violations of their human rights.

According to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA), bisexuality and bisexual persons are marginalized in all parts of the world, generating alarming figures of depression, isolation, health problems, and high rates of suicide within this population.  In addition, they indicate that the indices of domestic and psychological violence perpetrated against bisexual persons are much higher in comparison with what is experienced by homosexual or heterosexual groups.  In this same study, ILGA points out that “the reality of bisexual persons is unknown by social organizations and even by groups defending the rights of the LGBTI community” – the reason why there are few or no data from social and governmental organizations regarding the health, education, and access to reproductive rights of this population.  Likewise, the actions implemented by State organizations do not respond to the realities of persons with a bisexual sexual orientation.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the social reality of bisexual persons is completely unknown.  It is as if they do not exist, given that people tend to feel such persons are “going through a phase or presenting a deviation from [normal] sexual conduct”; as such, no statistics or official data exist on the situation of this community, either at the level of the States in the region or at the level of civil society organizations, as the latter tend to address the situations of bisexual persons to a lesser degree.  In addition to this, the lack of knowledge, research, and comprehension of bisexuality becomes a worrisome limiting factor in identifying or defining barriers faced by bisexual persons.

Bisexuality is highly invisible in human rights practice and discourse; it is thus that this day becomes an opportunity to raise the visibility of the voices, stories, and experiences of bisexual persons, demand protection of the rights of all persons, demand research that will identify their needs throughout the world, and develop pedagogy regarding their reality.

Race & Equality calls on the States in the region, governmental institutions, and the LGBTI movement to fight against all types of discrimination and violence against the bisexual population.  We urge them to consider developing public policies that include bisexuality within [the larger topic of] sexual orientation and consequently, collect official data to internally counteract the violence and discrimination faced by bisexual persons.  Biphobia, as well as any type of expression of hatred or violence against the diverse forms of gender, identity, or sexual orientation are acts that diminish the possibility for constructing societies that are more inclusive, just, and respectful of diversity.

 

ECLAC monitors the 2020 Panama Census process and the participation of its Afro-descendant population

Washington, D.C. August 25, 2018. The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), together with the National Secretariat for Afro-Panamanian Development (SENADAP), arranged for the participation of Fabiana Del Popolo, Demography Coordinator at the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean’s (ECLAC) Latin American and Caribbean Demographic Centre (CELADE), in a meeting of the Afro-Descendant Technical Group. The meeting was designed to provide support to and empower members of the Afro-Descendant Technical Group.

A working table meeting held on August 22, 2018 at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) office in City of Knowledge, Clayton, Panama, was convened by SENADAP Director Urenna Best. The meeting also included the participation of Joyce Morris of the National Institute for Statistics and Census’ (INEC) Population and Housing Section, and Elvia Duque, Program Officer for Race and Equality. During the meeting, Fabiana Del Popolo stressed the fact that Latin America is the region with the highest levels of ethnic/racial inequality in the world and that Afro-descendants are the most vulnerable ethnic/racial group. Additionally, she described historical statistics of Afro-descendants in the region, the role of the various international treaties, and the advocacy work done by Afro-descendant activists to increase the amount of disaggregated data statistics available by race/ethnicity. She also urged those present to closely monitor the State’s level of accountability to its Afro-descendant population, specifically in relation to the goals/standards of the UN Decade for People of African Descent, CEPAL’s “Montevideo Consensus on Population and Development” (2013), and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (2030). She also presented a disaggregated comparative analysis of the different methodologies and post-census results on Afro-descendant and indigenous populations in Latin America.

Members of the Afro-descendant Technical Group were very interested in Ms. Del Popolo’s analysis, which described other census processes such as those in Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil, and Venezuela as successful examples to follow. However, she stressed that “there is no perfect question,” referring to the drafting of a self-identification question for Afro-descendants. She explained that the context of these countries is different than that of Panama, but that they present similar challenges that have been overcome thanks to the empowerment of and increase in participation of civil society during the entire census process, as well as the technical support from data experts.

Ms. Del Popolo explained that experiences such as the 2010 Census in Panama must be observed and analyzed as a whole. The analysis should not just yield information on the population percentages but must also produce information on the inequality gaps reflected in these figures. This information will form the basis for advocacy tools that can be used to demand public policies in favor of the Afro-descendant population. In this respect, she noted that “we must be clear in what we are trying to measure with a census – whether it’s diversity or inequality of a populational group in particular, or other aspects.”

Similarly, the expert stressed the need to learn from other experiences, such as those of indigenous Colombians and the Afro-Peruvian population who, despite being minority groups, have generated strategies that have improved the position of their communities.

Ms. Joyce Morris of INEC presented an analysis of the background of the ethnic/racial self-identification question in Panama. She also presented, for the first time, an outline of the question and concepts that were to be included in the home surveys of August 26, 2018, which included changes requested by the Technical Group.

The session was concluded by highlighting the advances made in the 2020 Census in Panama, which features the elimination of filter questions that lead to the Afro-descendant self-identification question. She also stressed the need for the Afro-descendant Technical Group to receive proper permanent technical support. Race and Equality wishes to continue to contribute sustainable strategies to support the 2020 pre-census, census, and post-census processes.

Ms. Del Popolo also participated as a featured panelist at Casa Amarilla, a Presidential complex where, in front of Afro-Panamanian activists, she spoke about prior census experiences from Latin America which included the ethnic/racial self-identification question. She highlighted the importance of having an Afro-Panamanian Technical Group as the first step in aligning the goals of the Afro-Panamanian population with the INEC and other key entities of the 2020 census process. In her presentation, she also urged the public to find out more about the Technical Group and to support its work.

Elvia Duque stressed Race and Equality’s commitment to coordinate with SENADAP and support the Afro-descendant Technical Working Group during its interactions with the INEC and other government institutions. She also highlighted the need to create a roadmap that will allow them to focus on the goals and steps to follow. She stressed the Technical Working Group’s commitment to thoroughly examining the results of the 2010 Census and the subsequent household surveys in order to ensure that the 2020 Census reflects the reality of the Afro-Panamanian population.

SO THAT OUR VOICES ARE HEARD AND INCLUDED! Today We Commemorate the International Day for Afro-Latino, Afro-Caribbean, and Diaspora Women

July 25 marks the International Day for Afro-Latino, Afro-Caribbean, and Diaspora Women. The commemorative date was established in 1992 after a meeting in the Dominican Republic of more than 400 women from diverse Latin American countries, where they analyzed the consequences of racism and sexism in the region. The meeting also provided a space for attendees to articulate joint actions and remember historic struggles to combat these issues.

On this day we remember that the fight to bring down the humiliations caused by discrimination, poverty, and violence is ongoing. Participatory spaces are closed off because of racist and discriminatory logic against women and Afro-descendants which prevail. Women from the region continue to be the victims of a hostile war committed to condemn their voices and their chants, to violate their bodies, and take away their children.

It is important to remember that Afro-descendant women’s organizations have undertaken a lot of efforts to achieve recognition and participation in decision-making spaces. Because of this, we urge all states to promote affirmative actions in favor of including Afro-Latino, Afro-Caribbean, and Diaspora voices in spaces that will permit the promotion of effective public policies that guarantee rights and severely condemn all types of ethnic or racial discrimination.

Today we rise up in resistance for the women suffering the war and apathy in Nicaragua, for the harassment and repression against women in Colombia, especially those who are persecuted for leading life in the territories. We rise up for those women who are not recognized and who are discriminated against in Peru; for the violence and harassment against trans women in Brazil; for the voices of the women in Panama; for the recognition of the rights of all women in the region. We will continue fighting so that our voices are heard, included.

Decade for People of African Descent and the 2020 Census

Washington, D.C. – May 28, 2018. On May 23, 2018, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) and the National Secretariat for Afro-Panamanian Development (SENADAP) held a public conversation at the El Panama Hotel in Panama City, entitled “The Decade for People of African Descent, and the 2020 Census,” featuring panelists including Pastor Murillo, Independent Expert for the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD); Eunices Meneses of the National Coordination of Black Panamanian Organizations; and Cecilia Moreno of the Afro-Panamanian Forum. The conversation also brought together in the audience various Afro-Panamanian activists and representatives of the Afro-descendant Technical Committee who were involved in the previous 2010 census process.

Elvia Duque of Race and Equality opened the dialogue by stressing the importance of the census, and the work that CERD, and the International Decade for People of African Descent have done to promote them. Thus, it was concluded that the upcoming 2020 census in Panama should be of particular interest not just to the nation, but to the region and the world. In this regard, SENADAP Director Urenna Best explained the advocacy work that Pastor Murillo has done at the UN as part of the CERD committee, in favor of the Decade of People of African Descent.

Mr. Murillo began his intervention by giving background information on the creation of the International Decade for People of African Descent, and referenced preceding events, such as the World Conference Against Racism held in Durban, South Africa in September 2001. He then presented examples of other census processes in Colombia and Venezuela as similar experiences from which to analyze and learn.

Eunices Meneses of the National Coordination of Black Panamanian Organizations explained that, despite not fulfilling all the desired expectations, the 2010 census should be considered as an important step in raising the visibility of Afro-Panamanian populations. In addition, she asserted that the biggest challenge facing the census process is the ability of individuals to self-identify. Regarding this, she urged greater cooperation between women and youth, and to learn from the experience of the 2010 census.

Furthermore, Cecilia Moreno of the Afro-Panamanian Forum stressed the importance of identifying the number of Afro-descendants in Latin America, in order to develop public policies that can benefit their communities. These initiatives have been touted since the year 2000 but have yet to be fulfilled. Similarly, Ms. Moreno assured participants that both the Afro-Panamanian movement and INEC are aware of the methodological factors that influenced the results of the 2010 census, in order to make the 2020 census more successful.

Mr. Murillo concluded the conversation by proposing to provide the audience with information on the census process used in Colombia, by way of a virtual training which can be replicated for Panama, particularly responding to concerns raised during the session about the roles that census workers are to play. Overall, the audience reacted positively to this proposal.

Race and Equality participates in the 5th National Afro-Panamanian Summit – “Preparing our Future”

Washington, D.C. May 7, 2018. The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) participated in the “5th National Afro-Panamanian Summit – Intergenerational Summit: Preparing Our Future,” which took place May 4-6 in Panama City, Panama. Nearly 80 activists from the various regions of Panama were present in the Summit, including members of Afro-Panamanian organizations, well-known Afro-Panamanian activists, and others. Also in attendance were representatives of the Panamanian government and international actors, such as the UN Development Programme (UNDP). The Summit featured sessions and roundtable discussions on a variety of topics such as entrepreneurship, education, culture, the electoral cycle for 2019, the strengthening of the National Secretariat for Afro-Panamanian Development (SENADAP), and the 2020 Census.

SENADAP’s Director, Urenna Best, organized a roundtable discussion titled “Strengthening of SENADAP and the Census process” with the help of Race and Equality’s Elvia Duque. The discussion featured Afro-Colombian activist Dora Vivanco (Technical Project Coordinator for the National Conference of Afro-Colombian Organizations – CNOA), who shared the experience of Colombia in developing an effective racial/ethnic self-identification question for the census, through cooperation between Afro-Colombian civil society, academia, and the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE). This cooperation allowed for the development of advocacy tools that were used to promote public policies benefitting Afro-Colombians. Additionally, renowned Afro-Panamanian activist Samuel Samuels shared his experience and the difficulties he faced during the 2010 Census and highlighted the fact that Panama has been omitting the racial/ethnic self-identification questions in the census since 1940. He encouraged participants to demand the government for an adequate inclusion of Afro-Panamanians in the formation and design of the self-identification question.

The Summit also highlighted the importance of actively participating and support the objectives of the Plan of Action for the Decade for Persons of African Descent in the Americas (2016-2025) proposed by the Organization of American States (OAS) and its member states, as well as the International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024) proclaimed by the UN General Assembly. These initiatives give States a platform to commit to the undertaking of specific actions aimed at combatting racial discrimination and racism, including gathering statistics that reflect the current racial/ethnic situation of each State and the quality of life of the Afro-descendant population. However, a lack of political will has curtailed the implementation of these goals.

Lastly, the need to continue training activists was highlighted – particularly those from distant provinces – to continue supporting advocacy efforts within their respective communities.

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