Bisexual recognition and visibility: Obstacles Faced by Bisexual People

Bisexual recognition and visibility: Obstacles Faced by Bisexual People

Washington DC, September 23, 2024.- Every year, International Day of Bisexual Visibility offers a crucial opportunity, at the global level, for the recognition of bisexual identities as an important part of sexual and gender diversity. The Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) values and honors bisexual human rights defenders who contribute to bisexual visibility, challenging binarisms and stigmas and addressing barriers that limit equal access to opportunities and the exercise of their basic rights.

Despite progress in the fight for LGBTI+ rights, bisexual people continue to face discrimination and violence in various areas of their lives, from access to public office to care in the health sector, to bullying in schools and difficulties in being recognized in activist spaces.

Obstacles to access to public office

Bisexual people often face a notable lack of representation in public office. This deficit perpetuates the invisibility and negative stereotypes that affect their lives. The perception that bisexuality is a “phase” or identity that is less legitimate than others contributes to the exclusion of bisexual people from positions of influence and decision-making. Liandra Paz, Coordinator of the Majorie Marchi Critical Training School project of the Conexão G de Cidadania LGBTI group in favelas in Brazil, gave an example: “A bisexual person who held public office was Marielle Franco, a Rio de Janeiro councilwoman, whose sexual orientation is often mistakenly reduced to that of a lesbian woman, even though she was a bisexual woman. Marielle is constantly referred to as a lesbian, reflecting the difficulty society has in recognizing the complexity and legitimacy of bisexual identities. After her death, Marielle’s own family publicly claimed her bisexuality, fighting against the elimination of this fundamental part of her identity.”

This lack of representation ends up exacerbating structural barriers and limiting the ability of bisexual people to advocate for specific policies. “Therefore, the fight for bisexual visibility, both in the political space and in society in general, is vital. The representation of parliamentarians like Marielle Franco not only broadens the scope of public policies aimed at LGBTQIA+ rights, but also directly confronts the systematic elimination of bisexuality,” she concluded.

Challenges in the health sector

“When it comes to the prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections, the education and resources available are often not adapted to our realities. When I routinely ask for sexual health screenings, it is assumed that this is because I am bisexual, which means to them “being promiscuous.” Honestly, I prefer to read and look for information on my own; and save myself the trouble or the feeling of being singled out in front of a stranger due to my sexual orientation,” said Ana Gómez, an independent bisexual activist from Colombia.

Across the region, health professionals often lack adequate training to address the specific needs of bisexual people, and health research excludes their experiences, as the 2018 communiqué by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and United Nations human rights experts points out, making it impossible to understand their issues. As a result, bisexual people face inadequate care, misdiagnosis, lack of understanding, and suffer discrimination and abuse. Access to and quality of care in the health sector are critical areas that States still need to work to improve. “Although health is a constitutional right in Colombia, in practice, accessing quality services has become a privilege. (…) for those who live in rural areas, this situation is even more complicated as they face greater barriers to access and such strong stigmatization that there is often no space or energy to self-identify as bisexual,” Ana said. This context not only puts the physical and mental health of bisexual people at risk but also perpetuates inequality.

Biphobic bullying in schools

Bullying of bisexual students often takes the form of derogatory comments, humiliation, exclusion, and psychological and physical aggression, which not only negatively impacts emotional and academic well-being, but also contributes to a culture of silence and fear that reinforces invisibility. “It is very important to include bisexual experiences and to be mentioned in curricula and academic conversations, educating about sexual and gender diversity that has nothing to do with monosexuality,” said Fhran Medina, a bisexual lawyer with Fraternidad Trans Masculino Perú.

It is, therefore, essential that States adopt national policies to ensure that children, adolescents, and young people, regardless of their sexual orientation, can learn and develop in a safe and respectful environment.

Barriers in spaces of activism and social struggle

In many cases, after running away from home to preserve their physical and mental integrity, bisexual people seek refuge in organized LGBTI+ spaces, Cristiana Huerta, President of the Las Malcriadas Feminist Association in Nicaragua, told us. However, they find that they are not fully understood due to the gender binary. They are often excluded or minimized for their contributions to LGBTI+ movements due to the belief that their identity is not “relevant enough”.

The Cuban editor, Karla Ma. Pérez González, agrees, stating that “bisexual people, as in many other countries, are invisible and are lost within the acronym LGBTI+. I would have to say that in recent years there has been a remarkable, social change in attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people.” In addition, she pointed out that Cuban official policy has taken some initiatives, but only to ingratiate itself at the international level and not in the real interest of a paradigm shift. “Discrimination is still something that happens daily and we cannot forget the regime’s repressive history towards sexual dissidents,” she emphasized.

This lack of recognition limits bisexual people’s ability to influence the LGBTI+ agenda and position their demands and strategies in activism. For this reason, at Race and Equality, we believe that only the representation and authentic participation of bisexual people in spaces of advocacy and the struggle for human rights will achieve real progress towards equity.

Recommendations for States

To address the challenges and ensure the rights of bisexual people are respected, the United Nations and various human rights organizations recommend that States:

  1. Investigate and prosecute acts of violence, torture, and ill-treatment committed against bisexual people and those who defend their rights, and provide reparations to the victims of such acts.
  2. Raise awareness among healthcare providers and ensure that bisexual people and their families have access to safe and non-discriminatory health services that take into account their specific interests.
  3. Raise awareness about bisexuality through the education system and dispel negative stereotypes and prejudices through public awareness campaigns.
  4. Ensure that bisexual persons and bisexual people’s organizations are consulted in the development of research and the development of legislation and policies affecting their rights and that their participation in such processes is encouraged.
  5. Support research that collects disaggregated data on the specific situation of bisexuals, with respect to poverty, employment, housing, health, education, and access to public services.

Visit of the UN Rapporteur on Racism to Brazil: Systemic racism and violence against women from racial and ethnic groups are the highlights of her report

Brazil, September 02, 2024 – “Systemic racism demands systemic responses.” This approach was emphasized by Ashiwini K.P., United Nations Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, during her press conference where she presented the preliminary conclusions following her visit to Brazil. Between August 5 and 16, the Rapporteur visited Brasília, Salvador, São Luís, São Paulo, Florianópolis, and Rio de Janeiro, where she met with authorities of the Federal Executive Branch and state governments, as well as with various Black, Indigenous, Quilombola, and Roma organizations.

In preparation for the visit, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), together with the Institute for Development and Human Rights (IDDH), organized a virtual training with civil society organizations to support them in preparing documents with recommendations that would be delivered to the Rapporteur. In addition, the scope and objectives of the visit were presented in the training to guide them in dialogue and advocacy actions before this UN special procedure.

“The visit of the Rapporteur on racism takes place at an important moment for the country, after all, we are in an election year and advocating for intersectional public policies. From our perspective, we highlight the importance of providing Brazilian organizations with a relationship between the UN and the government, because based on the report that will be presented, the State must commit to implementing reparations in matters of racism”; highlights Rodnei Jericó da Silva, Director of Race and Equality in Brazil.

 Preliminary Findings: Highlights

Race and Equality presents some of the key points of the preliminary conclusions highlighted by the Rapporteur regarding her experience in the country, which will be presented in the final report to the United Nations Human Rights Council in June 2025. This report will be delivered to the Brazilian government, which, as a member state of the UN, accepted the official visit as a way of evaluating its public policies.

In this sense, Ashiwini K.P. stressed that she identified positive points in some government actions, such as the recognition of racism as a systemic phenomenon; the creation of the Ministry of Racial Equality, the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples, and the Secretariat of Roma Peoples, within the Ministry of Racial Equality; sound affirmative policy proposals; and the existence of a health unit in Bahia for the treatment of sickle cell anemia. However, the Rapporteur emphasized that governmental progress is advancing slowly, since, recognizing that the colonialist past generates an exclusion of groups marked by structural violence, Brazil must adopt a systemic approach to guarantee restorative justice.

The lack of disaggregated data is a major issue identified by the Special Rapporteur, particularly the absence of data on Roma people, LGBTI+ people, migrants, refugees, and people with disabilities, who face multiple intersecting forms of discrimination. She also points to the growth of neo-Nazi groups, especially in Santa Catarina, where she mentioned that there is an erasure of data on the issue. Furthermore, she emphasized that Brazil must ensure that research and public policies are supported by and created through consultation with groups in vulnerable situations.

Thus, its proposals include the establishment of an independent national human rights institution following the principles on the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles), to monitor and implement anti-racist policies.

The Rapporteur emphasized that the indigenous and quilombola communities have faced numerous setbacks by the National Congress. In her criticisms, she highlighted the slowness of the State in the process of territorial demarcation of these communities; the seriousness of the time-frame thesis; environmental racism as a driver of exclusion and vulnerability; and the neglect of the health of these populations in the face of the advance of illegal mining (pesticides and urban diseases). She also expressed concern about the violence suffered by indigenous peoples and quilombolas, highlighting the recent Guaraní-Kaiowá case, in Mato Grosso do Sul, and other conflicts in Bahia. Therefore, the Rapporteur urged the Government to take an urgent position in the face of intimidation against indigenous peoples and quilombolas, warning of the seriousness of the resulting environmental violence, and that more forceful actions must be taken, in addition to emphasizing Brazil’s international commitment to Convention 169 of the International Labor Organization (ILO).

“A coordinated national plan for indigenous and quilombola affairs is necessary, as the protection of their lands is essential to address the climate crisis,” said Ashiwini K.P.

The understanding of religious racism as a practice that persecutes and reproduces violence against practitioners of African-based religions was one of the highlights of her conclusions. In this regard, the Rapporteur cited cases that came to her through civil society, such as private transport that refuses to take people in their religious clothing, the loss of custody of children by Axé women, and physical attacks organized against terreiros. In her opinion, she stressed that the State allows this type of misogynistic and racist practices and suggested that the government create a protection program to face this problem.

“Even if Dial 100 exists, the lack of investment by the state sends a message of impunity and that the government will not take any action against religious racism,” she said.

Regarding the situation of human rights defenders, the Rapporteur expressed her dismay at the seriousness of the threats and police brutality to which these groups are exposed. Although she acknowledged the importance of the creation of the Sales Pimenta Technical Working Group, to develop proposals for the National Policy and Plan for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, she highlighted the lack of resources for human rights and the effectiveness of those policies that already exist. In this way, she urged Brazil to implement the actions recommended by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, after she visited Brazil in April of this year.

Given the situation of black women and gender/sexual intersectionality, such as with LBT women, the Rapporteur emphasized the issues of precarious access to the health system and obstetric violence, the issue of domestic workers, sexual violence, and femicide that disproportionately impacts these women, with which she pondered the need for psychological guidance as a government public policy. The Rapporteur expressed great concern about the data presented that show that black women are more exposed to femicide, highlighting the violence that occurs against black lesbian and trans women. In addition, the criminalization of abortion was noted in their evaluation, in addition to the barriers faced by women who seek even legal abortion, in accordance with the Penal Code. In this regard, she emphasized her concern about the Constitutional Amendment Proposal 1904/2024, which increases the penalties for women who have abortions to up to 20 years in prison. At this point, the importance of the Government implementing the recommendations of the CEDAW Committee, which evaluated Brazil this year, to decriminalize abortion and guarantee safe access for all people, respecting women’s rights and bodily autonomy, was highlighted. Regarding the care economy, she also noted the economic exploitation suffered by domestic workers.

Regarding police violence, the Rapporteur pointed out that Afro-descendant mothers who lose their sons and daughters due to police brutality, in addition to being victims, are also criminalized.  Therefore, her report will emphasize the need for more effective measures to be taken against the prison system and, while acknowledging that the use of police cameras is an important step towards an anti-racist security policy, she pointed out that there are reports that these cameras are not used and that the government is using measures of racial discrimination without scientific basis. In this way, she urged the government to create laws on the use of artificial intelligence so that it is not used in a racist way.

The Special Rapporteur also highlighted spatial segregation, especially in large urban centers, which are mostly occupied by people of African descent and have poor access to infrastructure. In addition, she highlighted the lack of support for people living on the streets.

The advance of the extreme right and the growth of neo-Nazi cells was one of the points of extreme concern of the Rapporteur, who stressed that there is a denial by the state of Santa Catarina about these groups and that affirmative policies and actions must be implemented to strengthen local legislation to combat denialism. From this perspective, she also highlighted her concern about the lack of efforts of the Brazilian legislature in the face of bills that seek to roll back some of the rights already achieved.

Finally, she expressed concern about the growth of gender-based political violence and hate speech and urged the government to take careful measures in this area. She stressed that the low representation of vulnerable groups in decision-making spaces reflects systemic racism. In addition, this lack of representativeness can also be seen within the Judiciary.

Race and Equality thanks Ashiwini K.P. for her support and interest in the Rapporteurship’s commitment to promoting anti-racist and racial justice actions in Brazil. We highlight the importance of the recognition of religious racism as a discriminatory practice before an international human rights mechanism. We continue to fight for the defense and guarantee of human rights to confront the inequalities created by the racist system. The Brazilian State must commit itself to the demands for justice and equity of its population. A government whose proposal is “Union and Reconstruction” must have historical reparation as a priority.

Finally, we share some of the recommendations submitted to the Office of the Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance by Brazilian organizations:

  • Improvement of public policies for access to legal aid and support services for victims of domestic and familial violence, based on a survey of cases registered in recent years, to support and protect women victims of violence and racism (especially religious racism); among other actions, based on the collaboration of feminist groups, religious leaders, public managers, and experts on the subject.
  • Demand the implementation of the National Health Policy for the LGBTI+ Population through the creation of specialized health teams to meet the highly complex demands in the health of lesbian women;
  • Recommend that the Brazilian State effectively address all barriers to justice faced by victims of racist crimes by speeding up prosecutions, revising evidence standards to strengthen accountability for discriminatory acts, and monitoring racial disparities in access to justice, especially for Afro-descendant women and LGBTI+ people.
  • To ask the Brazilian State to seek to adequately implement reparation measures for victims and family members affected by State violence, which should include psychological support, medical assistance, and financial compensation, in addition to others that may be necessary in the analysis of the specific case.
  • Ensure that the Brazilian State also complies with the recommendations prepared by the Committees on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, treaty bodies that recently examined the country and noted similar concerns.
  • To recommend the political participation of indigenous peoples and quilombola communities in the development of public policies that affect their territories and in policies for the defense of the environment. In addition, the Brazilian State must guarantee the demarcation and titling of quilombola and indigenous lands, in addition to rejecting the thesis of the Time-Frame Framework.

 

 

 

 

 

LGBTI organizations that make Pride possible in Latin America

Washington DC., June 28, 2024.- On International LGBTI+ Pride Day, Race and Equality recognizes that the fight for the rights of LGBTI+ persons has been a long and ongoing battle, marked by the fundamental role of civil society organizations (CSOs) and the significant advances in the promotion and defense of the rights of LGBTI+ persons that have contributed to their visibility and protection.

We also recognize that without the long-standing hard work of CSOs, no celebration or vindication of Pride Day as we know it today would have been possible. Right now, in Latin America and the Caribbean, after the anti-democratic and ultra-conservative wave that has destroyed some of the latest progress in human rights, the LGBTI+ movement continues to resist and defend itself.

For this reason, Race and Equality highlights the work of LGBTI+ organizations and defenders from Brazil, Colombia, Peru, and Cuba who, even in the adverse contexts of their countries, make Pride possible and contribute strategically to human rights in the following ways:

  1. Defending the right to gender identity: Fraternidad Trans Masculina Peru, is a CSO, whose work objective is the defense of human rights of people who identify as transmasculine. Currently, they are carrying out judicial processes to change names and the category “sex” in national identity document for trans masculine people in situations of vulnerability. To date, FTM has managed to litigate more than 60 name change cases.
  2. Promoting political participation: The Articulação Brasileira de Lesbianas – ABL is a network of lesbian and bisexual women active in the five regions of Brazil. Its main activity is political education and participation in social and political advocacy. ABL has dialogued in the most diverse spaces such as terreiros, churches, schools, traditional communities, and in the peripheries and favelas of cities. Its role in the sapatão struggle has been to be in the spaces of power, mainly discussing the fight against lesbophobia, lesbocide, and lesbohate.
  3. Research and visibility: The Virtual Museum of Memory against Gender-Based Violence is a citizen organization that was born two years ago. This year it managed to launch, with the support of Race and Equality, the first report on lesbophobia in Cuba. Similarly, the trans-feminist and anti-racist collective Rosa Rabiosa from Peru have been monitoring the trans and non-binary populations of Peru during voting periods, in order to promote their participation and avoid any case of discrimination. From these experiences, they have prepared the report Vigilando Nuestro Voto, which will be available very soon.
  4. Fighting for the education of LGBTI people: Afro-descendant Foundation for Social and Sexual Diversities – Somos Identidad is a grassroots organization of black communities, created from an intersectional perspective that works to recognize, enhance, and make visible the intersections of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual diversity. They carry out anti-racist pedagogical processes to accompany the entry of Afro-LGBTI+ people to higher education in Colombia, specifically in the South Pacific and the peripheries of the cities.

The time and effort that LGBTI+ defenders and organizations dedicate to the fight for fairer societies in the region is invaluable. Not only have they been instrumental in promoting significant legal and social changes, but they have also played a crucial role in the cultural transformation of countries. With this in mind, Race and Equality reaffirms its commitment to continue working hand in hand with partners until full dignity is achieved, free of discrimination and violence against LGBTI+ persons.

OAS General Assembly: Race and Equality to dialogue with civil society and experts on racial discrimination, gender-based violence and hemispheric security

Washington D.C., June 14, 2024 – Ahead of the 54th session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race & Equality) is reaffirming its commitment to the defense of human rights in the region by holding three parallel events. The first event, the Inter-American Forum against Discrimination, which has been part of the institutional calendar since 2005, will bring together leaders from different countries for a dialogue on reparations and the main demands of the Afro-descendant, indigenous and LGBTI+ population. The second event will address the human rights crisis in Nicaragua and international financial support; and the third event, coordinated by the Latin American Human Rights Consortium, will bring together key actors from different countries to discuss human rights as a pillar of hemispheric security in the Americas. 

The OAS General Assembly will be held from June 26 to 28 at Conmebol, located in the city of Asuncion, Paraguay, under the theme “Integration and Security for the Sustainable Development of the Region”. For Raza e Igualdad, the OAS General Assembly is a space for broad dialogue and exchange of best practices of civil society in the region, as well as an opportunity to strengthen its demands by listening to delegations from Member States and its Secretariat. In this way, the parallel events achieve the purpose of effective political advocacy before this international human rights mechanism. 

Inter-American Forum against Discrimination

This year, the Inter-American Forum against Discrimination will be held on Tuesday, June 25, and will consist of four sections with the following themes: “The role of human rights protection systems in the reparation of different groups discriminated against in the region”; “Experiences of reparation in the region and its scope in relation to racialized, mobile or displaced groups, sexual, religious, linguistic, political minorities, among others”; “Reparation in the context of gender”; and, finally, the section “The ethnic population and the 54th Regular Session of the OAS General Assembly”.

The opening panel of the Forum will feature Gloria De Mees, OAS Rapporteur on the Rights of People of African Descent and against Racial Discrimination. In the following panels, leaders from the region will join the debate with information about their contexts and their struggles for reparations, restitution and guarantees of non-repetition. In addition, in the context of gender reparations, several activists will present and discuss the implications of the general recommendation of the Follow-up Mechanism of the Belém do Pará Convention (MESECVI) on Afro-descendant women. 

The annual Forum will also discuss the strengthening of the Afrodescendant Coalition of the Americas and the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance (CIRDI). 

To participate, register here: https://tinyurl.com/2fx7uc29  

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International financial support to Nicaragua despite democratic and human rights crisis

On Tuesday afternoon, June 25, Raza e Igualdad will bring together experts from the OAS, academia and civil society to discuss the responsibility of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) in relation to crimes against humanity and human rights violations in Nicaragua. It will also analyze the strategic relevance of these institutions in the use of human rights due diligence to address the negative impacts of their development projects. 

In a regime historically marked by systematic human rights violations, the continuity of international financial support brings to light several questions from civil society. From 2018 to the present, the authoritarian regime of Daniel Ortega, Rosario Murillo and their followers have carried out widespread and systematic attacks against the Nicaraguan civilian population in opposition for political reasons. Since 2021, the democratic and human rights crisis has significantly worsened. On February 9, 2023, 222 people were released from prison, then banished to the United States and arbitrarily stripped of their nationality and citizenship rights. Among the most vulnerable groups are human rights defenders, journalists, religious leaders, women, indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, and LGBTI+ people.

However, the abundant evidence of the democratic and human rights crisis in Nicaragua was not enough for the International Financial Institutions to decide to change their strategy towards the country, strengthen their human rights due diligence, or suspend and/or cancel the implementation of their projects in the country. In February 2024, the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank Group and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration supported 97 projects in the execution phase in Nicaragua, with the approval of US$5,082.43 million, according to information available on their websites. Of these, 57 projects were approved for a total of US$2,784.43 million, following the onset of the crisis in 2018.

To participate, register here: https://tinyurl.com/57r4b22m

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Human Rights as a Pillar of Hemispheric Security in the Americas

The Latin American Human Rights Consortium – formed by Race & Equality, Freedom House and the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) – will hold the event “Human Rights as a Pillar of Hemispheric Security in the Americas” on Wednesday, June 26. This event aims to highlight human rights violations in Cuba, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Venezuela as a driver of the debate on security in the region. In these countries with insecure and repressive contexts, inequalities are generated in terms of freedom and security with a differential effect on the most vulnerable groups, such as Afro-descendants, women, children, LGBTI+ population and people deprived of liberty for political reasons.

Thus, new concerns and challenges, including the political, social, economic, environmental and human rights situation of OAS Member States, have led this organization to redefine its understanding of hemispheric security. Thus, on October 28, 2003, the States of the Americas promulgated the “Declaration on Security in the Americas”, proposing a new concept of multidimensional security that recognizes that the objective of hemispheric security is the “protection of human beings”.

In its declaration, the OAS considered that “representative democracy is an indispensable condition for the stability, peace and development of the States of the Hemisphere” and that it is “the responsibility of the specialized forums of the OAS, as well as inter-American and international forums, to develop cooperation mechanisms to confront these new threats on the basis of the applicable instruments”. 

In this context, the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the IACHR, Pedro Vaca; the Deputy Director of the Program for Latin America and the Caribbean of Freedom House, Alejandra Argueta; the lawyer of the organization Cubalex, Alain Espinoza; the legal professional of the Legal Defense Unit of Nicaragua, Arlette Serrano; the Venezuelan journalist from Voces de la Memoria, Victor Navarro; and the co-founder of the association Tracoda (Transparency, Social Controllership, Open Data) from El Salvador, Luis Villatoro, will discuss strategies to strengthen the security and protection of the population and human rights defenders, among the current challenges faced by authoritarian regimes in the Americas. 

To participate, register here: https://tinyurl.com/537cdu3w  

 

More information about the events 

Inter-American Forum against Discrimination

Date and time: Tuesday, June 25, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (Asunción and Washington D.C.) / 10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (Brasilia time)

Location: Dazzler Hotel, Aviadores del Chaco avenue

Live broadcast via Zoom and Facebook Live @RaceandEquality

Registration: https://tinyurl.com/2fx7uc29  

Simultaneous interpretation in Spanish, Portuguese and English.

 

International financial support to Nicaragua despite democratic and human rights crisis

Date and time: Tuesday, June 25th, 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (Asuncion and Washington D.C.) / 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. (Brasilia time)

Location: Dazzler Hotel, Avenida Aviadores del Chaco

Live broadcast via Zoom and Facebook Live @RaceandEquality

Registration: https://tinyurl.com/57r4b22m  

Simultaneous interpretation in Spanish, Portuguese and English.

 

Human Rights as a Pillar of Hemispheric Security in the Americas

Date and time: Wednesday, June 26th, 5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. (Asunción and Washington, D.C.) / 6 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. (Brasilia time)

Location: Hotel Esplendor, Avenida Aviadores del Chaco

Live broadcast via Zoom and Facebook Live @RaceandEquality

Registration: https://tinyurl.com/537cdu3w 

Simultaneous interpretation in Spanish, Portuguese and English.

IDAHOBIT: Celebrating the most recent advancements in the struggle of LGBTI+ persons

Washington D.C., May 17, 2024 -. “No One Left Behind: Equality, Freedom, and Justice for All” is the global theme for May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia+ (IDAHOBIT). Today we commemorate the date on which the World Health Organization (WHO) removed homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) Manual and remember that there is no democracy without the inclusion of LGBTI+ people.

Emphasizing that no one should be left behind implies reflecting on how many times LGBTI+ people have been excluded from public and private spaces due to their sexual orientation, gender expression, and gender identity; it means, for this reason, thinking about real inclusion where there is no place for hatred and rejection which are lethal to LGBTI+ people.  These phenomena kill by pushing them into the margins, they kill by bullying and suicide, they kill by violating their bodies and torturing their minds, and they kill by murdering them.

For this reason, this day calls us to the task of eradicating LGBTI+phobia in all its manifestations and from all areas of society.  At the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), we are committed to this goal, and we believe that in this effort it is important to recognize every achievement achieved with the strength and arduous advocacy of LGBTI+ organizations against hatred and in favor of human rights.

Figures that make visible

In Nicaragua, for example, there is the Observatory of Human Rights Violations of LGBTIQ+ Persons, the only platform for social denunciation in the country created by the feminist organization La Corriente more than two decades ago. Despite the total closure of civic space and the context of censorship imposed by the Ortega-Murillo regime, the validity of the Observatory is a demonstration of society’s rejection of violence and other forms of discrimination.

A similar situation is that of Cuba, whose most recent achievement through referendum has been the approval of the Family Code, where same-sex couples can marry and adopt. However, in this country, there is no Gender Identity Law or official records that address the violence that this population suffers daily.

Strong voices in the face of subjugation

In Peru, LGBTI+ and human rights organizations recently spoke out against a Supreme Decree of the Ministry of Health that modifies the Essential Health Insurance Plan (PEAS), where it applies the obsolete ICD-10 and incorporates transgenderism, gender identity, and egodystonic sexual orientation as mental disorders to access medical and health procedures through health insurance. In response to the collective reaction of civil society, the Ministry of Health issued a statement noting that the implementation of ICD-11 is underway and affirming its position that gender identity and sexual orientation did not constitute diseases. Another inspiring example of persistence is the fact that the “I Have Two Moms” case reached the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and is now awaiting a ruling on the admissibility of the case that seeks the recognition of lesbian families in the country.

Building an Anti-Discrimination Legal Framework

In Brazil, in addition to the creation of the National Secretariat for the Promotion and Defense of the Rights of LGBTQIA+ Persons in 2023, there were 21 pro-LGBTQIA+ bills presented in the National Congress, among which was the proposed prohibition of the misnamed “sexual conversion therapies”, the reservation of places for trans people and travestis in federal universities, and the criminalization of political violence against LGBTI+ parliamentarians, among others. That same year, the Federal Supreme Court recognized that the crimes of homophobia and transphobia should be equated with racial slurs.

An End to Hate Speech and Practices

In Colombia, the Constitutional Court of Colombia made two important jurisprudential advances on the rights of LGBTI+ people. Judgment T-061 of 2024 declares the violation of the fundamental rights of LGBTI+ people and orders the influencer Luis Villa Westcol to rectify the publication of content that promotes hate speech. For the high court, the publication exceeded the limits of freedom of expression and incited hatred against LGBTI+ people. Secondly, the Constitutional Court, through judgment T-033 of 2024, declared the violation of the fundamental rights of two mothers who were questioned by a doctor from the Noel Clinic because, according to him, only the biological mother could be considered the “real” mother. This instance ordered the clinic to apologize and recognize the couple’s right to equality, rejecting discrimination based on sexual orientation.

While there is still a long way to go and we are currently seeing anti-democratic movements targeting the LGBTI+ movement, these advances demonstrate the resilience of the LGBTI+ community. They show that progress is possible even in adverse contexts such as Nicaragua and Cuba, and that LGBTI+ inclusion is essential to guaranteeing our democracies. It is necessary to get off of paper and for progress to be socialized and penetrate the consciousness of the people to make lasting and transformative change. States and society in general must commit themselves to taking action against discrimination and violence in all spheres of society. For this reason, Race and Equality recommends that States, in line with international human rights standards:

  1. Repeal laws that criminalize consensual sexual relations between adults of the same sex and ensure respect for sexual and gender diversity with legal frameworks.
  2. Develop rules and laws that guarantee equality and non-discrimination in public and private spaces.
  3. Punish hate crimes committed against LGBTI+ people and develop protocols for their proper investigation. Likewise, establish, comply with, and monitor the corresponding reparation measures.
  4. Recognize the gender identity of trans and gender-diverse people so that they can obtain identity documents that represent them, as well as access and exercise their basic rights.
  5. Implement training and awareness-raising programs on human rights, and sexual and gender diversity for police officers, health personnel, prison personnel, teachers, workers, and public officials in general so that they can carry out their duties without humiliating, mistreating, discriminating against, or violating LGBTI+ people.

Five years after 11M in Cuba: LGBTI+ activism, stories of repression, jail, and forced exile

Washington D.C., May 10, 2024 – This Saturday, May 11, marks five years since a public demonstration in Havana, Cuba, that ended with dozens of LGBTI+ people detained and assaulted. 

On that day in 2019, also known as 11M, dozens of people with diverse sexual orientation and gender identity were getting ready to participate in a conga (Cuban dance that is accompanied by drums) for the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, which is commemorated worldwide every May 17; but the event was canceled at the last minute, generating indignation among those preparing to attend, who spontaneously continued with the plan to take to the streets to demand their rights, even though they did not have the approval of the official body that coordinates this activity, the Centro Nacional de Educación Sexual (Cenesex).

Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and trans and non-binary people gathered in Havana’s Central Park, and starting at 4 pm they began to march without a set course. They mobilized peacefully and held a besatón (the name given to the act in which several LGBTI+ people kiss in public as a sign of protest), until the Cuban authorities, including members of the State Security blocked the demonstration, assaulted and arbitrarily detained dozens of demonstrators who had attended thanks to a call made through social networks.

On this date, we spoke with activists from this country about the challenges that come with activism and the struggle for LGBTI+ rights.

“Washing and putting away the laundry”

This phrase is mentioned by Yennys Hernández, lesbian activist and reporter for the independent media Periodismo de Barrio, to explain how the activism of LGBTI+ people goes “between a rock and a hard place”. 

She has been a victim of harassment by Cuban authorities. More than a year ago, she watched in amazement as State Security showed up at her wedding celebration to take down the names of the human rights defenders who attended the wedding to put pressure on the dissident voices that had gathered at the event. 

Hernandez says that, as she and her wife did, in Cuba same-sex couples can marry and adopt; assisted reproduction is also legal, discrimination in the workplace and in education is prohibited, and people with diverse gender identities can change their names on their documents. However, in this country there is no gender identity law, and the macho violence that exists in all public and private spheres punishes, represses, and assaults lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and trans and non-binary people. 

LGBTI+ people who fight for their rights are also victims of repression and harassment by Cuban authorities, as are artists, independent journalists and, in general, dissident voices against the Cuban government. Most people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, according to Hernández, avoid reporting that they have been summoned for interrogation to avoid being excluded from the dialogues and processes that seek to advance the recognition of the rights of this population in Cuba. 

LGBTI+ people “wash and put away their clothes”, that is, they censor themselves to survive in this country, where there are no official records that address the gender-based violence suffered daily by lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and trans and non-binary people.

Behind bars 

The story of Brenda Díaz García, a trans woman who remains in a male penitentiary center for participating in the peaceful protests of July 11, 2021 (known as 11J) in the municipality of Güira de Melena, in the province of Artemisa, demonstrates the discrimination and, in general, the violence suffered by trans people in Cuba. 

She was arrested because, according to Cuban authorities, she had “dressed as a woman to infiltrate” the demonstrations. And as soon as she arrived in prison, they cut her hair and did not recognize her chosen name, two symbolic aggressions that annulled her rights. 

Brenda Díaz was initially sentenced to more than 14 years in prison, but eight months ago her sentence was reduced to 7 years and nine months, according to Ana María García, her mother, who has repeatedly denounced that her daughter has been beaten and has been the victim of sexual violence inside the prison, where she remains for demanding changes in Cuba. 

Living in fear

“Doing activism in Cuba and being an LGBTI+ person is complicated because you know very well what happens inside the Island, and the fear that exists is a fear that they put inside your body; and, from here it is easier to do it because you feel free to be able to do it, because you are not watched,” says Nornardo Perea, a Cuban artivist exiled in Spain since 2019. 

The writer, photographer and documentary filmmaker participated in the 00 Havana Biennial in May 2018, which was organized by the San Isidro Movement (of which he is still part). As a result of this event where he openly exposed his political position and sexual orientation, Perea was threatened and interrogated three times by Cuban authorities.

“In the third interview they made me sign a paper with several slogans. In the end, they (the authorities) do with you whatever they want. There were five hours of interrogation in Marianao (municipality of Havana). They forced me to collaborate with them,” says the artivist, who after participating in March 2019 in a journalism workshop in Prague, Czech Republic, went into exile in Madrid, Spain, and still, he says, continues to adapt to that city and that country.  

The stories revealed by Hernandez, Garcia, and Perea show how complex it is to be an activist and fight for LGBTI+ rights in Cuba, a country where advances such as equal marriage or adoption between same-sex couples have occurred, and at the same time lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and trans and non-binary people are prohibited from participating in marches independently and demanding their rights without participating in the actions organized by Cenesex. 

From the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) we commemorate 11M by recognizing the work of activists working for the recognition of the rights of people with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities in this country. We also call on the State of Cuba to promote gender identity laws and laws against gender violence, and to refrain from repressing and harassing defenders of the rights of this population. 

Lesbian Visibility: a look into the strength and public presence of lesbians

Washington D.C., 26 April 2024. – April brings much lesbian power. Today we recall the fundamental political role that lesbians have had in history, and the courage and determination of many lesbian women who face a machista, violent, and discriminatory society. Their strength has generated an undeniable impact in every country in the region; therefore, on International Lesbian Visibility Day, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) highlights and recognizes the struggle of thousands of visible lesbians to live with dignity and for more lesbians to be present in public spaces exercising their human rights.

As signaled by the regional report from LESLAC[1] regarding the Situation of Lesbians, Bisexual, and Queer Women in Abya Yala, over time, societies have qualified lesbianism only as an individual and private sexual practice. However, lesbians have demonstrated many times their collective and political essence through social struggles. A demonstration of this is the first Meeting of Lesbian Feminists of Latin America and the Caribbean (ELFLC, for its name in Spanish) in 1987 in Mexico, a space that arose from the reflection of feminist lesbians to have their meetings to represent their political stakes.[2] Similarly, they achieved again when at the 4th Conference of Women in Beijing, in 1995, it was discussed –for the first time at a conference of the United Nations—the criminalization of same-sex partners and discrimination due to sexual orientation as it impugns human rights and how this should be recognized by the Universal Human Rights System of the United Nations.[3]

In addition to their determination to guarantee their participation in political discussion and action, lesbian women are committed to documenting and making their realities visible. With the support of Race and Equality, the first report about lesbian women in Cuba “If they don’t mention us, we don’t exist: lesbophobia in Cuba” will be launched this month, which accounts for the invisibilization of lesbian women on the Island. “There is still violence against lesbian women, we do not appear in any statistics on femicide or gender violence. We do not appear mentioned in any of the proposals made for a comprehensive law [against gender-based violence]. We do not even appear in the anecdotes of women victims of violence that are published on social networks”, says María Matienzo, independent journalist and Cuban activist, and the researcher responsible for the report.

Olguita Acuña, Nicaraguan singer and performer, feminist artivist, lesbian, and member of the Colectivo de Productores Audiovisuales y Artistas Latinoamericanos (COPAL), has a very beautiful way of contributing to lesbian visibility from the arts. “The country maintains a historic debt with women and the LGBTI+ population. In Nicaragua, they celebrate Miss Gay, Miss Trans, but not same-sex marriage or homoparental families. Personally, I sing in a feminine voice. I write my songs and poems in a blatant way that are dedicated to women that I love and have loved, from sensuality to tenderness. I do not deny, I do not hide who I am or whom I have the joy of loving before God and society,” she expressed.

In this line, Pamela Almendra, a Peruvian musician, signaled: “We as artists or moderately public people have a [pedagogical] task with society because we are not extraterrestrials, we are people like any other person.” Pamela is a renowned professional guitarist in Peru, who through her talent and fame has contributed to making visible and raising awareness about her identity as a trans lesbian.

The contribution of lesbian women to the visibilization, the occupation of public spaces, and the discussion on the best way to live have been carried out from different spheres, collectively and individually, to advance towards a more just society.

In this sense, it is the responsibility of the States to implement concrete measures to guarantee a life of dignity for lesbians and the full exercise of their human rights:

  • Implement Comprehensive Sexual Education policies under a human rights approach to recognize and respect sexual diversity and gender identities.
  • Guarantee the dignified treatment of lesbian women in all public and private services in the country through the strengthening of training programs for authorities, justice operators, public officials, and administrative staff, and the adaptation of care protocols.
  • Record, document, and analyze violence against lesbians to better illustrate situations of violence and, subsequently, formulate prevention and care policies.
  • Guarantee access to justice through the investigation and punishment of discrimination and crimes committed against lesbian women. Likewise, develop mechanisms to avoid the criminalization of lesbian mothers in custody processes for their children.
  • Guarantee and defend the civil rights and family rights of lesbians through access to marriage equality and legal recognition for lesbian mothers and diverse families. In this sense, it is also necessary to respect rights acquired abroad.
  • Promote lesbians’ access to political spaces and positions of power to guarantee the right to non-violent political participation and the representation of identities.

[1] Red de Organizaciones de Lesbianas y Mujeres Bisexuales en América Latina y El Caribe – LESLAC

[2] Triple Jornada (2004). Más allá de la opción sexual. Disponible en https://www.jornada.com.mx/2004/09/06/informacion/73_encuentro_lesbi.htm

[3] Comunidad de Madrid (2019). Estudio sobre las causas de la invisibilidad y la doble discriminación que sufre el colectivo de lesbianas en la Comunidad de Madrid. Disponible en https://www.comunidad.madrid/sites/default/files/doc/estudio_lebianas.pdf

Trans Visibility Day: access to healthcare is a human right, not a privilege

Washington D.C., 31 March 2024.- On International Transgender Day of Visibility, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) recognizes that trans people, trans non-binary people, and gender diverse people continue to face strong institutional, social, and economic barriers in the exercise of their right to healthcare, while even more people who are racialized, impoverished, migrants or sex workers.

According to the thematic report on trans people and people of diverse gender identitiy and their economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights from the Inter-American Comission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Special Rappertour on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights (SRESCER), the lack of legal and social recognition of the gender identity of trans people, non-binary trans people, and gender diverse people vulnerabilizes their human rights, and much of time puts them in risky situtations.

Even in Latin American countries that enjoy gender identity recognition legislation, the lack of comprehensive implementation, investment, awareness and training of authorities and health officials continue to produce situations of discrimination and violence. In Brazil, for example, “we have the Comprehensive National LGBTQIA+ Health Policy which is a fundamental document and we have the Gender Modficiation Process which is very necessary for the specific demands of trans people. However, it is crucial that the government allocates more investments so that the service really reaches all the people who need it”, says Yara Cavalcante, from ANTRA.

Some of the prejudices against the right to healthcare of trans, trans non-binary and gender-diverse people have to do with the impossibility of accessing health services due to their gender identity and the exposure to unsafe, unsupervised, and even clandestine methods of body modification (hormonal processes, surgical interventions). “In Peru, transmasculine people do not have access to specialized services such as hormone therapy, treatment follow-up or gender affirming surgeries; and many must choose to seek alternatives in the private sector, which is expensive and not accessible to all, so many end up self-medicating with inappropriate medications and putting their health at risk”, says Bruno Montenegro, trans man, founder of Fraternidad Trans Masculina Perú.

Likewise, the lack of knowledge of health workers about the specific health needs of transgender people, mistreatment and pathologization in health services linked to prejudice and stigma -also related to HIV cases- generate anxiety, fear and lack of motivation to return to the health centers. On the other hand, medical personnel who are neither trained nor sensitized to attend to the needs of transgender people can lead to misdiagnosis and mistreatment. In the worst cases, they may incur in negligence, often committing torture, as in the case of so-called “conversion therapies” in mental health centers, as pointed out by the testimonies in the report: Bodies and resistances that transgress the pandemic: transmasculinities and AFAB non-binary people in Peru (2020).

Other factors that impacts the access trans people have to healthcare services is a lack of resources. In countries like Cuba, for example, shortages of hormonal products is one problem the population faces. “Testosterone is sometimes in short supply. At times we have to go one to five months without treatment,” stressed Carlos Hernández, a Cuban trans man that coordinates the independent social project Por Siempre Trans.

In addition to all this, which has its origins in the hegemonic cisgender model, no major medical advance has considered trans people as an objective and specific population. As Mateo Rodrigo of Hombres Trans Diversos de Bolivia points out, “hormonal treatments and other medical procedures to which trans people have access were not originally created for trans people. Nor is there sufficient academic production that studies the long-term repercussions of these treatments on the health of trans people.”

Faced with these situations of violation and concerns of trans counterparts around the right to healthcare, Mi Salud Transmasculina Importa was born, which is a project with a regional scope managed by Fraternidad Trans Masculina de Perú, Fraternidad Trans Masculina de Ecuador, Rosa Rabiosa de Perú, Hombres Trans Diversos de Bolivia, and the Instituto Brasilero de Transmasculinidades – IBRAT of Brazil, with the support from Race and Equality. This space also has the objective to support the integral wellbeing of the transmasculine population of Latin America through information and communication.

For all of the above reasons, Race and Equality recalls that States have the obligation to ensure access to health care for all people without discrimination. In this regard, it highlights the following recommendations on the right to access to healthcare for trans, non-binary trans and gender-diverse people, which were set forth by the IACHR in the Report on Trans and Gender-Diverse People and their Economic, Social, Cultural and Environmental Rights (2020):

  • Promote the training of medical personnel on the needs of transgender people.
  • Combat prejudice and binary male and female stereotypes in access to health services.
  • Establish directives or protocols for the care of trans patients.
  • Guarantee health protocols for gender affirming care, including psychological, endocrinological, and surgical care.
  • Gender affirming care should be based on free, prior and informed consent and move towards being free of charge.
  • Prohibit and sanction activities that offer “therapies” to “modify,” “re-orient,” or “cure” people’s gender identity.

Trans Remembrance: Colonialism and Trans Resistance

Washington D.C., November 20, 2022 – Today, on Trans Remembrance Day, it is important to reflect on the memory of transgender and gender-diverse persons, their memory-building process, and the struggle to recover their stories and memories that were erased by colonialism. Therefore, the Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights (Race and Equality) joins in commemorating this date and asks various transgender and gender-diverse activists in Latin America about what colonialism represents in trans memory and how they reclaim their history.

The Independent Expert, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, recently presented the final report of his mandate focused on the impact of colonialism as one of the fundamental causes of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity (A/78/227), and how this has led to the creation of a stigmatized and binary memory of transgender populations in Latin America.

Latin American history is full of examples of how the region always preserves its memories and seeks new ways of remembering. In recent years, transgender and LGBTI+ persons, in general, have been fighting to recover, redefine, and remember their history. Furthermore, after armed conflicts and dictatorships that resulted in the erasure of human rights violations against the LGBTI+ persons, fulfilling this task of reclaiming memory takes us back to the beginning of the violent processes that stripped identities from many peoples during colonial occupation.

As the report indicates, colonization was a process of imposing systems of differentiation, hierarchy, and domination by a colonizing power over indigenous peoples. It also suggests that, after the decolonization process, a kind of continuation of the colonial project persists, which continues to discriminate against and harm transgender people. Before colonization, many communities did not use a binary gender approach or correlate anatomy with gender identity. Social hierarchies were not gender-dependent, and in certain communities, people had fluid gender identities, alternating between masculine and feminine roles. There were various sexual behaviors and gender expression fluidity, including homosexual relationships, transgender identities, and cross-dressing.[1]

As a result of colonialism spreading strict binary standards, gender identity-based violence plagues the region. Today, we see alarming figures from the Transgender Murder Monitoring (TMM) of Transgender Europe (TGEU), which indicates that between October 1, 2022, and September 30, 2023, there were 320 murders worldwide, of which 235 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean.[2]

Bicky Bohórquez, from her experience as a Black transgender woman and activist for the Afro-descendant Foundation for Social and Sexual Diversities – Somos Identidad, mentions that the imposition of cis-heteronormative religiosity is one of the colonial manifestations that persist in Colombia.

“Religious conversion, the imposition of rigid gender binaries on colonized peoples, and the criminalization of sexual and gender diversity were strategies of colonial oppression,” as stated in the report, in line with Athiany Larios, a transgender feminist woman and human rights activist from Nicaragua, who says, “Colonialism is as relevant as ever. Many so-called experts and psychologists disqualify our feelings and label us as aberrant madmen with almost demonic ideas. We have been educated and taught under a misogynistic, macho, patriarchal scheme of what it means to be a man or a woman.”

In the case of Peru, although the artistry of the Moche and Chimu cultures depicted homosexual and affective behaviors as part of their daily lives, today, same-gender relationships in Peru are discriminated against.

One revealing aspect is that part of the repercussions left by colonialism—as stated in the Independent Expert’s report—is the acronym LGBTI, which cannot fully capture the diversity of sexualities and genders experienced by people in the sexual diversity community. Additionally, in some countries, laws like those used by colonial powers to impose binary gender norms are still in effect.

“We are nothing; they always censor us. When we look for jobs, they tell us there are none. And if they accept us, we have to dress as they say, as if God had brought us into this world. Personally, I disagree with the laws and the things that happen in this country regarding transgender persons. We, like everyone else, are human beings. We think, we have dreams, and desires to be heard,” says Carlos Hernández, a Cuban transgender man who coordinates the independent social project Por Siempre Trans.

In this regard, Race and Equality makes the following recommendations to States to respect and guarantee the rights of all transgender people:

  • Adopt the necessary laws and policies to change the name and gender on official identification documents to ensure the recognition, respect, and inclusion of transgender and gender-diverse persons in line with the standards of Advisory Opinion 24/17.
  • Systematically collect data on acts of violence and murders against transgender and gender-diverse persons, disaggregated by gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnic-racial identity, and age.
  • Implement a public policy with a gender perspective in investigations into violence and murders against transgender and gender-diverse persons, respecting the individual’s chosen name, gender identity, and establishing guarantees of non-recurrence.
  • Monitor and publicly penalize transphobic discourses reproduced in public and private institutions and in the media that promote discrimination and violence against transgender and gender-diverse populations.

[1] UN (2023). Report A/78/227. Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/thematic-reports/a78227-protection-against-violence-and-discrimination-based-sexual

[2] Transgender Europe’s Trans Murder Monitoring (TMM) 2023. Available at: https://transrespect.org/es/trans-murder-monitoring-2023/

Civil society welcomes the appointment of Graeme Reid as the third UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, celebrates the achievements of Victor Madrigal-Borloz in the role

Geneva, 13 October 2023.- The President of the UN Human Rights Council has appointed Graeme Reid as the incoming holder of the mandate of the Independent Expert on violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). 

The appointment was made today at the United Nations Human Rights Council, after his nomination was proposed last month by the President of the 47 government member body charged with overseeing human rights around the globe. Graeme Reid will take on the role on 1 November 2023.

An anthropologist and researcher from South Africa, Reid – who currently serves as the Director of the LGBT Rights Program at Human Rights Watch – is the third person to ever be appointed to hold the United Nations mandate dedicated to addressing specific human rights violations against LGBT and gender-diverse persons, following Vitit Muntarbhorn from Thailand (2016-2017) and Victor Madrigal-Borloz from Costa Rica (2017-2023).

Civil society organisations worldwide welcomed the decision: “Billions of people continue to live in societies with laws and societal attitudes that put LGBTI persons in danger,” said XYZ organisations worldwide. “With his extensive experience in advocacy and academic spaces alike, and his keen dedication to listening to the voices of grassroots human rights defenders, we trust Reid will be able to further build bridges and remind States of their obligations towards people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities across the globe. As civil society, we look forward to constructive engagement with the new mandate holder.”

The appointment comes at the end of a months-long application process. 23 candidates went through shortlisting, with interviews and final appointment then overseen by Member States of the United Nations Human Rights Council. Earlier this month organisations worldwide had expressed their regret on the lack of women and non-binary persons in the short-list of candidates recommended by the Consultative Group, as highlighted during the recent session of the Human Rights Council. “Ensuring participation and representation of women is crucial to reflect the diverse realities of women’s lives,” organisations pointed out. 

In June 2022, the Human Rights Council successfully renewed the mandate of the Independent Expert on violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The renewal recognized and reaffirmed the vital importance of the maintenance of this mandate, as LGBT communities around the world continue to be subject to violence and discrimination on the basis of their SOGI.

Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the outgoing mandate holder, continues in the role until the end of the month. “Today we also want to celebrate everything that has been achieved over the last six years,” civil society organisations concluded. “Thanks to Víctor Madrigal-Borloz and his work, the world has heard more about the impact of criminalisation of same-sex relations between consenting adults, the need to legally recognise a person’s gender, the barriers to social inclusion and the importance of collecting data related to LGBT lives, the harm caused by so-called ‘conversion therapy’, and more. Madrigal-Borloz has also cast a light on good practices to prevent discrimination, and conducted visits to Georgia, Mozambique, Tunisia, Ukraine, the United States and United Kingdom, building bridges between civil society, political and religious authorities. At a time in which anti-rights forces are more vocal by the minute, and are increasingly targeting our communities as a part of a larger attack against gender equality, it is critical that the mandate’s work continues and is supported by States and civil society alike.”

 

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