Colombian Afro-LGBTI organizations meet with representatives from the JEP

Colombian Afro-LGBTI organizations meet with representatives from the JEP

Leaders of Afro-LGBTI organizations from the municipalities of Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Nariño and the Colombian Caribbean explained and denounced the effects and violence Afro-descendants with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities suffered during the armed conflict before representatives of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP).

The event that took place on March 12 and 13 is part of a project led by the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) with the support of the Canadian government. “The project seeks to make Afro-LGBTI victims of the armed conflict, as well as the causes and differential impacts that these types of violence have on people with diverse sexual identities and expressions, more visible,” said Laura Poveda, lawyer for Race and Equality. In relation to this, Pedro Cortés, Colombian consultant at Race and Equality, highlighted the importance of this meeting as a space that strengthens and increases the participation of Afro-LGBTI civil society organizations before the Comprehensive System of Truth, Justice and Reparation.

Throughout the meeting, which included the participation of JEP magistrate Heydi Patricia Baldosea Perea, also a member of both the gender and ethnic commissions of the same institution, the participants, through a collective dialogue, delved into the violations and direct effects that Afro-LGBTI groups continue to face in the territories.

Joana Caicedo from the organization Somos Identidad in the city of Cali, pointed out that LGBTI people, especially from the most impoverished communities in the city, which are mostly composed of Afro-Colombians, have faced and continue to face situations of violence by armed actors in the territory. Armed groups during conflicts use strategies to correct of modify expressions that they consider “abnormal”, for example, the most common forms of violence against LGBTI people are forced recruitment and sexual violence.

“LGBTI people are usually forced to hide and try to act normal so as not to be harassed; now, living in different contexts as a black person is difficult, so being LGBTI in contexts of violence and armed conflict further exacerbates the situation,” indicates Caicedo from Somos Identidad.

Vivian Cuello from Caribe Afirmativo emphasized that structural racism still persists in all of society, which is why the armed conflict disproportionately affected Afro-descendant groups. “It is no coincidence that the armed conflict mostly affected a large part of the racialized territories. This is due to an imminent absence of the State in these territories, which allows armed groups to inhabit and take control of the territories,” she added.

According to Angelo Muñoz of the Afro-Colombian Foundation Arco Irís in Tumaco, the “objectification” and “social normalization” of violence against LGBTI people is another one of the main effects diverse groups suffered in the territories where there is and has been armed conflict.  He also emphasized the state of violation that represents for the LGBTI groups in Tumaco, not having judicial or social support when it comes to violence against various people.

“In a territory where there is armed conflict, the black and LGBTI are a vulnerable body in an indifferent territory,” added Muñoz.

Judge Baldosea referred to the 7 cases that have so far been opened in the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, thanking and encouraging civil society organizations to present reports that integrate data that may be related to already open cases in order to approach such investigations from an intersectional approach.

Additionally, the Magistrate carefully explained the processes and methods used by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace and the way in which these are being reviewed.

Magistrate Heidy Patricia Baldosea, JEP

“We do not have a clear idea or exact data on how many cases will be opened; to date civil society organizations have submitted an average of 284 reports and the call is open until March 2021. For our part, as body that has a clear mission of clarifying the truth, we will continue working to guarantee a comprehensive process for victims,” said Baldosea.

Likewise, representatives of Afro-LGBTI civil society recommended decentralizing the processes that are being carried out to date in the JEP, to approach communities in the territories through less institutional forms, and thus generate trust and bring the necessary information in the clearest and most concise way.

Through this project, Race and Equality, with the support of the Canadian government, seeks to join the initiatives undertaken by organizations such as Caribe Afirmativo who have already presented documented cases before the JEP of Afro LGBTI victims of the armed conflict in the region of Urabá (northwestern Colombia) and the municipality of Tumaco.

March 21: International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Message from Carlos Quesada, executive director of Race and Equality

Washington DC, 2020, May 21st. Today we commemorate once again the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, a day that we at the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), take as an opportunity to remember our universal rights to equality and non-discrimination. This message must be echoed in a context of growing intolerance, hate, and superiority speech that do not contribute to the development and well-being of our society.

We have been commemorating this day since 1966, in memory of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre in South Africa, when police opened fire and killed 69 people who were protesting peacefully against the Apartheid Pass Laws. Since then, racial discrimination has subsided considerably in Africa and also in Latin America.

This year, Mexico ratified the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance, thus joining Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Antigua and Barbuda; and also ratified the Inter-American Convention against All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance, which entered into force with this ratification.

Also in Mexico, the inclusion of the Afro-descendant self-identification question was achieved for the first time in the 2020 Census. However, it was included late in the process, so Afro-Mexican organizations had to start their awareness campaigns just a few months before the census, which is being carried out this month. Currently, the campaign continues with great force led by the Collective to Eliminate Racism in Mexico (COPERA, for its initials in Spanish) along with Race and Equality and in alliance with some government agencies and Afro-Mexican organizations.

In Panama, we are concerned that the census scheduled for May 2020 was postponed until the first quarter of 2021, due to delays with the bidding process. This implied that all progress made on the 2020 Census was suspended, and adjustments to the next steps represent a great challenge. This is because there are several actions that must be carried out such as updating the budget, cartography, and identifying and hiring personnel, among many other duties. However, this period has allowed for the promotion of self-identification among Afro-descendants in both rural and urban communities.

In Colombia, the number of social leaders assassinated in 2019 was alarming: at least 253, of which 91 were Afro-descendant and indigenous leaders, according to the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (INDEPAZ, for its initials in Spanish). Patterns of structural racial discrimination continue to prevent Afro-Colombian and indigenous communities from having effective enjoyment of their economic, social, and cultural rights compared to the rest of the Colombian society. It is a matter of concern that given this situation, the Colombian government has not guaranteed an adequate statistical estimate of the Afro-Colombian population. This is reflected in the 2018 Census, where the black, palenquera and raizal population was reduced by 31% compared to the 2005 Census. The Government is also not offering the conditions needed for the implementation of the Peace Agreement with an ethnic-differential approach.

In Brazil, between January and February 2020, 38 trans women were killed, of whom 75% were Afro-Brazilian. This figure is particularly worrisome because it is 90% higher compared to last year’s figures. In general, most LGBT crimes are committed against Afro-descendants, according to data from the National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals (ANTRA, for its initials in Portuguese).

In Cuba, there is still no implementation plan for the International Decade for People of African Descent. We have managed to document that the majority of the activists who are victims repression by the Cuban Government are Afro-descendants, such as Juan Antonio Madrazo, Marthadela Tamayo or Nancy Alfaya. From the State’s side, there is no opening to recognize the existence of racial discrimination on the island.

From Race and Equality, we will continue to make visible, fight, and denounce the marginalization and injustices that Afro-descendant populations face in the Americas. We will continue to work, especially in the company of our counterparts in the region, who, from their communities, contribute to tehe construction of a more equal society.

Race and Equality calls on the States of Latin America and the Caribbean to take LGBTI people into account in times of COVID – 19 crisis

In the face of the of the recent crisis, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) reminds States of the importance of safeguarding the health of the entire population regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity; Public policies that encompass the crisis must be thought of from intersectional approaches that address gender and human rights perspectives.

Race and Equality warns about the differential impact on rights that crises like these can have on historically marginalized and socially vulnerable populations such as LGBTI people. “The social reality of LGBTI people in Latin America and the Caribbean is characterized by precarious access to health services, education, work and comprehensive well-being, realities that must be considered by the States when designing virus containment strategies,” says Zuleika Rivera, LGBTI Program Officer at Race and Equality.

“The state of alert starts precisely because, although these measures affect the entire social group, those who have always lived in a state of vulnerability, tend to be mostly affected. For example, trans women sex workers are very affected by the strategies that are being used so far, especially because in order to eat and pay rent in the place where they live, they must work, which not only puts them at risk, but a whole social group in imminent risk, ” she continues.

The situation in Latin America

LGBTI civil society organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean expressed to us their concern about the containment strategies used by States without taking into account differential and rights-based approaches.

In Peru, for example, they have expressed concern about the impacts of the measures taken so far by the State to prevent the spread of the virus.  These strategies impact LGBT people who mostly live from informal work, as is the case of the trans population. In addition, the self-financing of trans and LGBTI foster homes is in danger.  “If the LGBTI population has to continue working or needs treatment for HIV / AIDS, how are they going to mobilize? Or if someone gets sick who guarantees that they will not be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity? ” added Santiago Balvín, an independent trans rights activist.

On the other hand, Peruvian LGBTI organizations have shown concern about the actions of Congress and what that may mean for LGBTI rights in the country, since it is a time when the rights of said population could be limited.

In the Dominican Republic, the trans organization TRANSSA has expressed uncertainty because the State has not declared a national emergency, which puts the lives of many people in the country at risk, including LGBTI people. Likewise, they pointed out that the LGBTI population with informal or independent work will be the most affected if a curfew or a national quarantine is decreed, then highlighting the state of collective panic over the disinformation in the networks about COVID-19. They also have shown concern about access to health for the population with HIV / AIDS.

In Brazil, many of the same worries were expressed by civil society organizations who explain that the State has not taken any serious action to prevent the spread of the virus and has not recommended or imposed any type of quarantine.

Given racial inequality within the country, the Afro-descendant population can suffer more serious impacts in relation to COVID-19, since they live in situations of great precariousness and are the most dependent on the health system. Many of these populations live in favelas, removed from their homes, without access to water or health, or are sex workers. Some communities have been without clean water or basic sanitation for weeks. “Mental health is another serious concern as many struggle with anxiety or depression or have a higher tendency to develop anxiety or depression, and given all the information on social media, it could lead to an increase in episodes of mental health, not to mention the detrimental effects of isolation and confinement ”pointed out, among other things, Bruna Benavides, secretary of the political coordination of the National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals, ANTRA.

Some local organizations, such as ANTRA, have published recommendations for trans people who work in the informal labor market at the following link: https://antrabrasil.org/cartilhas/

In the case of Colombia, the exponential growth of the confirmed cases of people carrying COVID-19 is worrisome.[1] Although the National Government has enacted measures related to the closure of maritime and ground borders, and has promoted measures for education and work from homes to promote isolation, the lack of social and economic measures that take into account the conditions =of the most marginalized and vulnerable population is still troublesome.

In Cuba, uncertainty regarding the actions that the government may take continues.  To date, no state of emergency or quarantine has been declared. Citizens are concerned that the government is not taking drastic measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, and that there is no focus on self-responsibility and self-care about preventive measures that citizens can take.

Recommendations to States

Race and Equality and our counterparts call on the States of the region, and in accordance with the curfew measures that have been declared in some areas of the region, request the surveillance and protection of the human rights of those who could be most affected by these events that could affect their lives and personal integrity.

Likewise, we urge states to include LGBTI populations in their national plans to combat COVID-19 taking into account the differential impact of the crisis and to continue informing the population about the progression of the virus, as well as the services available for this population’s particular needs.

We call on States to protect the economic income of the poorest households[2] and those unable to telework; measures that allow the flexibility of payments of bank and financial obligations; policies that guarantee adequate treatment and protection for people over 60 years of age, especially those belonging to the LGBTI[3] sectors, and measures that ensure access to sanitary conditions to prevent the spread of the virus, such as access to public toilets, especially for migrants, sex workers, the homeless, and imprisoned people[4].

Additionally, we call on States not to use the health crisis to implement legislation that limits or presents setbacks in the area of ​​human and LGBTI rights.

We call on the LGBTI population to follow the recommendations of the Ministry of Health and the WHO, remain calm, and apply preventive measures.

[1] As of March 19, 2020, at 12:00 noon, 93 cases of people carrying COVID-19 have been registered, according to figures from the Ministry of Health.

[2] LGBT people often face poverty, social exclusion, and lack of access to housing. LGBT people are often expelled from their families and schools, and in some cases they cannot even get jobs that pay the minimum wage. This situation could push them towards the informal economy or criminal activity.

[3] The lack of family support and social rejection accentuate the conditions of loneliness, isolation, poverty, and lack of access to housing and health services for LGBTI elders.

[4] “Inmates of La Picota protest against measures against the coronavirus (Covid-19)” https://www.wradio.com.co/noticias/bogota/internos-de-la-picota-protestan-por-medidas-contra-el-coronavirus-covid19/20200318/nota/4023683.aspx

On International Women’s Day, Race and Equality Honors the Work of Women Human Rights Defenders

To mark March 8, International Women’s Day, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) wishes to highlight the fundamental role played by women human rights defenders in Latin America and the Caribbean. In a region where rates of sexual and gender-based violence against women are extremely high and multiple forms of discrimination are entrenched, women human rights defenders are key in the fight for the defense of women’s human rights. Likewise, they are at the vanguard of promoting and protecting the rights of others.

Although the vast majority of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW),[1] women in the region continue to suffer inequalities that negatively impact their full enjoyment of human rights. According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), more than 3,800 women in 33 countries in the region were murdered because of their gender in 2019.[2] This violence stems from structural inequalities which profoundly affect all women, but especially women members of historically marginalized groups like Afro-descendants and the LGBTI community. For example, according to the Network of Afro-Latin American, Afro-Caribbean, and Diaspora Women, Afro-descendant women are victims of multiple forms of violence, which is often racialized. Likewise, the current discourse on gender ideology in the region, driven by in large part by conservative religious groups, has led to more discrimination against lesbian, bi-sexual, and trans women, as well as more hate crimes and murders. Finally, poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean, as in other regions in the world, has a feminine face, as women are less likely to have access to higher education and work outside of the home than their male counterparts. When women do work outside of the home, they are paid, on average, 17% less than men.[3] All of these factors make the work of women human rights defenders of utmost importance. But, they are also facing some grave challenges.

In Colombia, where the post-Peace Accord reality for human rights defenders is startlingly alarming due to the high rate of murders of defenders and impunity for those murders, women human rights defenders are among the most vulnerable. As the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recently documented, the number of women human rights defenders killed in Colombia in 2019 increased by 50% over the 2018 number.[4] Afro-descendant and rural women defenders are at generally greater risk, just as they suffer greater vulnerabilities in terms of overall enjoyment of their human rights.

In Cuba, independent women activists are facing an increase in repression and de facto house arrests, as well as reprisals and threats against themselves and their family members. Travel restrictions arbitrarily imposed by the Cuban government routinely prevent independent activists from participating in advocacy activities outside of the island and the application of these against women continues to grow. Furthermore, Cuban women are clamoring for an Integral Law against Gender Violence – a proposal which has been rejected by the National Assembly – and they continue to face difficulties in accessing decent, well-paying jobs.

In Nicaragua, the crisis that began in April 2018 has had a profound impact on women. Women human rights defenders, such as the Mothers of April, have played an important role in the opposition movement, as many have lost their children to the violence of the crisis. There has also been an overall increase in violence against women and femicides, as a result of the crisis. Furthermore, women in Nicaragua also face disproportionate economic consequences due to the crisis, as many have been left as heads of households, with male family members killed, imprisoned, or fired from their jobs because of their political ties.

In Brazil, the situation of violence against women is extremely concerning, especially against Afro-descendant and trans women. Our partners have documented that in the first two months of the year 38 trans women have been killed in the country.[5] This high level of violence makes the work of women human rights defenders – especially those working on behalf of diverse communities of women – all the more difficult and important.

Race and Equality calls on all Latin American and Caribbean States to honor the human rights commitments they have made under CEDAW and other applicable international human rights treaties, to respect and protect the rights of women. We likewise reiterate our support for women human rights defenders, especially those of our partner organizations and in the countries where we work, who so courageously and tirelessly fight to promote and defend the rights of women and others in the region on a daily basis. We thank you and assure you that you are not alone in your work towards a safer, more just, and equitable society for all.

[1] OHCHR. Status of Ratification Interactive Dashboard: CEDAW, https://indicators.ohchr.org/ (last accessed Mar. 4, 2020).

[2] ECLAC. Measuring femicide: challenges and efforts to bolster the process in Latin America and the Caribbean, Nov. 2019, available at: https://oig.cepal.org/sites/default/files/femicide_web.pdf.

[3] UN News. More women in Latin America are working, but gender gap persists, new UN figures show, Oct. 28, 2019, available at: https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/10/1050121.

[4] UN News. Colombia: ‘Staggering number’ of human rights defenders killed in 2019, Jan. 14, 2020, available at: https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/01/1055272.

[5] See www.antrabrasil.org.

Cuban Institute for Radio and Televsion censors same-sex kiss

On February 29, the Cuban TV program Pensando en 3D (Thinking in 3D) showed the film Love, Simon, which tells the story of a gay teenager who falls in love with a classmate. Over the course of the film, Simon learns to accept his sexual orientation and comes out as gay to his friends and family. Despite the film’s core message of acceptance, Pensando en 3D censored the climactic scene in which Simon, played by Nick Robinson, shares a kiss with Bram (Josh Duhamel).

Across social media, the Cuban LGBTI community expressed shock and indignation at this censorship. Activsts called for a public protest in front of the Cuban Institute for Radio and Television (ICRT, in Spanish), located in the Vedado neighborhood of Havana, on Sunday, March 1st. The “kiss-in” protest aimed to reject this stigmatization of LGBTI love, call for an apology from the Institute and demand another showing of the film without censorship.

Yadiel Cepero, an activist from Matanzas province, led the charge for the kiss-in and told Race and Equality that debate about the censorship and the LGBTI community’s demands took place across Cuban social media. As March 1st approached, several activists received threats of harm if they attended the protest. Despite these threats, and knowing that Cuban State Security would seek to break up the protest, LGBTI activists set out to assemble in front of the Institute.

Jancel Moreno, who planned to report on the kiss-in for Cuba’s independent media, was intercepted by two officers on the road to Havana. According to Moreno, “two men calling themselves Lieutenants Alejandro and David told me to come with them. They held me in a building off the road between Matanzas and Bacunayagua bridge for several hours to prevent me from reaching Havana.”

Also on Sunday, the activist and artist Luis Manuel Otero Alcántara, who was also preparing to attend, posted on social media: “I am surrounded by political police trying to prevent me from going to the kiss-in outside ICRT, but I’ll see everyone there!” His partner, the activist Claudia Genlui Hidalgo, was struck by police officers as she tried to prevent them from detaining Luis Manuel.

The same day, the ICRT posted a statement on their website apologizing for the censorship:

“In response to this mistake, a review was conducted with the employees who edited the scene. The omission of the scene did not stem from any homophobic positions on the part of the ICRT or the leadership of Cuban Television, as some have implied on social media.”

TheICRT also decided to re-broadcast the film next Saturday, with the kiss scene included. Energy for the kiss-in dispersed after the apology, but some activists chose to persist, stating that the protest was about more than the particular scene.

As the protest grew closer, LGBTI activist and director of the independent outlet Tremenda Nota Maykel González Vivero received a threat from a social media user calling himself Elpidio Valdés. The message read, “let’s see if you can even make it out of your cheap house.”

González Vivero, another independent journalist, wrote on his Facebook page that the kiss-in had been cancelled due to the ICRT’s apology, but others stated that ICRT leadership should be pushed to disseminate the apology over the airwaves. Around twenty activists eventually assembled in Vedado, where State Security and police officers were already waiting. Local buildings had also been decoated with Cuban flags and posters with Revolutionary imagery.

Cuba’s LGBTI community remains outraged at the censorship, which is merely the latest incident of Cuban TV programming giving offense to LGBTI people and members of racial minorities. We call upon the Cuban state to respect its internatinoal commitments to cease discrimination against LGBTI people among public officials and to educate all Cubans about the human rights of LGBTI persons.

UN Independent Expert visits Brazil on promotional mission co-organized by Race and Equality

Race and Equality co-organized a promotional visit of the UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal, to Brazil on January 20-25, to speak with leaders, activists, and members of LGBTI civil society groups about his work, better understand their realities, and strengthen means of communication between them and the mandate.

During the visit, the Independent Expert participated in conversations with around 40 local LGBTI organizations, including over 100 different activists, between three different cities, and two public events.  The visit took place in the cities of Brasília, Salvador, and Rio de Janeiro.

Within the meetings with civil society organizations in Brasília, activists expressed their different concerns facing LGBTI populations, in particular, highlighting the difficulties faced due to the invisibilization of LGBTI people under the current government, and the lack of discourse on this topic in federal spaces.  Lesbian activists from the groups Coturno de Vênus and the Brazilian Lesbian Association also brought attention to specific issues such as family-organized violence and cases of “forced intercourse” that are commonly practiced throughout Brazil, as well as the increased violence against Afro-Brazilian women.    

On January 22, these conversations continued when Madrigal traveled to Salvador de Bahia where he participated in a public event organized by Race and Equality.  The event titled “Afro-LGBTI Resistance: Intersectional perspectives for the fight for human rights,” opened a space for different Afro-Brazilian LGBTI activists from Salvador to speak on the realities they face, not only the city, but in the Brazilian state of Bahia due to the intersectionality of race, sexual orientation, and gender identity.  It is also important to note that Bahia contains the highest population of self-declared Afro-Brazilians out of any of the Brazilian states.

In this event, he presented the characteristics and scope of his mandate, indicating: “My mandate is designed to work with intersectionality. No person suffers discrimination from a single place as a gay man or woman, there are a number of identities that we gather in our body and there are multiple ways to express them. ” Likewise, he stated that the social structures that give people roles according to their genital configurations deny the individual freedom and identity of a human being.

“The mandate is not interested in the word gender, we are interested in the recognition that within societies exist structures that grant roles to people according to genital settings, and those roles are creating the denial of individual freedom,” added Victor Madrigal

Likewise, Madrigal also held conversations with activists and members of Afro-LGBTI civil society organizations in Salvador, gaining a deeper understanding of the reality of Afro-LGBTI people in this region.  Throughout the country, the Afro-LGBTI population is overrepresented in many statistics on violence, murder, homelessness, and HIV infections. Activist Kukua Dada affirmed this, explaining that a blonde, white trans woman is more “passable” than any black trans woman, thus having a lower probability of suffering from violence.

In Bahia, faith communities from African religions, which historically have welcomed the LGBTI community, have also suffered from increased religious intolerance.  Meetings were held with religious leaders Washington Dias of the National Afro-LGBTI Network and Afro-trans activist Thiffany Odara, who reported difficulties in maintaining their places of religious practice, called “terreiros,” and pointed out discrimination from public officials who did not give support to communities led by LGBTI people as they did for other “terreiros.”

The visit was concluded in Rio de Janeiro, where, in light of Brazil’s Trans Visibility month, more focus was given to the local travesti and trans populations.  The events began on the 24th with a meeting at Casa Nem, a safehouse for trans and travesti people, living in the city.  The Independent Expert listened to the stories of how various trans men and women arrived at the house and how it has helped them since. 

Similarly, in Salvador, a meeting was held with Casa Aurora, a trans safe house that began its work within the last year.  In both of these spaces, the houses seek to provide shelter for the homeless trans population, providing different programs such as: socio-educational activities, psychological and psychiatric services, community engagement, and much more. Both houses are very actively engaged on social media and try to bring visibility to the importance of their work as much as possible.

Indianare Siqueira, leader of Casa Nem reiterated the importance of specialized shelters for the LGBTI population, which is subject to more violence and discrimination when trying to access or live in public shelters.  For this reason, the shelters try to not only provide housing, but also a space for social interaction, which aims to make residents feel more accepted, thus helping increase their self-esteem and regain their autonomy.

Later that evening, the second public event occurred with great reception by local activists and LGBTI community members. As made clear by its title, “Visibility in times of hate: Challenges for the inclusion of trans people in the multilateral human rights agenda,” the event aimed to discuss measures to remove barriers that currently exclude trans people in different spaces.

Panel participants reported that they found it difficult to access general and specific public services for transgender people, even when guaranteed by law, due to the prejudice of the responsible public agents. They also pointed out that there is bureaucratization and a considerable financial burden for the legal recognition of gender identity, which makes it difficult for many individuals to access this right. Additionally, leaders such as Alessandra Ramos from Instituto Transformar, also drew attention to the contradiction of their excessive visibility in public spaces, since the majority of the murder of trans people in the country takes place on the streets, and the way they are being made invisible by the absence of laws and public policies that address their demands.

During his speech, Madrigal mentioned the paradoxes that currently prevail around the world in relation to the questioning of LGBTI lives. “I am witnessing a paradox in all parts of the world in which advances in the protection of the rights of LGBTI people are accompanied by a deluge of positions that question the lives of LGBTI people,” he comments.

He also referred to the large number of policies that criminalize and make the existence of LGBTI lives in a large number of countries in the world invisible.  Madrigal indicated that the conclusions of his work repeatedly reach the same place, and that is that structural processes in society perpetuate the notion that certain genital configurations determine the role that a person has in society, which is why, this principle of primary order has been instrumentalized through a series of mechanisms that the expert described as demonization, criminalization and pathologization or in other words “sin, crime, and disease.”

The following day the floor was given to civil society groups to express their concerns on an array of topics surrounding public health, education and labor, racial discrimination and violence, among others. 

The current government has demoted the STI and HIV prevention department, suspended funds for HIV prevention campaigns that target the LGBTI population specifically, and has started a new awareness strategy based on encouraging sexual abstinence. The government has also stopped collecting disaggregated HIV data for certain populations, such as lesbian and bisexual women and trans men.

To conclude the public event in Rio, Madrigal left audience members with these important unifying words, “The state must make this recognition and this protection…This mandate that was created in the sense by the work of thousands of grassroots organizations in more than 170 countries … every day many people around the world are killed, beaten, tortured, mistreated, excluded from health, work, housing, for being who they are, and as a result of the people they love or desire. That is the work that we jointly carry out, the work that is also important for me to be able to connect with the international mechanisms that operate at the United Nations level.”

Race and Equality fully supports the work of the current mandate, and is finishing a report on the human rights situation of Afro-LGBTI people in Brazil that will be sent to the mandate in the coming months.  We remain committed to working with our Brazilian partners on these issues and helping them bring more visibility, not only to these populations nationally, but internationally as well.  A special thanks all of the organizations in Brazil who helped make this visit a success.

For more info about the visit please check out the following links below:

Apresentação do Mandato do Especialista Independente da ONU em Orientação Sexual e Identidade de Gênero
IE SOGI Mandate
Twitter IE SOGI
Instagram IE SOGI

Race and Equality celebrates the appointment of Trans people to public office in Colombia and condemns acts of discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation

On December 26, 2019, the mayor-elect of Manizales, a city in the Colombian department of Caldas, announced that the well-known trans activist Matilda Gonzalez would lead the city’s Office of Women’s and Gender Affairs. Gonzalez holds a law degree from the University of the Andes and a Master of Laws in international law from American University. She has worked for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)’s Rapporteurship on the Rights of LGBTI People, the LGBTI rights organization Colombia Diversa and the Office of Childhood and Adolescence in the Colombian Family Welfare Institute.  In addition, she has consulted for the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) and for the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO).

In another groundbreaking appointment, the mayor-elect of Bogotá recently named Deysi Johana Olarte Navarro as the city’s Deputy Director of LGBTI Affairs. As a political scientist at the National University of Colombia, Deisy studied gender-based violence, national and international policies on transgender issues. She is also recognized for her extensive career as a grassroots activist, working with trans people in Kennedy, Ciudad Bolívar and Santa Fe, which are all among Bogotá’s most marginalized areas.

In Colombia, transgender people not only suffer daily acts of direct violence and discrimination but also face prejudices that limit their access to work, education, and health. In turn, they suffer criminalization, segregation, marginalization, and poverty. The appointments of these trans women represent breakthroughs for equity, diversity, and inclusion. As directors of important public bodies, Ms. Gonzalez and Ms. Olarte will have the power to formulate and implement public policies that seek to guarantee the rights of women and LGBTI people. Race and Equality celebrates and encourages the appointment of people with diverse gender identities to executive positions. Such appointments are an opportunity to transform society’s image of what is possible, put the human right to political participation into practice, and advance the rights of the entire LGBTI population in Colombia.

However, there is still much to do. Conservative groups in Manizales responded to Ms. Gonzalez appointment with a campaign that filed more than 2,500 petitions to the Mayor’s Office asking for her dismissal.[1] The groups claim that Matilda is not suitable for the role because she was not ‘born biologically as a woman,’ a discriminatory argument ignoring the reality that there are many different possibilities for gender identity. Women’s life experiences, including their experiences of gender, are all different, making it impossible to judge their gender based only on the sex assigned to them at birth. Several bodies, including the Colombian Constitutional Court,[2] have recognized that a person’s internal and individual experience of gender differs from biological sex and that an environment which prevents someone from expressing their gender identity violates their dignity and their right to freedom of expression.

Race and Equality rejects any form of discrimination that seeks to limit the rights of transgender people and urges national, regional, and local leaders to appoint people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities to public office, especially to the offices responsible for promoting and guaranteeing the rights of the LGBTI population.

[1] Conservative groups request the resignation of the Women’s Secretary of Manizales: https://www.eltiempo.com/colombia/otras-ciudades/grupos-conservadores-piden-renuncia-de-matilda-gonzalez-en-manizales-452142

[2] See Colombian Constitutional Court decisions T-143 (2018), T-804 (2014), T-363 (2016), T-476 (2014) and T-562 (2013), among others.

Race and Equality coordinates academic visit of UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Victor Madrigal.

The UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Mr. Victor Madrigal, will make an academic visit to Brazil, which will be coordinated by the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights. (Race and Equality), January 20-25, to disclose the scope of the mandate to LGBTI civil society organizations.

As part of this visit, the Independent Expert will partake in two panel discussions on the problems and difficulties of this population in relation to the international standards of human rights. These two events will include a dialogue between LGBTI leaders and the Independent Expert, who will talk about the working tools and mechanisms available to them, as well as how these tools interact with the exercise and guarantees of the fundamental rights of civil society.

Race and Equality organized these events through collaboration with LGBTI civil society organizations. 

January 22, 2020
Dialogue: “Afro-LGBTI Resistance – Intersectional Perspectives for the Human Rights Struggle”
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January 22, 2020
Dialogue: Visibility in times of hate: Challenges for trans inclusion in the multilateral human rights agenda
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Police Violence in the Mare Favela: the daily life of a Brazilian trans leader

Photo: Favela da Maré Instagram

On the morning of November 19, Brazilian trans activist Gilmara Cunha, president of Grupo Connection G, an organization that works for the LGBTI community in the Complex of Maré (the largest favela complex in Rio de Janeiro), reported on Facebook that her house had been hit with shots at dawn.

The cause of the shooting was one of the police operations that occur in the sector under the pretext of fighting drug trafficking, which has become one of the problems that has most affected the lives of the favela population in Rio de Janeiro.

According to data from the Public Security Institute, from January to August 2019 alone, there were 1,144 deaths caused by police officers[1]. The number is 18.3% higher than data for the same period last year, when there were 967 murders. An analysis by the UOL news site that considered the data for the first half of 2019, showed that of the 881 deaths recorded in police operations to date, occurring in areas controlled by drug trafficking[2].

The current governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Wilson Witzel, was elected in 2018 with a speech backed by the fight against drug trafficking. In an interview last year, before taking office, Witzel had already stated that police officers who killed drug traffickers with rifles should not be held liable “under any circumstances” in a true murder policy[3].

According to the Maré Vive site, a communication channel that the community made in collaboration with the Complex of Maré residents from different parts, and who are observers of the police operations that occur in the area, the Special Operations Command Police launched an operation at 4:50 a.m. on November 19, in the Parque Unión, Rubens Vaz, Tide Park and New Holland neighborhoods, all favelas that make up the Maré Complex and the poorest in the sector.

At 5:36 in the morning, the Maré Vive page announced that shots were heard to warn people not to leave their homes for their safety.

 A few hours later Gilmara Cunha’s publication was made, which showed images of the bullet holes in her house. In the publication, Gilmara states that she is proud to be a travesti and a resident of black neighborhoods and slums, but warns that measures must be taken on the situation of violence experienced by people in the favelas, and that it is necessary to discuss racism as a way to build security policies.

This is not the first time Gilmara Cunha has been affected by police operations. In September of this year, we denounced the case that happened during the 1st LGBTI Culture and Citizenship Festival of Favelas, an event with artistic, political, and professional presentations, organized by Connection G, which interrupted its activities due to a police operation in the Favela of Maré. Two inhabitants were killed during the operation, which lasted approximately 20 hours. People who attended the event had to remain locked up until the shooting ceased. Two days later, during the LGBTI Parade of the Favela da Maré, Gilmara Cunha shouted from the top of the car:  

“This State kills us every day! Stop killing us! We are here claiming lives! We live these days practically in the midst of violence, where the police entered our homes, murdered residents, and we cannot allow that to happen! This city is not a separate city! Maré is part of this city! We cannot accept it as if it were normal! Enough! Enough! Stop killing our slum population! We are here to claim rights! Being here today is an act of resistance!

About the Connection G Group

Gilmara Cunha is a national reference in the LGBTI movement in Brazil. Not surprisingly, on December 8, 2015, she was awarded the Tiradentes Medal, the highest honor granted by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Rio de Janeiro (ALERJ in Portuguese) for the services she provided to the community.

The Connection G Group, chaired by Gilmara, is a civil society organization that has been working since 2006, with the mission of fighting for public policies on human rights, health, public education and security for LGBTI people living in the Favela of Maré. One of them is “Just like you, I also demand my rights!” The objective is, through citizenship and rights classes, to promote the human rights of black transgender women and transvestites in the favelas of Maré and Palmares, to help minimize violations of their rights and promote respect for their lives.

In August 2019, due to the academic visit by Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay to Brazil, promoted by Race and Equality, the Commissioner met the transsexual and transvestite women who participate in this project in the favela.

At a moving meeting, reports of transvestites who were threatened and shot by police officers and who were hit on purpose, exposed for their HIV status in health systems, and many other stories of human rights violations were heard.

It is remarkable that Connection G performs unique work that reaches people whose lives and demands are unseen: the LGBTI population of the poorest neighborhoods.

Race and Equality calls on the Brazilian State to protect the work of human rights defenders and change the logic with which it acts towards people of African descent in the slums. We will continue to monitor the human rights violations of the Afro-LGBTI community in Brazil and will continue to demand that the Brazilian State respect their lives.

[1] Data from the Public Security Institute. Available at: http://www.ispvisualizacao.rj.gov.br/index.html

[2] UOL. La policía mató a 881 personas en 6 meses en RJ. Ninguno en el área de la milicia. 20 de agosto de 2019. Available at: https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2019/08/20/policias-mataram-881-pessoas-em-6-meses-no-rj -no-in-militia.htm? cmpid = copiaecola

[3] UOL. “La policía apuntará a la cabecita y … disparará”, dice Wilson Witzel. 1 de noviembre de 2018. Disponible en: https://noticias.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/agencia-estado/2018/11/01/a-policia-vai-mirar-na-cabecinha-e-fogo -firms-wilson-witzel.htm? cmpid = copiaecola

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No more impunity! International Transgender Day of Remembrance

On Trans Remembrance Day, The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) stands in solidarity with the struggles of trans women against the various forms of violence they have been victims of, particularly the violence that has obstructed their lives. The fight against the murder of trans people must be the fundamental basis of any discussion on the implementation of policies or recognition of gender identity. This is the most basic task of all States.

Brazil remains the country with the highest number of trans people murdered in the world. The dossier on murders and violence against transvestites and transsexuals in Brazil of 2018, prepared by the National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals (ANTRA), noted that, in 2018 alone, 163 murders of transgender people occurred, 82% of them black. The largest number of trans people were killed in the state of Rio de Janeiro, with a total of 16 murders. According to current ANTRA data, as of November 11, at least 106 transgender people have been killed in Brazil this year(2019).

Murders of trans people also occur in all other Latin American and Caribbean countries.  The effort of some civil society organizations to better document this violence has resulted in various regional observatories that monitor violence throughout the region such as: Sin Violencia LGBT, la Red Lactrans, and the ILGALAC, among others. However, these valuable efforts do not replace the duty of States to adequately register and investigate these acts. The UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity and gender expression stated in his 2019 report on data collection and management:

“The breakdown of data that allows comparisons to be made between population groups is part of States’ obligations in the field of human rights, and has become an element of the human rights-based approach to data use.”

Accordingly, we highlight the relevance of not only adequately characterizing violence against the trans population, but also having a better characterization that accounts for their socio-economic situation, educational contexts, and racial characteristics, as it appears that in countries like Brazil, the magnitude of gender identity violence, especially violence against trans people, has had a particular impact on people of African descent.

This task, apart from being carried out through adequate investigation and prosecution work from a criminal perspective, must be accompanied by preventive actions in the different areas of rights protection.  Some actions to adopt include the construction of policies that respond to the origin of multicausal violence, the prevention of domestic violence due to gender identity, transphobic bullying in educational settings, adequate health care with a differential approach, as well as actions of transformation and openness in work spaces.

From Race and Equality, and in alliance with the civil society organizations with whom we work in the Latin American region, we will continue to demand that integral political States denaturalize violence against trans people, and the oversight of names and lives that also deserve to be lived with full respect for their dignity and full guarantee of their rights.

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