Cuban Institute for Radio and Televsion censors same-sex kiss

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.

Race and Equality – on the occasion of its fifth anniversary – holds reception acknowledging Mexico’s ratification of the Inter-American Conventions against Racism and against Discrimination

Washington, D.C., February 19, 2020. The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) recognized the United Mexican States for its ratification of the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance and the Inter-American Convention Against All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance, during a reception held this past February 13 at the Art Museum of the Americas (AMA). The event also marked Race and Equality’s fifth anniversary of working for human rights in the Americas and featured the presence of the diplomatic mission of Mexico to the Organization of American States (OAS).

The reception gathered together various ambassadors and representatives of OAS Member States with members of DC-based NGOs. It also featured the participation of Luz Elena Baños, the illustrious Ambassador of Mexico to the OAS, and Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño, the President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

In her remarks, Ambassador Baños signaled the importance to the current government of Mexico of working alongside historically vulnerable communities and making use of the tools necessary to guarantee respect, integrity and dignity for all people regardless of their race, gender or sexual orientation, among others. “In this context, through the OAS and, in particular, through the [established] rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Trans and Intersex (LGBTI) people, we reiterate our commitment to ensuring that all people may exercise their right to a life free from discrimination and violence.”

Ms. Mitzi Bowen and Mr. Carlos Quesada of Race and Equality signaled the importance of ratifying these two conventions to address the discrimination that the Afro-descendant and indigenous population face in Mexico. Similarly, they commended the leadership of the Mexican government in ratifying the Inter-American Convention Against All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance, as it allows for the Convention to enter into full force in the region, giving voice to many sectors of society that suffer from discrimination and intolerance because of their sex, sexual orientation, political opinions, migration status, birth or stigmatized health condition, etc.

Mexico is currently working towards eradicating any and all forms of discrimination. The ratification of both Conventions is another example of the many actions taken by the leadership in favor of ethnic groups and other vulnerable populations.

Mexico is the fifth country of the region to ratify the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance, and the second to ratify the Inter-American Convention Against All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance.

Race and Equality congratulates the United Mexican States once more and hopes to continue working alongside ethnic and LGBTI partners to contribute to the development of a more inclusive Mexico, free from discrimination.

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.

Five years working towards inclusion, equality, and diversity in Latin America”

Five years after the founding of the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality), it is valuable to take a step back and revisit our beginnings, the work we have done and how it has changed, the achievements we have made and the challenges that still face us.

In November 2014, an opportunity arose to create a new organization dedicated to fighting racial discrimination and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Two months later, in January 2015, Race and Equality was born. To this day, we are the only organization in the region addressing these two issues and bringing a lens of Afro-LGBTQ intersectionality before the Inter-American and universal human rights systems.

Five years ago, we began working in Washington, D.C. with eight counterpart organizations in Cuba, Colombia, Brazil and Peru. Today, our team includes twenty-five people in Washington, Bogota and Geneva, collaborating with over fifty partners in eight countries through organizational partnerships and contractual agreements. Today, we work not only on issues of discrimination, but have expanded to address violations of civil and political rights, especially in Cuba and Nicaragua, and to assist with the integration of racial and ethnic data into national census processes, as we have done in Panama, Peru and Mexico.

Race and Equality’s methodology emphasizes building the capacity of our partners so that they can utilize both the Inter-American and universal human rights systems. We have helped our partners become familiar with regional and international human rights protection mechanisms and learn to utilize them. In this model, we work behind the scenes to support our partners, who are the protagonists and the drivers of change.

In the Inter-American system, we have supported local organizations so that they can take part in thematic hearings of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), document and denounce human rights violations and raise awareness about the issues facing the Afro-LGBT population. We work closely with the IACHR’s Rapporteurship on Persons of African Descent. We have secured precautionary measures from the IACHR for partners in Cuba, Colombia and Nicaragua and provisional measures from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights for partners in Nicaragua.

In the universal system, we have facilitated the participation of activists from the entire region in United Nations mechanisms where they can advocate first-hand for their rights and the rights of their communities. Our partners have engaged with High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, the Universal Period Review (UPR) process and country reviews by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

We have responded to the severe human rights crisis that has gripped Nicaragua since April 2018 by providing technical support for the documentation of human rights violations, shining a spotlight on the situation of political prisoners and organizing meetings between local activists and international human rights actors. In Cuba, we continue to highlight the constant rights violations that our partners suffer solely because of their beliefs and to push for the Cuban government to honor its international obligations. In Colombia, we are working to monitor the implementation of the Ethnic Chapter of the Peace Accords and the situation of the Afro-LGBTQ community, in light of the persistence of violence and the crisis of killings of social leaders.

One of our proudest achievements during these last five years was the ratification of the Inter-American Convention against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance by Costa Rica and Uruguay. These two ratifications allowed the Convention to come into effect.

We continue to grow as an organization, although unfortunately we do so for all the wrong reasons: the situation for human rights across Latin America is concerning. Over the last five years, racial discrimination has worsened in across the region. Leaders are legitimizing racist, homophobic and transphobic discourse, putting under threat the rights that marginalized people won in the previous 10-15 years. Backsliding on civil and political rights is evident in recent events in Nicaragua, Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba, Brazil and Chile, to mention only a few. Despite these many challenges, we are confident that Race and Equality is well-positioned to offer technical assistance to our partners and continue making the human rights situation in the region visible on the international stage.

I want to thank everyone who has trusted us and trusted in our abilities: our partners and especially our donors, whose support allows us to confront human rights violations effectively and efficiently.

Carlos Quesada
Executive Director
International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights

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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91 political prisoners are released in Nicaragua, but harassment continues

Washington DC, January 9, 2020. On December 30th, the Nicaraguan government released 91 political prisoners who had been detained in prisons across the country for anywhere from two to eighteen months. Among the released were sixteen activists arrested for bringing water to a group of prisoners’ mothers who were staging a hunger strike to demand the release of their children.

The move was announced as pressure grows in Nicaragua and internationally for the liberation of political prisoners. The government allowed the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Office of the Nicaraguan Human Rights Ombudsman and the Apostolic Nuncio of Nicaragua, Waldemar Sommertag, to take part in the process.

Political prisoners were transferred to their homes and placed under house arrest, according to the Nicaraguan authorities. As a result, they still have judicial proceedings pending against them and restrictions on their movement.

The 16 activists known as the “water carriers” denounced on Wednesday that their judicial process was “completely irregular and marked by a series of restrictions which make it very clear that we continue to be treated as guilty, although we have not been judged.” Their trial is scheduled for January 30.

According to data from the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH, by its Spanish acronym), among the 91 released, there are 41 who have already been convicted, 39 who are still being prosecuted and 4 who were detained but never had charges brought against them.

Repression continues

Several former political prisoners have also reported that since their release, they have been threatened and harassed by groups linked to the government and police.

The young Belgian-Nicaraguan Amaya Coppens and her family have suffered several aggressions. On January 1st and 2nd, a group of men aboard motorcycles threw black oil on the walls of their house in Estelí and threw stones at their windows. Police have also lurked near the house constantly since her release.

“The attacks continue on a daily basis. It is difficult knowing that my family is still victimized, but we are trying to stay protected as best we can,” Coppens said on Wednesday.

CENIDH requested that the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) examine the possibility of irreparable damage to the family’s rights to life and physical integrity. CENIDH also called for the Commission to urge the State of Nicaragua to cease the “aggressions and harassment by officials and para-police groups” against the family.

Last December, the IACHR granted precautionary measures to Amaya and the other 15 young people detained for bringing water to the protesting mothers, finding that their life and physical integrity were at risk in the custody of the Judicial Directorate in Managua.

Other former prisoners, including Roberto Buchting, have reported constant harassment, including the continuous surveillance of their homes by para-police groups, threats over social media and even invasions of their homes with the intent to intimidate them.

Still in prison

After an extensive review of the lists of released persons, CENIDH confirmed that 65 political prisoners are still to be released.

“Our commitment to the liberation of all people and all of Nicaragua is firmer than ever. Despite the fact that a group of 91 people was released on December 30th, there are still more than 65 political prisoners, including Katherine Martínez and the trans activist Mayela Cruz,” said the group.

Race and Equality demands the immediate release of all political prisoners in Nicaragua, the closure of legal proceedings against them and the cancellation of their criminal records. We call on the authorities to cease repression, harassment and persecution against those who were arbitrarily imprisoned. It is essential that their return home is free from any threat or attack against them or their families.

Human Rights Day: We Remain Committed to the Defense of Human Rights in Latin America

Washington, D.C. December 10, 2019. The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights today joins the celebration of International Human Rights Day, which commemorates the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly. Seventy-one years after the approval of the document that marked a milestone in the recognition of the inherent rights of all human beings, establishing that they should be respected without distinction as to race, color, religion, sex, language, political opinions, origin, or any other condition, the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality)continues to advocate for the compliance with and defense of said Declaration.

On this day, we remember that the human rights situation in Latin America is critical, and therefore, urgent action by the States is needed to effectively monitor and guarantee the rights of its citizens, especially those populations that have historically been marginalized.


In Cuba, we are concerned about the situation of political prisoners and the harassment and repression against independent activists and journalists. The case of political prisoner José Daniel Ferrer García, General Coordinator and founder of the Unión Patriótica de Cuba – UNPACU (Patriotic Union of Cuba), is alarming, seeing as three months have passed since his arrest, he is yet to be granted a trial, and he is ill-treated in the cells of the prison in which he is detained. His situation is especially worrisome because he could have the same fate as several other independent activists who have been convicted of common crimes upon expressing their opinions. For example, the Dama de Blanco (Lady in White) Martha Sánchez is currently in prison under a sentence of four and a half years. Similarly, the situation of independent activists and journalists suffering from travel restrictions without any legal justification is alarming.  This violates every Cuban citizen’s right to freedom of circulation. Regarding this situation, we support the proposal for a peaceful and symbolic demonstration in favor of the right to free circulation that will be held this Tuesday at the José Martí International Airport terminal. We recall that any demonstration or peaceful expression of an individual constitutes an inalienable right under international law.


In Nicaragua, the serious political and human rights crisis that the country has been facing for almost 20 months does not seem to improve. Authorities refuse to respect dissenting voices and continue to violate the human rights of Nicaraguans, including the right to protest, to free mobilization, and to freedom of expression and of the press. To date, about 150 prisoners and political prisoners have been counted, who all go through corrupt trials that lack constitutional guarantees. Nor have international organizations such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) or the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) been allowed to return to the country, while local organizations face persecution and the permanent siege by police and government-related groups.

In Colombia, the violence that is experienced after the signing of the Peace Agreement prevents us from thinking about true progress over the inequalities, marginalization, and terror that still exist in the Colombian territories. Today, the systematic assassination of social leaders is one phenomenon that lacerates the integrity of human rights defenders. According to official figures, approximately 343 homicides of social leaders were reported between January 2016 and August 2018; however, civil society organizations report more than 400, of which around 40% were against Afro-descendant and indigenous leaders. To this is added the “statistical genocide” that represents the latest results of the population survey: official figures reported 2.9 million people who recognized themselves as Afro-descendants in the 2018 Census, at least one million less than reported in 2005. This month, after two weeks of national strikes and social mobilizations of the Colombian people that call for immediate and urgent responses to serious violations of fundamental rights from the State, the breach in the effective implementation of the Peace Agreement, and the commitments accepted in matters of truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition, representatives of civil society organizations continue to support the construction of peace through a peaceful route that makes it possible to come together in the midst of differences.

Part of the Race and Equality team along with human rights defenders from Latin America.


During 2019, the persistent violence and discrimination against the Afro-LGBTI population was a problem that was studied more closely by the International Human Rights Protection Systems. This year a hearing was held before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on the situation of the Afro-LGBTI population in the Americas, with the presence of representatives from Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, and Peru. Additionally, the UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI), Victor Madrigal, met in Colombia with Afro-LGBTI organizations in Cartagena, and Commissioner Margarette Macaulay visited Afro-LGBTI activists from the Favela de Maré in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.  

All these activities are framed in a year in which violence against Afro-LGBTI people has persisted. Brazil remains the country with the highest number of murders of trans people in the world. According to current data from the Associação Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais – ANTRA (National Association of Trans People) in Brazil at least 106 transgender people were killed in Brazil until November of 2019.  Many of these victims are Afro-descendant trans women. In other countries such as Colombia and the Dominican Republic, violence against the Afro-LGBTI population still persists, with the reoccurrence of many homicide cases. Other expressions of violence, as in the case of Nicaragua, are strongly associated with a repressive political and religious context that impacts the lives of LGBTI activists, even reaching measures such as exile, to avoid arbitrary detentions and torture.


In Mexico, Panama, and Peru, the incorporation of racial and ethnic self-identification questions in population and housing censuses remains a great challenge in the collection of real and permanent statistical data that reflects the characteristics of the Afro-descendant and indigenous populations of those States. Civil society organizations have repeatedly denounced the lack of statistical information on ethnic peoples, stating that it is due, among other things, to a lack of dialogue and participatory work, seeking to develop questions of racial self-identification in conjunction with ethnic communities. On the contrary, the censuses contain questions that lack context, which means that they are difficult to understand, and this results in erroneous, incomplete, or not addressed statistical data in them. For this reason, the creation of government plans, programs, or policies for the benefit of overcoming this population’s reality of inequality and social injustice are complex to implement and materialize.

After five years of the founding of the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights, we remain committed to the defense of human rights in the region, especially in the countries where we work: Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru. We continue to work to promote and protect the human rights of marginalized populations, especially those due to national or ethnic origin and sexual orientation or gender identity, in addition to those who think and show distinct opinions. This December 10, we reaffirm our desire to contribute to the construction of an equitable society for all based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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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Statement: Organizations demand that the personal integrity of hunger strikers and detainees in Nicaragua is guaranteed

Friday, November 15, 2019 – 13 activists and human rights defenders were arbitrarily detained on the night of November 14, when they were providing humanitarian assistance to a group of  political prisoners’ mothers, who are gathered in the San Miguel Arcángel Church in Masaya, Nicaragua.

The arrest was carried out by police and paramilitaries outside the church.  The mothers are gathered in the Church and are surrounded by police and paramilitaries, which are preventing anyone from entering or leaving and have besieged the Church, cutting off the electricity and water service.

The people arrested are Amaya Coppens, Ivania Alvárez, Wendy Juarez, Olga Valle, Olama Hurtado, José Medina, Hanzel Quintero, Atahualpa Quintero, Neyma Hernández Jesús Tefel, Roberto Büstching, Derlis Hernández and Melvin Peralta, who were transferred to the prison facilities of the Direction of Judicial Assistance “El Chipote” in the early hours of Friday.

The detention at El Chipote is of great concern due to it being notorious for alleged acts of torture, cruel and degrading treatment, as well as sexual violence against detainees, a risk that may be heightened due to the fact that some of them are known members of the opposition, human rights defenders and former political prisoners.

The situation of the women who remain on hunger strike is equally alarming, since they are deprived of drinking water. They have not eaten food for almost 24 hours and are without access to water or medications, putting their health at serious risk.

These events are occurring in a context marked by an increase in hate speech, attacks and harassment against freed political prisoners, human rights defenders and media critical of the government.

The undersigned national and international organizations:

1. Demand that the Nicaraguan Government  immediate release the 13 human rights defenders and activists arbitrarily detained;

2. Put an end to the siege and the harassment against the political prisoners’ mothers, and restore the electricity and water services to the San Miguel Church Archangel.

3. We hold the Nicaraguan Government responsible for any impact on the health and wellbeing of the persons deprived of liberty and the women who are undergoing the hunger strike.

4. We reiterate our call to the international community to remain alert and act in the face of the aggravation of the socio-political and human rights crisis that Nicaragua is experiencing since April 2018, and in view of the intensification of the persecution and repression faced by activists, organizations, human rights defenders and political prisoners.

Signatories:

Iniciativa Mesoamericana de Mujeres Defensoras de Derechos Humanos (IM- Defensoras) – Centro por la Justicia y el Derecho Internacional (CEJIL) – Plataforma Internacional Contra la Impunidad – Fondo de Acción Urgente para América Latina y el Caribe (FAU-AL) – Instituto Internacional sobre Raza, Igualdad y Derechos Humanos (Raza e Igualdad) – JASS (Asociadas por lo Justo) – Unión de Presas y Presos Políticos Nicaragüenses – Iniciativa Nicaragüense de Defensoras – Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos (CENIDH) – Comité de América Latina y el Caribe para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres (CLADEM) Nicaragua – Oxfam Nicaragua – Colectivo de Derechos Humanos Nicaragua Nunca más – Ipas Centroamérica – Centro por la Justicia y Derechos Humanos de la Costa Atlántica de Nicaragua (CEJUDHCAN) – Convergencia por los Derechos Humanos (CAFCA, CALDH, CIISH, ECAP, ICCPG, ODHAG, SEDEM, UDEFEGUA, UNAMG), Guatemala – Asociación Red de Jóvenes para la Incidencia Política INCIDEJOVEN – Defensores Sin Fronteras – Fundación Puntos de Encuentro Nicaragua – Asociación de Jueces por la Democracia Honduras – Centro Universitario por la Dignidad y la Justicia Francisco Suárez, S.J.- Asistencia Legal por los Derchos Humanos A.C. (ASILEGAL- MÉXICO) – APRODEH-Perú – La Sombrilla Centroamericana – Front Line Defenders – Centro para la Acción No violenta y Cultura de Paz en Centroamérica – ProDESC – Articulación de Movimientos Sociales y Sociedad Civil (AMS) – Asociación de Jóvenes Feministas Ameyalli – Red de Mujeres de Matagalpa – Feministas Madrid por Nicaragua – Feminista por Nicaragua Euskal Herria – Colectivo Feminista Ecuador – Agrupación Ciudadana por la Despenalizacion del aborto – Popol Na Nicaragua – Agrupación de Mujeres Trans y Culturales AMTC – Centro de Investigación y Acción de la Mujer CIAM – Centro de mujeres ACCIÓN YA – Colectivo de Mujeres de Matagalpa – Campaña 28 de Setiembre por la Despenalización del Aborto – Punto Focal Nicaragua – Red de Salud de las Mujeres Latinoamericanas y del Caribe. Enlace Nacional Nicaragua – Mujeres en Acción,Costa Rica – Colectiva Feminista para el Desarrollo Local – Agrupación Ciudadana por la despenalizacion del aborto – Red Salvadoreña De Defensoras De Derechos Humanos – Centro de Información y Servicios de Asesoría en Salud (CISAS) – Concertación Interamericana de Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres – Colectiva Lupa Feminista – Movimiento Autónomo de Mujeres – Articulación Feminista de Nicaragua – Fundación Acceder Costa Rica – Abuenica – Cooperacció – Handmaids Costa Rica – Ni una menos Costa Rica – Instituto de Liderazgo de las segovias – Coalición Cívica 19 de Abril Matagalpa – Asociación Agentes de Cambio Nicaragua – Nicaragua Protesta – Activismo Digital Nicaragüense (ADNIC) – Movimiento 19 de Abril Jinotega – Alianza Civica de Jinotega -Grupo Anonymous de Nicaragua – Comité Cívico Universitario UCA – REACNIC – Fundenic – Movimiento Estudiantil de Apoyo a la Democracia – Alianza Universitaria Nicaragüense AUN – Alianza Azul y Blanco Chichigalpa – Movimiento Nacional Ambientalista Frente a la Mineria Industrial -Movimiento Sociales de las Segovias – Accion Universitaria – CODENI – Asociación NicaLibre – Sos Nicaragua Madrid – NicaSeattle – Unidad por los Exiliados Nicaragüenses en Panama – SosNicaragua Barcelona – SOSNicaragua- Holanda – Collectif de Solidarité avec le Peuple du Nicaragua -Nicaragua Karavaan – SosBelgique-Nicaragua – SosNicaragua-Europa – SoyNicaragua en Zaragoza – Sos Nicaragua España – SosNicaragua Galicia A Coruña – SOSNicaragua-Sverige – SOS France Nicaragua – Texas Nicaraguan community – SOSNicaragua Finlandia – Guanared Costa Rica y más.

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