Race and Equality demands effective medical care for the Cuban activist Xiomara Cruz Miranda
Race and Equality demands effective medical care for the Cuban activist Xiomara Cruz Miranda
Photo: Radio Martí
The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human
Rights (Race & Equality) expresses grave concern regarding the health of Cuban
activist Xiomara Cruz Miranda, whose condition has worsened in recent days
while she awaits a firm diagnosis. Her situation is all the more concerning
given that she should be benefiting from the precautionary measures granted to
her by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
According to reporting from the independent media outlet Diario
de Cuba and the testimony of her family members, Xiomara Cruz’s status
remains delicate and uncertain. “She continues to be very debilitated, with
constant fevers and severe muscle pains. Her doctors are giving her daily
medications and running tests, but they still give vague answers to our
questions and do not give us any written documents,” according to one of
her family members.
At first, doctors believed that Xiomara suffered from
tuberculosis; she has received tuberculosis treatments throughout her time in
the hospital. However, tuberculosis tests conducted in early August showed
negative results. According to a statement in Diario de Cuba by
Xiomara’s daughter Clara Iznaga, the doctors could not explain this result and “they
do not understand why she continues to have these pains…The doctors change
their opinions and never give a clear answer. One day it is tuberculosis, the
next day it is lung cancer. Although they have run several tests, they have
never shown the results to the family, which is why we really do not trust the
doctors.”
Although some press sources have reported that Xiomara will
be sent home now that she is no longer believed to be contagious with
tuberculosis, Cuban activists report that she will actually be transferred to
another hospital to be tested for cancer. Doctors raised the possibility of
lung cancer early in Xiomara’s ordeal and subsequently ruled it out, but her
family members are now re-considering the possibility as they still cannot find
any explanations for her continued illness.
“What they’re doing is putting us through a labyrinth,” said
one family member regarding officials’ non-committal and negligent treatment of
Xiomara and her family, noting that doctors have not yet addressed a third
possible diagnosis of non-tuberculosis bacterial lung infection.
As Diario de Cuba reports, Cruz Miranda was sentenced
to one year and four months in prison for her supposed crime of “threats.” She
began her sentence in the El Guatao women’s prison and was later sent to Ciego
de Ávila, where she was hospitalized with skin lesions and other symptoms that
have only worsened over time.
In July of this year she was transferred to Havana for
treatment in La Covadonga hospital (where she remained under custody). At the
end of July, she was rushed to intensive care with low hemoglobin, fatty liver,
fluid in her lungs, shortness of breath and a high red blood cell count along
with the same skin condition.
Race & Equality insists that the Cuban state guarantee
Xiomara’s right to health by prioritizing and delivering the medical attention
that she needs. Although Xiomara was perfectly healthy upon being taken into
custody, her life is now in danger. She is suffering from daily fevers, has
lost weight and is very weak. Medical negligence and blatant violations of
Xiomara’s rights to life, health and dignified treatment are obvious given
these facts. We urge the international community to speak out regarding the
serious danger to the activist and rights defender’s life.
The struggles of being Transgender and Afro-descendant in Colombia
The Trans Support and Action
Group Foundation (GAAT, for its initials in Spanish), in partnership with
ICASO, carried out the event “Transcending Barriers: Rights and full
citizenship for people with experience of trans life” from the 16th
to the 19th of September 2019. This event was attended by trans
activists from eleven different regions of Colombia that met in Bogotá to
discuss how their human rights are being guaranteed, what are the barriers they
struggle with to access services, and how to create some strategies to overcome
these challenges.
The event was also attended by
five Afro-descendant activists with diverse sexual orientations and gender
identities -four trans women and a non-binary person- from the departments of
Tolima, Valle del Cauca, Atlántico, Chocó and the municipality of Montes de
María; who addressed their reflections from the experiences that frame their
reality as Afro-trans people living in Colombia.
Among the comments highlighted by the activists was the latent discrimination they live with in their territories, generated by barriers to access to different rights such as health, education, and work.
“… the Constitutional Court ruled that trans people who wanted legal recognition of their gender identity in their EPS could do it, and this issue is still a complication in the territory…” Afro-trans Chocó activist.
“… In hospitals as elsewhere, there is not yet a focus on differential care for trans men and trans women. So, that makes (going to) the doctor a complete torture, […] the treatments that one can already follow, but then they give you a lot of obstacles and paperwork, and in such a way that finally you get tired and don’t go to receive your hormones, or go to the doctor at all… ” Afro trans non-binary activist from Valle del Cauca.
The activists also denounced teachers
and classmates who use strong dynamics of discrimination in educational spaces;
in addition, they stated that there are policies that deny the gender identity
of diverse people, because authorities refuse to issue official documents with
the identifying names of those people.
Regarding the guarantees of
access to work, the leaders expressed that there are no labor inclusion
policies for trans people, therefore, they are not even interviewed for the
positions they aspire to have, or there are more requirements imposed on them –
such as the completion of multiple courses – to delay their applications.
“… Work for transgender people in my municipality is very scarce. It is something sad, because there we talk about labor inclusion [but] a trans girl […] just for having her male name on her ID, is called by her masculine name, not by her identifying name […] When [whoever is in charge of the job interview] enters, [says] ‘what a shame, the interview cannot be done because you appear under another name’.” Afro trans activist from Montes de María.
“Our race is also a cause of
violence and a factor that generates new dynamics of discrimination and
marginality,” said one of the Afro-trans activists, referring to the
differentiated violence that Afro-descendant women face in comparison to the
rest of the population classified as “mestizo white.” Accordingly, the leaders
referred to a social and state discourse that denies the existence of racism
and systems of structural discrimination by pointing out that racism has
diminished or does not exist. This creates an invisibility of their identities
in official statistics.
“… In the prosecutor’s office or in any other entity, they do not take the time to ask one how one identifies oneself […] I realized this through a process that I took to the prosecutor’s office […] I had the right to say that I am an Afro-descendant trans person. I went to the official, I approached and told him. [He replied:] ‘But you have to understand that everyone is recognized as white or mestizo. There is no Afro.’” Afro trans activist from Montes de María
Structural
racism is also illustrated by the stratification of the territories, where Afro
people inhabit the poorest areas, and those who have a better standard of
living do so through a lot of work or association with mestizo white people.
Because of this situation, there is a lack of the guarantee of rights in places
predominantly inhabited by Afro people. In turn, this barrier is accentuated
when Afro people also have diverse sexual orientations or gender identities
because their violence becomes more complex.
“We could say that you have to take sides, or defend yourself as an afro person, or defend yourself as a diverse person, but not both, impossible, that would be death”. Afro trans activist from the Caribbean.
Systematic forms of psychological violence and discrimination in the territories are other situations that, according to the stories told by the leaders, violate the integrity and rights of Afro-trans people. “Generally, the first thing that is affected is self-esteem, because to understand that they begin to look at you first, to judge you without even knowing you, sometimes simply because of your skin color, that is brutal. And the other thing is that […] you have your hair and you have your afro, and they come to want to touch your hair without asking, that is already violent because they are invading your space and they don’t even ask,” details non-binary Afro trans leader from Valle del Cauca.
Finally,
within their own family, or even in spaces shared with LGBTI people, their
ideas are not validated by their peers in the same way as the ideas of their
white mestizo companions and counterparts.
“If you are black, it is a proposal, but if you are white, the proposal is validated.” GAAT Executive Director.
Given
the various structural problems that undermine and deepen the circles of
poverty, racism, discrimination, and marginalization of Afro people with
diverse sexual identities and orientations, activists pointed out the
importance of creating spaces in the territories that reinforce the ideas of
family building, outside the “traditional-conventional” biological form that
reduces the construction of the family bond to the consanguinity traits of
family members. In addition, they proposed the creation of policies for access
to health, work and education for trans people.
At the same time, they pointed out that the State institutions require pedagogies and trainings regarding the Afro-trans issues with a territorial focus. “These activities must be directed by people who are empathic with the issue in order to create much deeper discussions and lessons,” stressed the activists. They also said that it is important that there is greater empowerment of new Afro-trans leaderships, and pointed out relevant ways that social organizations should strive to create greater spaces of inclusion for Afro people who understand first-hand the specific complexity of their daily lives in the territories.
The
Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) was invited by
GAAT to hold a short workshop during the afternoon of September 16th. This
invitation was motivated by the need found by the executive direction of the
organization to incorporate the relationship and intersection of gender
identity with ethnic-racial belonging into the agendas, activisms, and work
with communities. The workshop was composed of a brief reference to the
existence and activities carried out by the Afro-LGBTI Network of Latin America
and the Caribbean, as well as a series of findings from documentary reviews
made by the member organizations of the Network. Thus, we deepened the need for
the incorporation of intersectional approaches in trans activism, referring to
situations in which structural racism, together with the dynamics of prejudice
against LGBTI people, increase the vulnerability of people who find themselves
mostly in contexts of poverty and without protection from the State.
At
Race and Equality, we celebrate the completion of these types of conferences in
which our counterparts can establish working relationships, as well as expand
their relationships, with activisms that work tirelessly for the defense of
transgender rights. . We also highlight
the growing interest and commitment in the visibility and social and political
impact of the rights situation for Afro-LGBTI people. We believe that this type
of interaction is essential for new human rights activists and organizations present
in the different regions of Colombia to start creating intersectional analysis
efforts from their own agendas.
Brazil: 15 Killings of Transgender Persons Reported in September
Transgender people in Brazil continue to be killed at an extremely
concerning rate. According to the National Association of Travestis and
Transexual People (ANTRA), 15 trans people were killed in Brazil in September
alone, an average of one every 48 hours. From January 1 to September 30 of this
year, 89 transgender people have been killed across the country. In the
majority of these killings, evidence of extreme violence is present, as seen in
the following examples:
On
September 15, the body of 26-year-old travesti Bruna Torres was
discovered in the state of Sao Paulo.[1]
Bruna’s throat had been slit while her hands and feet were tied.
On
September 20, the body of Médely Razard, a 15-year-old transgender girl, was
found in a wooded area in the Sao Paulo metro area. Médely was found with a gag
in her mouth and signs of physical trauma. The police concluded that she was
sexually assaulted and killed by strangulation with a cord.
The body of
travesti Junia Bispo was found on September 29 in Uberlândia, Minas
Gerais, showing various signs of a violent attack including thirteen stab
wounds.
In August of this year, as ANTRA submitted the report Killings
and Violence Against Travestis and Transsexual People in Brazil: 2018 to
Inter-American Human Rights Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay, the
organization’s Secretary of Political Relations Bruna Benevides said:
“This dossier is stained with blood and based above all on a cry for help. What more can we do as institutions, companions, organizations and movements to prevent other travestis, trans women and men and non-binary people from being killed for who they are?”
More transgender people are killed in Brazil than in any
other country, with 163 such cases recorded in 2018. It is clear that trans people
in Brazil live in a context of great violence and that the Brazilian state is
not achieving, or even seeking to achieve, protection of trans people’s lives.
As Brazil experiences a serious political backlash against
the LGBTI population, it is essential to bring attention to the danger that
trans people face and their basic struggle to survive. As part of Race and
Equality’s continued commitment to equality and justice, we call upon the
Brazilian state to investigate these deaths and guarantee that all Brazilians
can freely express their sexual orientation and gender identity.
[1]Travesti
is a category of gender identity frequently used in Latin American
countries. It describes a person who is assigned a male gender at birth and
assumes a feminine gender role, sometimes through “feminizing” body
modifications such as hormone therapy, breast implants or silicone injections.
Stop killing us! Grupo Conexão G from Favela da Maré in Brazil
The first-ever LGBTI Culture and Citizenship Festival of the Favelas was held from September 6-8, in the midst of a police operation that lasted almost 20 hours and left two people dead, leading the community of Maré to cry out, “Deixem de nos matar!” [“Stop killing us!”].
Since 2006, Grupo Conexão G has been carrying out vital work in Complexo da Maré, a conglomerate of 19 favelas located in Rio de Janeiro among the city’s main access roads and close to the international airport. In 2010, when the last census was taken by the federal government, Maré had about 130,000 inhabitants.
Maré is one of the most dangerous favelas in Brazil. Completely controlled by drug traffickers, Maré is constantly in a state of warfare among rival gang factions and the police. This logic and mindset of war is perpetuated by a drug-fighting discourse that criminalizes the entire favela population. In a scenario in which this population is systematically denied rights such as health, education, work and leisure, among others, the main relationship between these people and the state is one of violence.
Conexão G was the first organization in Brazil that began working directly and exclusively with the LGBTI population of the favela. Since its birth, the organization has carried out projects aimed at public safety, employability, health, education and culture for the Black LGBTI population. Intersectionality is a key guiding principle of the organization’s work.
In a conversation with Race and Equality, Gilmara Cunha, a transgender woman who is the founder and director of Conexão G, said that when the organization came into existence in 2006, LGBTI people lived in a context of great violence and oppression at the hands of other favela inhabitants – a context that persists to this day:
“At that time, and even today, we were experiencing a lot of violence and oppression from other inhabitants. We could not participate in some spaces, because we were physically and verbally attacked. One of the most memorable moments was when a group of travestis [a Portuguese word describing a variety of feminine gender expressions] went to a place where they were playing samba music, and some people started throwing onions and sticks at us and we had to flee. From there, we thought: ‘something needs to be done to transform this reality and transform the politics of the LGBT movement,’ which was and still is a middle-class movement. At this moment we started coming up with an agenda that could actually attend to and include the favela population, because today’s policies are designed for the middle class and these policies do not reach us”, she said.
As an example, Gilmara cites the recent decision by the country’s Supreme Court to equate homophobia with the crime of racism:
“See, homophobia has been criminalized and equated with the crime of racism. But if we are in this area [the favela] and make a report, the police will not come here. If the police do come, that puts our lives at risk, because everyone knows each other and will know who made the report.”
In fact, in many cases, people that live in favelas are forbidden by traffickers to go to the police if their problems might lead to an investigation, in order to prevent the police from challenging traffickers’ control of their territory.
The 1st LGBT Culture and Citizenship Festival of the Favelas: Marked by Police Aggression
Since 2010, Conexão G has held the Favela da Maré LGBTI Parade every year. This year, besides the Parade, they also held the 1st LGBTI Culture and Citizenship Festival of the Favelas, an event with various components that combined art, culture, fashion, sustainability, politics and entrepreneurship. The activities were held from September 6 to 8, ending with the LGBTI Parade.
However, on the first day of the event, a police operation took place in Favela da Maré. The operation lasted about 20 hours and resulted in two people being killed.
Such police operations are one of the main issues facing Favela da Maré. The current government of Rio de Janeiro has adopted a policy within the favelas that can truly be described as “slaughter,” with police officers shooting indiscriminately from helicopters. As a result, from January to June of this year, 881 people were killed in police operations in Rio de Janeiro state – the highest number in the last 17 years.
The police operation affected the schedule of Conexão G’s event and endangered the attendees
“It is a war that is not against drugs, but against the poor, black and favela population. For example: yesterday there were 2 people murdered, several houses were broken into. This affected our schedule during this week, especially on the first day. There was shooting all the time. We got stuck at the Maré Arts Center and couldn’t leave. This makes me wonder: what kind of state is this that does not consider this space as part of the city? The feeling is not only of fear, but also a feeling that nothing can be done. But we are there in the resistance,” said Gilmara.
Mariah Rafaela, another trans women that works for Conexão G and with the Instituto Transformar, was also present, and said:
“It was terrible. When we realized that the police were entering the favela and we started to hear the sound of gunshots, we were certainly very worried about the physical safety of the people who had come to attend the event. There were many shots and we had to cancel the activities. We closed the gate and we were trapped inside, waiting for the shots to end or to have a short moment to get out of where we were. It is very difficult to carry out this work in Maré, but we will continue to persist.”
For this reason, the Favela LGBTI Parade, held on September 8, was marked by demands against police violence. Gilmara Cunha proclaimed:
“This state kills us every day! Stop killing us! We are here claiming for lives! We lived for these days practically in total violence, where police entered our homes, murdered inhabitants, and we cannot allow that to happen! Maré is part of this city! We can’t accept it as if it was normal! Enough! Stop! Stop killing our poor, favela population! We are here to claim rights! Being here today is an act of resistance!”
Gilmara Cunha also reported that, given the Brazilian political scenario, this will be the last year that the Favela da Maré Parade is held. “For now, it’s the last parade. God only knows what the scenario will be like next year”, she said.
Race and Equality recognizes that the lives of the LGBTI favela’s population requires special attention and visibility and congratulates Conexão G for their courageous action in the face of the great context of violence in Brazil’s favelas.
We will continue to work for the documentation, visibility and denunciation of the human rights situation of the black and marginalized LGBTI population in Brazil, and we demand that the Brazilian State guarantee the right of this population and also guarantee the necessary security for Conexão G’s work in Favela da Maré.
We condemn aggresion against transgender activist in Nicaragua and demand an exhaustive investigation
The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) and the Colombian organization Caribe Afirmativo (Affirmative Caribbean) condemn the attack against Ludwika Vega, a trans woman who serves as coordinator of the Asociación Nicaragüense de Transgeneras (ANIT – Transgender Association of Nicaragua), and demand that authorities carry out a thorough investigation of the incident.
According to information received by Race and Equality, two men riding a motorcycle arrived at ANIT’s office in Managua around 8:00pm on Tuesday, September 10th and found Ludwika alone there. The men struck her with a stone, knocking out teeth and drawing blood. They proceeded to attack her with a sharp object, causing her five injuries: one to her chest, three to her back and one to her side. The perpetrators also stole Ludwika’s laptop computer and handbag.
After the attack, Ludwika was taken to a hospital and is now in recovery from her injuries.
ANIT is an organization that works to promote and defend the rights of transgender women through educational programs on human rights and through advocacy work in various fora.
Ludwika has been a crucial ally to Caribe Afirmativo during the organization’s Enterezas II [“strength of character”] program, which investigates gender-based violence and hate crimes against lesbian and bisexual women. She has built networks with lesbian, bisexual and trans women throughout civil society in order to carry out trainings, workshops and community organizing to demand human rights in Nicaragua.
Race & Equality and Caribe Afirmativo insist upon a thorough investigation of this crime, including investigation into the possibility that the crime was motivated by Ludwika and ANIT’s work in favor of human rights for trans women.
Impunity for attacks against trans women leads to further violence; Nicaraguan authorities must inform the community of the investigation’s findings and sanction the perpetrators to prevent such a cycle.
Statement of civil society organizations regarding the coming report about the situation in Nicaragua from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
August 26th, 2019. As UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet prepares to present her report on Nicaragua on September 10th, in compliance with the March 21st Human Rights Council resolution “Promotion and protection of human rights in Nicaragua” (A/HRC/40/L.8), civil society organizations and human rights defenders wish to express our concerns regarding ongoing repression, harassment, and threats against those defending democracy, justice, and human rights in Nicaragua.
For the last 16 months, Nicaragua has suffered a human rights crisis provoked by brutal repression from state forces and pro-government armed groups seeking to quell massive country-wide protests.
According to data from the Interamerican Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) at least 328 people died, including 29 children and adolescents, and more than 2,000 were injured as a result of this violence. Thousands more were arrested arbitrarily, and hundreds were criminalized for exercising their right to protest. The majority of these political prisoners were released under the recent Amnesty Law, which was approved unilaterally by National Assembly members from the ruling FSLN party. However, the Amnesty Law perpetuates impunity by ruling out investigation into suspected crimes committed against protestors.
Furthermore, the government continues to repress the population by imprisoning citizens and violating the due processes to which they are entitled under Nicaraguan law. As a result, some 120 political prisoners remain incarcerated as of July 28th according to the the registry maintained by the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy.
The second attempt at dialogue between the Civic Alliance (made up of various opposition groups) and the government, which began in February this year, had achieved some formal agreements, but none of these agreements were honored or implemented by the government. After months of impasse caused by this non-compliance, the government made a unilateral decision to terminate negotiations on July 30th.
The facts on the ground make clear that there is no will among the Nicaraguan authorities to guarantee truth, justice, and reparation for the victims of repression and their families; nor are there guarantees that the government will return to good-faith dialogues that respect the previous agreements.
Given these facts, we recommend that the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights should:
Demand the immediate release of all prisoners arrested in relation to the protests beginning in April 2018 and of all those being charged for alleged common crimes in retaliation for their continued participation in civic demonstrations. Furthermore, to demand the full restoration of these released persons’ rights and liberties along with the closure of their cases, cancelation of their convictions, and reparation of their confiscated goods.
Urge the State of Nicaragua to cease the repression and persecution of young people, human rights defenders, student leaders, women, journalists, LGBTQ persons, and ex-prisoners who continue to be harassed and threatened with detention or prosecution. Furthermore, to demand respect for the rights of children and adolescents to safety and protection.
Demand that the State of Nicaragua disarm and dismantle pro-government armed groups that threaten and attack Nicaraguans.
Make use of all mechanisms within the Universal System of Human Rights to give special and urgent attention to the human rights of Nicaraguans currently seeking refuge in Costa Rica and other countries.
Demand that the State of Nicaragua respect the right to pursue human rights work, restore legal recognition to civil society organizations whose status was revoked (CENIDH, CISAS, CINCO, IEEPP, Hagamos Democracia, Popol Na, IPADE, ILLS, and Fundación del Río), and return these organizations’ confiscated property
Insist upon the return of confiscated property and the restoration of suspended licenses to news outlets 100% Noticias, Confidencial, and Esta Noche and insist that these outlets be allowed to carry out their work without any obstacles or retaliation.
Offer the OHCHR’s good offices for ensuring the return of human rights mechanisms (IACHR, OHCHR, GIEI) to Nicaragua. In this area, the work of the GIEI (Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts), including its proposal of creating a Special Prosecutor’s Office and an Integral Plan of Reparations for the victims, was very positive.
Request that Nicaragua revoke the Amnesty Law, which is contrary to the American Convention on Human Rights; make meaningful reforms to the national judicial system; and ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Demand that the State of Nicaragua immediately implement protection for indigenous and Afro-descendant people who are being harassed and killed in different regions of the country and underline that the State must urgently protect these communities from violent attacks and land invasions.
We also request that States’ permanent missions to the United Nations:
Call upon the Nicaraguan government to return to inclusive national dialogues that will end the ongoing repression and establish concrete terms for a democratic transition.
Insist that as part of these dialogues, the State of Nicaragua take up a sincere electoral reform process that will result in legislation guaranteeing free and fair elections scheduled for November 2021.
Firmly back the demands of the Nicaraguan people for truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition.
Urge the State of Nicaragua to accept the recommendations resulting from the Universal Periodic Review process and to implement those recommendations classified as urgent, including the disarmament of paramilitary forces.
Finally, we call upon the United Nations Human Rights Council to:
Renew the mandate of the resolution “Promotion and protection of human rights in Nicaragua,” so that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights can continue to monitor the human rights situation in the country.
Signed by:
NICARAGUAN ORGANIZATIONS
– Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos, CENIDH.
– Instituto para el Desarrollo y la Democracia, IPADE.
– Unión de Presos y Presas políticos de Nicaragua, UPPN.
– Centro por la Justicia y Derechos Humanos de la Costa Atlántica de Nicaragua, CEJUDHCAN.
– Fundación Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, FVBCH.
– Canal 100% Noticias
– Movimiento Autónomo de Mujeres, MAM.
– Articulación de Movimientos Sociales.
– Centro de Investigaciones de la Comunicación, CINCO.
– Centro de Información y Servicios de Asesoría en Salud, CISAS.
– Foro de Educación y Desarrollo Humano de la Iniciativa por Nicaragua.
– Iniciativa Nicaragüense de Defensoras, IN-Defensoras.
– Fundación Puntos de Encuentro.
– Red de Mujeres de Matagalpa.
– Red de Mujeres Contra la Violencia.
– Colectivo de Mujeres de Matagalpa.
– Feministas Madrid por Nicaragua.
– Asociación Colectivo de Mujeres 8 de Marzo.
– Movimiento de Jóvenes Feministas Las Malcriadas.
– Articulación Feminista de Nicaragua.
– Movimiento Feminista de Nicaragua.
– Programa Feminista La Corriente.
– Mujeral en Acción.
– Grupo Lésbico Feminista Artemisa.
– Fundación Coordinadora de ONG’s que trabajan por los derechos de la Niñez, CODENI.
– SOS Nicaragua UK.
– Morada Feminista Nicaragua UK.
– SOS Nicaragua- Sverige.
– Resistencia Civil Nicaraguense.
– Proyecto Lechuza.
– Popol Na.
– Movimiento por Nicaragua.
– Anides.
– Campaña 28 de septiembre por la Despenalización del Aborto – Punto focal Nicaragua.
LATIN AMERICAN ORGANIZATIONS
– Comité de América Latina y el Caribe para la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos de las Mujeres.
– Iniciativa Mesoamericana de Mujeres Defensoras de Derechos Humanos, IM-Defensoras.
– Fundación Para el Debido Proceso, DPLF.
– Unidad de Protección a Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos -Guatemala, UDEFEGUA.
– Fondo de Acción Urgente – América Latina y el Caribe.
– Red Latinoamericana y del Caribe por la Democracia, REDLAD.
INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
– Institute about Race, Equality and Human Rights, Race&Equality.
– International Service for Human Rights, ISHR.
– International Network of Human Rights, RIDH.
– Just Associates, JASS.
– CIVICUS.
– Asociation France-Nicaragua.
– Freedom House.
SANKOFA: “Back to the past to resignify the present”: The reality of Black transgender and travesti women in Brazil
The SANKOFA Forum, which brought Afro-Brazilian, trans and travesti (a term used to describe a variety of feminine gender expressions) women together with the female public defenders of Brazil, was held from August 15-16 in Rio de Janeiro. The Forum was a space for exchange and dialogue about struggles and successes in the fight for racial and gender justice. “Sankofa”, an African word for a symbolic two-headed bird, was chosen as the name of the forum to capture its mission of looking “back to the past to resignify the present.”
The Forum was organized by the Transformar Institute, ANTRA, CEJIL, Criola, Núcleo de Direitos Humanos da Pontificia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, Forum Justiça, Fórum Estadual de Mulheres Negras, Defensoria Pública and the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights. Race and Equality also invited Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay, Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons of African Descent and against Racial Discrimination of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), to the event.
“The SANKOFA Forum is a space of (de)construction that was organized with the Office of the Public Defenders and with the support of Race and Equality, which made it possible to include various agencies and institutions, especially the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the person of Commissioner Margarete May Macaulay. Your presence allows us not to feel helpless and to feel that we can collectively build a narrative that can cross territorial barriers and borders and bring to light the importance of international insertion and the struggle of people who have always been in resistance, ”said Bruna Benavides of the National Association of Transvestites and Transsexuals (ANTRA, in Portuguese).
The forum drew on the voices and stories of activists, academics, human rights defenders, Quilombola communities and travesties, sex workers and trans people from two favelas in Brazil, who forcefully exposed the current situation of their human rights in light of the wave of violence that the country and especially these historically marginalized groups are facing.
“Giving access to justice must mean giving dignity to lives”
During the meeting days, the attendees discussed the existing possibilities for the full guarantee and exercise of their rights, highlighting that a constant state of racism, discrimination and extreme violence persists in Brazil. They also discussed that socially accepted “whitening” policies minimize the lives of black people and naturalize a state of white privilege in the country, making it impossible for the Afro-Brazilian and LGBTI community to participate in spaces of power. “Whites and cisgender people need to give space for Blacks and trans people to occupy the spaces of power,” said one activist.
“A state of exception has always existed in Brazil, because it has always been legitimate to kill black bodies and trans bodies,” Fatima Lima, a teacher of ethnic-racial studies.
During the Forum, Bruna Benavides from ANTRA officially submitted to Commissioner Macaulay the latest report on violence against the trans and travesti population in Brazil. This report shows a shocking number of murders, invisible in the national media, which continues to rank Brazil as the country with the most murders of trans people annually.
Regarding that report, Mariah Rafaela, a member of the Instituto Transformar e Conexão said: “There is a system that allows the death of trans and black people. The notion of justice must arise from the experience of people who have no minimum dignity to live. Giving access to justice must mean giving dignity to lives.”
On the other hand, Alessandra Ramos of the Transformar Institute raised the need to advance a resignification of what it means to be an Afro and “transgender” woman based on the experiences and representations of the people who inhabit these bodies. Furthermore, she expressed the need to overcome the characterizations of Afro and trans women that are assigned by white people, precisely because these women have historically been affected by the differentiated impacts of race and identity. She also warned that 38% of trans and travesti women in Brazil are estimated to live with HIV and that the group with the highest percentage of HIV-positive members is the trans community.
“Please, work with us!”: Margarette Macaulay, IACHR
During the Forum, Race and Equality facilitated private meetings between activists and Commissioner Macaulay. Carlos Quesada, the executive director of Race and Equality, and the organization’s Consultant for Brazilian LGBTI issues Isaac Porto also participated in these private meetings and heard first-hand about the violence that human rights activists are facing in the country’s most marginalized places.
Throughout the testimonies of the attendees, topics such as the mutilation of intersex children, the HIV situation among young people in Brazil, the increase in the murders of lesbian women and the difficulties of LGBTI people in accessing health, education, decent work and participation spaces were constantly referenced.
“I am not only black: I am a travesti, I am poor, I live in a favela. My activism began since I was born, because ever since then I have fought to survive,” said an Afro-Brazilian activist.
Commissioner Macaulay referred to the historical debt that the Brazilian State has to the Afro-descendant people victimized by slavery, a victimization that persists in today’s social structure due to the socio-racial hierarchies that prevent Afro-Brazilians from accessing and enjoying their rights. She also recalled the responsibility and obligations of the State as guarantor of people’s rights, regardless of their condition.
Addressing the civil society activists, Commissioner Macaulay pointed out the importance of submitting detailed accounts of cases of violence to the IACHR in order to illustrate the situation of human rights violations experienced by the Afro and LGBTI communities. She emphasized the importance of working together to overcome the serious rights crisis that Brazil is facing.
During the meeting spaces, Carlos Quesada reiterated his organization’s commitment to denouncing and documenting human rights violations, as well as the importance of technical strengthening of organizations to participate in international human rights spaces.
The SANKOFA forum is a space created to provoke dialogue between the Brazilian Public Defender’s Office and the black, trans and travesti women leaders of social movements and organizations. Its goals are to strengthen state institutions committed to the agenda of the country’s social movements, to expand the opportunities for training and articulation of leaders at the national level and finally, to serve as a resource to provide information to activists about international mechanisms for the protection of rights.
Statement: Race and Equality is committed to the accompaniment of social organizations in Brazil and their work documenting, denouncing and publicizing human rights violations within the Inter-American and Universal Systems, especially violations of the rights of Afro-Brazilian people and people with diverse sexual expressions and gender identities. Race and Equality recognizes that these people are victims of discrimination, marginalization and violence because of social structures that prevent the full enjoyment of their rights.
In the midst of the crisis in Nicaragua, human rights of indigenous and Afro-descendants continue to be violated
Washington, D.C. August 14th, 2019. Repression and extrajudicial killings that occurred in several cities in Nicaragua since April 2018, especially in the urban areas of the Pacific and central zone of Nicaragua, were behaviors already known by the indigenous and Afro-descendant communities of the Caribbean Coast of Nicaragua. “We have already lived through these forms of repression in our communities since 2015” although under different motivations, affirms the president of the Center for Justice and Human Rights of Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast (CEJUDHCAN, for its initials in Spanish), Lottie Cunningham.
In the midst of the socio-political and human rights crisis that Nicaragua is going through, the rights of indigenous and Afro-descendant people continue to be predominantly violated in two ways: for the violation of their self-determination and autonomy, and for the lack of a title-clearing process for communal properties, denounced the lawyer and activist from CEJUDHCAN, who is deeply concerned about the situation of impunity and the lack of institutional guarantees for these populations.
Self determination
In the North and South Atlantic of Nicaragua, each community is autonomous and has its own form of organization. Indigenous people are organized based on their customs and traditions, so there are communal and territorial authorities that must be chosen according to a legally regulated procedure. But the interference of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN, for its initials in Spanish) has generated frequent conflicts in these communities.
“This has come to create many problems, it has come to confront communities, because the party interference has created parallel governments, it creates some figures that are not part of the traditional authority,” Cunningham explains.
According to the activist, the Sandinista Leadership Committees (CLS, for its initials in Spanish), also existing in the Pacific and urban areas of the country, are in fact monitoring mechanisms, and do not fulfill their role as traditional authorities. The Government is responsible for delivering, after each election, a certificate of appointment as an authority, but those who are chosen according to the tradition are denied that certificate. It is the people who abide the party mandates those who get the certificate.
“They are creating a fractionation of the indigenous family, of the indigenous community. And in those conflicts, there have even been injured people, a bloodshed,” Cunningham laments. One of the most recent cases occurred in the Kamla community, municipality of Bilwi, North Caribbean of Nicaragua, when on June 26 this year a group of Sandinista sympathizers attacked the communal leader and municipal councilor Marcela Foster, causing the loss of her left eye and a fracture in one of her arms.
“We are now concerned about the omission of public officials, the Police, the Public Prosecutor’s Office that do not act, and as impunity has continued, this may worsen,” Cunningham warned. “In the indigenous communities the siege and criminalization has increased and we are very afraid…”, she added.
Lack ofa title-clearing process
The Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua is a multi-ethnic, pluricultural and multilingual region where nearly 508,000 people with origins from the Mískitu, Sumu/Mayangnas, Rama and Afro-descendant (Creoles and Garífunas) communities live. As a result of a ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2005, the State of Nicaragua approved Law 445, which established a process of demarcation and titling of these communities’ lands.
Under this law, between 2007 and 2016, 23 territories benefiting 304 indigenous and Afro-descendant communities were demarcated, but the title-clearing process has not been carried out, which is the State guarantee to the indigenous people of “the effective use and enjoyment of their titled territories when faced with their occupation by third parties or settlers.”
Due to state ineffectiveness, the lack of a title-clearing process has begun to have negative effects for the security of indigenous people and for their use of natural resources. “The settlers are armed, they have come to the nearest perimeters of the community, usurping, occupying land,” says Cunningham, who recounts: “When we go to communal assemblies, it’s sad, women cry because they tell you how they can’t go to collect their food, they can’t go fishing, they can’t go collect their traditional medicine, because they don’t live from a grocery store or a pharmacy, they live from the forest.”
There have also been reports of settlers who kidnap indigenous people to warn them not to exceed the limits they have arbitrarily defined, or to force women to raise the bean crop. “There are missing indigenous people, we have indigenous people who have died, atrociously killed, who have get their heads and hands cut off, their eyes taken out…”, thus describing the extreme violence that has characterized some recent events.
Cunningham said that the police do not go to the communal areas, and rather it is the leaders who demand the title-clearing process of the communities that have been arrested and criminalized. “Instead of advancing in the title-clearing process, right now we are seeing (how activists are facing) common crime trials, we know that (crimes) are not true, there is no evidence, because we know that people and we know that those are also selective actions”, Cunningham points out.
According to Cunningham, the authorities allow these land seizures to “stay in power, because the indigenous people hardly vote to the national parties.” In addition, they have also granted concessions to gold and timber companies without territorial governments having endorsed them, as mandated by the International Labour Organisation Convention No. 169 on indigenous and tribal peoples.
“Due to the social crisis of 2018, a massive invasion of settlers has entered to our communities. And the State of Nicaragua knows it,” laments Cunningham.
Statement
Race and Equality calls on the State of Nicaragua to protect the rights of indigenous and Afro-descendant people, particularly to guarantee respect for collective property, their autonomy to choose their authorities as well as security conditions that protect their lives and personal integrity from violence that afflicts them today.
We urge the State of Nicaragua to accept the recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review regarding these peoples in the next session of adoption of the Report of the Working Group of the Human Rights Council and its prompt implementation.
Nicaraguan refugees living in Mexico and Central America held a summit in Costa Rica
San José, Costa Rica. From July 29th to the 31st, a group of LGBTI Nicaraguan refugees living in Mexico and Central America held a summit in San José, Costa Rica to promote discussion about the human rights of LGBTI refugees. In particular, the summit addressed violations and vulnerabilities resulting from workplace and housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
In the course of the summit, which was organized by the Mesa LGBTI de Nicaragua with the support of Race and Equality, participants reiterated that the circumstances which caused them to leave Nicaragua, the precarity of their situation in their host country, and experiences of discrimination have all combined to harm their emotional and mental health. This reality has not yet been identified and addressed in the international response to Nicaragua’s crisis, despite the fact that depression has emerged as a common factor among refugees, as in the case of a young gay refugee who died of suicide in Costa Rica in July.
The majority of LGBTI refugees have been forced to leave Nicaragua due to threats over social media, political persecution, arbitrary detention, and in many cases grave violations of their human rights to liberty and to personal, bodily, and mental integrity. The summit highlighted both the importance of ensuring accountability for these violations in Nicaragua and the urgent need to support the integration of refugees in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico.
Rights impacts
Attendees shared their experiences of fleeing Nicaragua, often with only days or hours to prepare and sometimes with as little as $40 on hand. Many suffer the emotional impacts of not being able to say goodbye to their friends and family. Refugees are also exposed to security risks on the journey itself: while traveling on irregular and informal routes, some refugees, particularly LGBTI women, reported threats to and violations of their sexual and bodily integrity.
Attendees also discussed their diverse experiences in the receiving countries. While the Costa Rican government has recognized its duty under international norms to integrate the sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) of refugees into its response, other countries such as Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala have treated SOGI as irrelevant, causing friction between public officials and refugees.
All attendees, however, made clear that SOGI factors have had important impacts on their experiences, particularly in their daily efforts to claim and exercise human rights such as the right to housing. Verbal threats and harassment, spying and surveillance from neighbors, and denial of housing opportunities are daily occurrences for LGBTI refugees, particularly trans women and persons with non-binary gender expressions. This situation is compounded when locals refuse to rent to Nicaraguans for reasons of xenophobia.
Refugees have suffered similar violations of the right to work. In addition to the natural difficulty of finding work outside one’s own country, many trans women report that employers have forced them to change their gender expression in order to obtain employment. Many younger refugees have not yet finished their schooling, adding an additional difficulty to their search for employment. Together, these factors of precarity have led to “survival sex work” among some Nicaraguan refugees, who report that this work exposes them to sexual health risks.
Despite this adverse context, all attendees shared experiences of mutual support that they identify as crucial for their survival, including offers to share living space, initiatives to create common funds for refugees’ expenses, and support for each other’s gender identities and sexual orientation. These experiences demonstrate the need to maintain a network of LGBTI refugees and to articulate a strategy that demands rights for refugees in the receiving countries, recognizes the existence of a diaspora at the regional level, and seeks to allow refugees to return safely to Nicaragua with their human rights assured.
Future steps
To pursue this strategy, Race and Equality will combine our efforts with the Mesa LGBTIQ de Nicaragua and its chapter in Costa Rica to seek an audience with the Interamerican Commission of Human Rights regarding LGBTI refugees in the region. We also hope to continue working with our counterparts in Nicaragua and with Nicaraguans across the region to monitor their situation and pursue human rights documentation that will support our joint advocacy for their human rights.
UN renews crucial mandate for protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
“This is another historic victory, not only for communities of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, but for humanity as a whole.”
(Geneva, July 12, 2019) – In a defining vote, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution to renew the mandate of the Independent Expert focusing on the protection against violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
The resolution was adopted by a vote of 27 in favor, with 12 voting against and 7 abstentions.
The campaign calling on the Council to renew the mandate of the UN Independent Expert on SOGI was supported by 1,312 non-governmental organizations from 174 States and territories.
“This is another historic victory, not only for communities of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, but for humanity as a whole”, said Paula Sebastiao of Arquivo de Identidade Angolano in Angola and Simran Shaikh, Asia coordinator of the Trans Respect v. Transphobia project, on behalf of 60 human rights groups worldwide. “Following the call from a record number of organizations from every region imaginable, the UN Human Rights Council has reaffirmed its commitment to combat discrimination and violence on grounds of SOGI, and has reminded all states of their obligations towards these communities.”
Created in 2016, the UN Independent Expert on SOGI has been supported by an ever-growing number of States from all regions of the world. The resolution to create and renew the mandate was presented by a Core Group of seven Latin American countries – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Uruguay.
“The renewal of this mandate demonstrates how United Nations States’ support for tackling violence and discrimination against people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities has grown tremendously,” said UN Trans Advocacy Week campaigners. “The Independent Expert is crucial in bringing international attention to specific violations and challenges faced by trans and gender-diverse persons in all regions.”
Although the renewal process had to overcome 10 hostile amendments, the core of the resolution in affirming the universal nature of international human rights law stands firm.
“The existence of a specific UN human rights mechanism looking at SOGI issues is crucial for our communities to be heard at the global level,” added Ryan Silverio of ASEAN SOGIE Caucus from the Philippines. “If the world is truly committed to leaving no one behind, it can’t shy away from addressing the violence and discrimination that we face. Laws criminalizing our identities and actions are unjust, and should no longer be tolerated”.
The UN Independent Expert on SOGI is tasked with assessing implementation of existing international human rights law, by talking to States, and working collaboratively with other UN and regional mechanisms to address violence and discrimination. Through the work of this mandate since 2016, the impact of criminalization of same-sex relations and lack of legal gender recognition, the importance of data-collection specific to SOGI communities, and examples of good practices to prevent discrimination have been highlighted globally, with visits to Argentina, Georgia, Mozambique and Ukraine.
The International Institute on Race, Equality, and Human Rights celebrates the renewal of this mandate as essential in the protection of human rights for Afro individuals with diverse SOGI. In consequence, it is rewarding to count with an Independent Expert who is bound to face the multiple and intersectional forms of violence and discrimination by SOGI, such as those motivated by racial prejudices.
We hope that all governments cooperate fully with the UN Independent Expert on SOGI in this important work to bring about a world free from violence and discrimination for all people regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.
“We are very thankful to the seven States in the Core Group who tabled the resolution to renew the mandate” said Andrea Ayala from El Salvador. “Their support comes at a crucial moment in our region, where any sign of progress on inclusion and equality is being countered with violence, persecution and hate speech, a dangerous rhetoric about ‘gender ideology’ and sometimes blatant opposition to the rights of our communities”.
42 Degrees
ABGLT – ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE LESBICAS, GAYS, BISSEXUAIS, TRAVESTIS, TRANSEXUAIS E INTERSEXOS
Accountability International
Amnesty International
ARC International
ASEAN SOGIE Caucus
Asia Pacific Transgender Network (APTN)
Asistencia Legal por los Derechos Humanos A.C. (ASILEGAL)
Asociación OTD Chile
Caribe Afirmativo
çavaria
CHOICE for Youth and Sexuality
COC Nederland
Colectivo Alejandria
Comunidad Homosexual Argentina (CHA)
Conurbanes por la Diversidad- Argentina
Egale Canada
Equality Australia
ERA – LGBTI Equal Rights Association for Western Balkans and Turkey
Fundación Afrodescendiente por las Diversiades Sociales y Sexuales – SOMOS IDENTIDAD
Fundacion Arcoiris por el respeto a la diversidad sexual
Fundación Reflejos de Venezuela
GATE
Gender DynamiX
GIN-SSOGIE
Haus of Khameleon
Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of the Republic of Macedonia
Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum
Human Rights Law Centre
ILGA Asia
ILGA World
ILGALAC – Asociación Internacional de Lesbianas, Gays, Bisexuales, Trans e Intersex para América Latina y El Caribe
International Family Equality Day
International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
International Service for Human Rights
Iranti
Korean Lawyers for Public Interest and Human Rights (KLPH)
Las Reinas Chulas Cabaret y Derechos Humanos AC
LGBTI Support Center
LSVD Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany
Namibia Diverse Women’s Association (NDWA)
ODRI Intersectional rights
OutRight Action International
Pacific Human Rights Initiative
People’s Matrix
People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy
Planet Ally
Red Latinoamericana GayLatino
REDTRANS Nicaragua
RFSL, the Swedish Federation for LGBTQ Rights
RFSU
RWS – India’s Diverse Chamber
Stichting NNID
Synergía – Initiatives for Human Rights
The International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights
the Transgender Liberation Front(abbr. TLF)
Trans Pasefika
TransAction (Aotearoa / New Zealand)
Valientes de Corazón Ecuador
Young Queer Alliance
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