We condemn aggresion against transgender activist in Nicaragua and demand an exhaustive investigation

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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Demand that the State of Nicaragua disarm and dismantle pro-government armed groups that threaten and attack Nicaraguans.
  4. 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.
  5. 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
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Firmly back the demands of the Nicaraguan people for truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-repetition.
  4. 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:

  1. 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.

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“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.

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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 of a 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.

Fotos de Flickr. 

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”.

ONU RENOVA MANDATO CRUCIAL DE PROTEÇÃO CONTRA VIOLÊNCIA E DISCRIMINAÇÃO BASEADA NA ORIENTAÇÃO SEXUAL E IDENTIDADE DE GÊNERO

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Organisations signing the statement:

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

Journalist Lucía Pineda Ubau: “They stole six months of our lives in prison”

After spending six months in prison as a political prisoner, journalist Lucía Pineda Ubau stood in front of a cellphone camera and began broadcasting live to the 100% News Channel audience from the OAS General Assembly in Medellin, Colombia. In a couple of minutes, more than three thousand people were watching on Facebook Live and celebrating the event. “Doing it now in freedom is a feeling of happiness,” says Lucia.

The last time she had reported live was on December 21, 2018, when she denounced that several weapons-wielding police patrols broke into the offices of the TV outlet 100% News Channel and illegally detained the channel’s director, Miguel Mora. She did not have time to report that they had also captured her. Almost six months later, on June 11 of this year, through a controversial Amnesty Law, the Nicaraguan authorities released Lucia and 50 media members and political prisoners who were unjustly imprisoned, often exposed to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

Since then, the 45-year-old Nicaraguan-Costa Rican journalist has dedicated herself to “continue knocking the doors” of the international community and to “raise the voice so that they do not leave us alone in Nicaragua”. A couple of days after her release, she traveled to Costa Rica to reconnect with her family and meet with President Carlos Alvarado Quesada, Vice President Epsy Campbell and several officials, as well as with the media. Last week, in Medellín, she also aroused the interest of various Colombian and international media outlets that interviewed her extensively.

In this interview, given to the Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights, Lucía Pineda comments on her experience in prison, the current situation of journalism in Nicaragua and her plans to put the TV outlet 100% News Channel to work again, from which she reported “for the whole little ball of the world.”

What motivated you to broadcast live after 6 months in jail and how did you feel at that moment?

I felt happy because it’s what I like, I love my career. I had already spent 6 months not doing live broadcasts. The last one was precisely reporting the occupation (of the 100% News Channel facilities) and imprisonment of our director, Miguel Mora. Doing it now in freedom is a feeling of happiness. I did not even have accreditation to enter (the OAS facilities), but I managed to write to the creditor and told him that I just got out of jail, and asked if they could credit me, and they did. Since I was there, in that scenario, where there were also representatives of different countries and the Blue and White delegation that came from Nicaragua, I decided to do the live broadcast on the Facebook fanpage of 100% News Channel. The main reactions I have seen are that people want me to start (reporting) again, but we are doing it slowly. The whole staff is not available yet, there are some who are in exile, we must wait for the government to return what they have confiscated.

As a journalist you are used to interviewing, but lately you have been the focus of the news. How have you assumed that role?

It’s a little bit complicated. It is true that (as a journalist) one is used to interviewing the actors of the news, but one never thinks to become an actor of the news, the protagonist of that news. Now I understand the interviewees. They ask some tricky questions sometimes and I have to know well what I am going to answer. Today they asked me what hatred was for me. I said that it is all that the dictatorship did to the people of Nicaragua, all the persecution of the press in Nicaragua, to judge innocent people. That is hatred, what the dictatorship did to the independent press for reporting the truth. It is kind of uncomfortable to be on the other side, but you have to know how to handle it.

A little over two weeks ago you were released. Why did you decide to travel to Medellín to advocate?

They invited me and I decided to go because I think that at the international level we have to keep on knocking on doors and raising our voices so they do not leave us alone in Nicaragua. So that they’re always looking out for us to conquer and recover something that we had already conquered, such as freedoms, democracy, and to continue to denounce that our media are still confiscated, including Confidencial and Esta Semana, by Carlos Fernando Chamorro. That there are still no guarantees of security for journalists to report in Nicaragua. To demand that there must be pressure on the Government to reconsider. Only the release (of political prisoners) has been achieved, and not of all of them, because there are still 86 in prison, and the different commitments that they signed in the dialogue with the Civic Alliance have not been fulfilled. People still cannot come out to protest or to demonstrate. Citizens don’t feel free and that has to be guaranteed, I think, under the surveillance of the international community.

You talked about the situation of journalists. In general, then, have freedoms of expression and the press in Nicaragua not yet been re-established?

No, there are still no freedoms. There is no guarantee that your constitutional right of expression, of information, of manifestation will be respected. There is always the threat that they will take you prisoner or that they can kill you. Nicaragua is not normal, it is not normal to be persecuted for reporting, it is not normal that two important media outlets are still held by the Sandinista police. It would be normal that we would be reporting, that we would not have been jailed, that we would not have our instruments of work be occupied, that they would not censor us.

There are many colleagues who have been making different efforts both within Nicaragua and in exile. The exile has been hard for them. I met with exiled journalists in Costa Rica and they are having a very bad time. There are some of them who have been working on construction, others that are working as security guards, others have been selling lottery or in stores, and in the midst of all of that they’re always active in their (informative) platforms making their own efforts. But it’s also needed to strengthen them in some type of financing so that those spaces are kept alive. If you help independent journalists at this time, they are defeating censorship. It is time to support the independent press.

You’ve been a journalist for twenty-five years. What has your experience been questioning the powerful?

The strongest experience I’ve had has been right now. I never thought that Daniel Ortega would take me or Miguel Mora, or any journalist, prisoner, only for reporting. Precisely because he was imprisoned in a dictatorship fighting for liberties. Rather, I thought that one day Arnoldo Alemán (President of Nicaragua in period 1997-2002) would take me prisoner, because there was a lot of questioning of Dr. Alemán, and he was very temperamental, he fought a lot with us journalists, he used to exploit anger and mistreat us. But he did not order to take us prisoners, he did not censure us, he did not go beyond the anger or to call me “la chilindrina” (as a nickname).

Daniel Ortega exceeded all levels, we went back in time. It is unfortunate that we have regressed to live those chapters that were lived in the time of Somocismo. Daniel Ortega does not like criticism, he does not like to be told the truth, that people express themselves with the truth in different independent media.

Was that what bothered Daniel Ortega so much?

That’s why they closed our media and imprisoned us. We always informed with the truth, with the same videos that the population filmed, because this has been the most documented repression. Precisely the people, the victims, filmed it. There is nowhere to get lost, the victims shared us their stories. The truth was told by the people, the truth was documented. The world already knows what happened in Nicaragua, that there was no attempted coup, that there was a social explosion and that the Government reacted brutally with a lot of repression that left more than 325 people dead and more than 2 thousand injured.

You spent six months in prison, how do you see that time in retrospect?

They stole six months of our lives there. I did not deny to God why I was there, but I asked him what my purpose was. God sets goals for you and in these events he gave us the mission of informing. And so we did, (God wanted us) to be brave, to be firm and committed to the people of Nicaragua. And so we acted, with obedience to that mission to inform. I began to reflect, to think there in prison and said: well yes it was worth it. It is worth saying the truth, it is worth doing journalism committed to the needs of the people of Nicaragua, a journalism that goes in favor of guaranteeing the Nicaraguan people needs, democracy, life, above all. When you report you save lives, and that’s what the independent press in Nicaragua did.

One feels satisfaction that you inform until the last moment. When I was taken to the preventive cell, I told Miguel: at least we closed with a flourish, I had time to launch the “last minute”. They wanted to silence us, but rather they raised our profile.

You said there was psychological rather than physical abuse …

The psychological thing is from the fact that they kept me isolated, without socializing. Human beings are social beings, and they locked me up for six months, they only opened the door three times a day to give me food and they took me out once a week to take one hour of sun, as if I were an animal. That’s psychological damage, it’s psychological torture. I tried to mitigate the impact of that torture, but I have known stories of other women who were alone for just 12 days and the idea of ​​wanting to kill themselves came to mind. That never crossed my mind. My routine was of prayer, of praise, of biblical reading. I also exercised, 1500 jogs per day inside the cell, for the blood circulation. That’s what kept me standing: my faith, I never lost it. In my prayers I prayed for them and even forgave them, because I wanted to take care of my heart, I did not want to leave resentful or with hatred. But you do not forget everything they have done to you.

Do you have specific plans for the future?

We are seeing how to restructure, how to re-establish the newsroom, whether to do it in Nicaragua or in Costa Rica or to make a combination. The Facebook Live was a test, to warm up engines, but to retake the Channel during 24 hours, we’ll be working on it after we give ourselves a little time for us.

Afro-LGBTI Network for Latin America and the Caribbean held a private meeting with the IACHR Rapporteurship on the rights of LGBTI persons during the 49th OAS General Assembly

Colombia, July 2 2019.  During the week in which the 49th OAS General Assembly was held in Medellin, Colombia, members of the Afro-LGBTI Network for Latin America and the Caribbean from Brazil, Colombia, Peru and the Dominican Republic met together on June 27th. This meeting included a series of workshops about political advocacy in countries and reinforcing knowledge about the Human Rights Protection System in the Americas. Manuel Canahui and Ernesto Zelayandia, who are currently fellows at the Rapporteurship on the Rights of LGBTI Persons at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), were present for a training on the Inter-American System of Human Rights, as well as its significance for Afro-LGBTI activism in each of the member countries of the Network. During the meeting, the fellows instructed the activists, who are also members of the Institute’s counterpart organizations, about the importance of the Inter-American System, including its organs, namely, the IACHR and the Interamerican Court of Human Rights.

The fellows talked about the work of the IACHR LGBTI Rapporteurship, including the year of its creation and its most important investigations: the 2015 Report on Violence Against LGBTI Persons and the latest Report on the Recognition of the Rights of LGBTI Persons in the Americas. The latter report was launched and discussed in Colombia during the same evening, with the participation of three Afro-LGBTI activists as panelists. After this initial presentation, the activists analyzed the different resources the IACHR has for the promotion and protection of human rights and how they can use them strategically. Public hearings, country visits, working meetings, and precautionary measures, among others, were mentioned.

With all this information given to our counterparts, they also had the opportunity to learn about how they can coordinate the work of different Rapporteurships addressing intersectional issues. This has already happened between the Rapporteurships on Women and Children. Therefore, the possibility of joining the Rapporteurship on Afro-Descendants and the LGBTI Rapporteurship in order to work on issues relevant for the activists was mentioned. Finally, the importance of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights as a source of relevant jurisprudence about the protection of rights of LGBTI individuals was discussed. In this way, the Inter-American legal standards about equality and non-discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity were briefly explained to our counterparts, so that they include those standards if they are doing strategic litigation on those topics.

Race & Equality celebrates these types of gatherings in which our counterparts can establish close relations between members of international bodies such as the IACHR. In order to make state-level advances in the guarantee of equal access of Human Rights, it is essential to have these spaces of feedback and training. This makes activists better-informed about available resources that they can access internationally for legal advocacy on Afro-LGBTI issues. Also, it helps international bodies and their officials learn about what other needs are being raised thanks to the work of local human rights organizations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, making this joint work essential for an improvement on generating intersectional analysis and proposals.

Leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean at the 49th General Assembly of the OAS: “We are facing a grave situation of human rights violations””

Over the course of the 49th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), held in Medellín, Colombia from June 25-28, the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality) held various events, particularly with participation by human rights, Afro-descendent, and LGBTI leaders from Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Paraguay, Brazil, Nicaragua, Mexico, Bolivia, and the Dominican Republic.

These meeting and discussion spaces sought to reflect upon and study the social and political conditions facing human rights in Latin America. These conditions currently have a particular effect upon historically marginalized and invisible populations such as Afro-descendants and LGBTI persons, as do violations of fundamental rights through persecution and harassment by different governments in the region against rights defenders.

We reiterate our condemnation of the absence of Cuban activists who were denied exit from the country by migration authorities, this being a strategy of coercion and repression by the Cuban state to prevent civil society leaders from publicizing the human rights situation on the island.

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The Inter-American Form Against Discrimination was held on June 25. Afro-descendant and LGBTI activists from Latin America took part alongside the re-elected Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay, Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons of African Descent and Against Racial Discrimination and Rapporteur on the Rights of Women at the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights.

During their dialogue, activists described the social and political situation with regards to human rights in the region. The president of the Network of Afro-Latina, Afro-Caribbean, and Diaspora Women emphasized the need for women across the region to raise their voices to be heard, speak out, and participate as subjects of human rights. Likewise, the Brazilian activist Rodei Jericó de Géledes expressed the great challenges faced by the Afro-Brazilian population with regards to guarantees and recognition of their rights, especially Afro-Brazilians with diverse expressions of gender and sex, who suffer the highest percentage of homicides worldwide, with Afro-LGBTI people being the most frequent victims.

In a similar vein, the Colombian LGBTI rights activist and director of Caribe Afirmativo Wilson Castañeda indicated that although the Colombian peace process is unique in the world today by virtue of its reaffirmation of the rights of LGBTI conflict victims, Colombian LGBTI persons continue to be crushed by violence and hate crimes, fueled by hateful public discourses and state indifference to the victims. Castañeda told the audience that “peace is costing us our lives.” This dark side of the Colombian peace process includes the announcement by INDEPAZ that 837 social leaders have been killed, with 17 new alleged cases coming recently.

Commissioner Macaulay shared with the audience the importance of the Inter-American Convention Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Related Intolerance, making clear that the Commission has found that Afro-descendants in the Americas suffer from structural discrimination affecting all social rights to which they are entitled.

The representative of the National Conference of Afro-Colombian organizations, Hader Viveros, stated that Afro-descendants continue to be seen as objects rather than subjects, and thus continue to be victims of discrimination and non-recognition of their true needs. María Martínez de Moschta presented evidence to this point, signaling that over 117,000 people remain stateless in the Dominican Republic thanks to state decisions motivated by senseless racism.

Finally, Christian King, director of the organization Trans Siempre Amigas (TRANSA) in the Domincan Republic, and Cecilia Ramírez, director of the Black Peruvian Women’s Development Center (CEDEMUNEP), shared with the participants the importance of being present in international legal bodies such as the OAS General Assembly, highlighting the possibility of using these spaces to bring civil society demands to the fore and to make Latin American social movements’ social and political agendas visible in the struggle for human rights.

Read here the statement of the Afro-Descendant coalition at the OAS General Assembly.

49ª OAS General Assembly

The statement of the Afro-Descendant coalition was represented by Erlendy Cuero Bravo afro colombian activist of the National Association of Afro-Colombians Displaced (Asociación Nacional de Afrocolombianos Desplazados – AFRODES).

Discussion: “The Implementation of the Peace Accords: Social Innovation and Development in Afro-Colombian Territories”

Afro-Colombian leaders held the discussion “The Implementation of the Peace Accords: Social Innovation and Development in Afro-Colombian Territories” on June 25 during the General Assembly. Costa Rican Vice-president Epsy Campbell, Angela Salazar of the Colombian Truth Commission, and Margarette May Macaulay of the Interamerican Commission on Human Rights also participated.

Leading the discussion, Vice-president Campbell called upon leaders to continue struggling, building, and working for peace despite being faced with Colombia’s “labor pains” as the social and political conflict drags on. Commissioner Salazar stated that the role of the Afro-descendant population in the implementation process is challenged mostly by the lack of recognition for Black history and experiences in Colombia.

The conversation, which centered upon the systematic killing of social leaders, brought up the deaths of over 400 activists according to the national Ombudsman’s office. Recalling the recent case of María del Pilar Hurtado, all those present condemned this trend.

Audes Jiménez, Afro-Colombian leader and representative of the Network of Afro-Latina, Afro-Caribbean, and Diaspora Women, said, “While President Iván Duque is occupied with the immigration of Venezuelans into Colombia and his migration policies, a genocide against social leaders is underway in Colombia, and this must be in he attention of the General Assembly.” She added that in the Caribbean coastal region, killings, attacks, and persecution continue, especially against ethnic groups defending their land and territorial rights.

Francia Márquez, another Afro-Colombian leader, stated that Afro-Colombian people feel abandoned and ignored by the state, allowing Black, indigenous, and campesino communities in the country to be wiped out by violence as they work tirelessly to care for the Earth. “Peace requires us to think of alternative development“. In the name of ‘development,’ we are being killed, threatened, and treated as a military threat,” she said. 

It was also clear that structural racism causes women to continue being killed and victimized: “we are furious because we are speaking about peace into an empty discourse, peace has still not arrived to our territories, and we have been the ones suffering deaths,” she added.

Nixón Ortíz, LGBTI activist and director of the Arco Irís Afro-Colombian Foundation of Tumaco, remarked that the lack of commitment from the Colombian state to implement the Peace Accords has led to foci of violence in Afro-descendent territories, which remain unprotected and unattended. “We want to say that we have been resisting with our bodies, songs, and dances. Our weapons are our traditions. But the lack of governance in the territories puts whole populations at risk,” he added.

Finally, Father Emigdio Custa Pino, Secretary General of the Nacional Conference of Afro-Colombian Organizations (CNOA), invited the audience to continue struggling, building, and resisting despite the deaths of leaders, to assume the responsibility of those no longer present, both for those present and those who are to come.

Discussion: “Where is Nicaragua Heading? Challenges to Human Rights in the Context of Crisis”

A Nicaraguan delegation traveled to Medellín to participate in the General Assembly and interact with the diplomatic missions in attendance. These civil society members, human rights defenders, and ex-political prisoners participated in the event “Where is Nicaragua Heading? Challenges to Human Rights in the Context of Crisis,” organized by Race and Equality alongside CEJIL.

The opening remarks went to the Vice-president of Costa Rica, Epsy Campbell, while the panel consisted of Marlin Sierra, executive director of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), Azahalea Solís, member of the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy, Lucía Pineda, head of 100% Noticias news and former political prisoner, Roberto Desogus, Nicaraguan lead for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Sofía Macher, member of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts on Nicaragua.

During the event, which went on for over two hours, the first three panelists described their experiences defending human rights and working in journalism in the case of Lucía Puneda, while the panelists representing international bodies described the ongoing work of monitoring from outside the country, as well as their commitment to returning once the authorities choose to authorize their missions.

The following day, Lucía Pineda participated in a breakfast with Colombian and international journalists from digital, print, and television outlets. Throughout her stay in Medellín, after having spent almost six months in prison for reporting through 100% Noticias, she was interviewed by various outlets interested in telling her story and making visible the demands of the Nicaraguan people.

The photo exhibition “Put Yourself in My Shoes” launches at the OAS

During the 49th General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS), human rights activists from several Latin American countries participated in the premier of a photography exhibition titled “Put Yourself in My Shoes.” The exhibit is the result of a collaboration between Race & Equality and Edgar Armando Plata, M.A. of Universidad del Norte (Colombia).

The exhibit illustrates the work of activists and rights defenders, exploring their fundamental role in defending and advancing human rights. It is on display at the Colombo Americano Institute of Medellín and will be open until August 2019.

Launch of the CIDH Report “Recognition of the Rights of LGBTI Persons” : Afro-LGBTI Perspectives from an Intersectional Lens

At the 49th General Assembly of the OAS, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) presented its recent report “Recognition of the Rights of LGBTI Persons,” a look at the state of rights for people with diverse sexual and gender expressions. Activists from Brazil, Nicaragua, Peru, and Colombia spoke of the grave situation of vulnerability and violation of fundamental rights that LGBTI persons continue to face throughout the region. The Afro-Peruvian trans woman activist Belén Zapata stated that hate crimes and violence against LGBTI people in Peru are not criminalized, with no laws penalizing these acts despite several documented cases. “We must not continue dying and having our killers out in the streets committing other crimes,” she said regarding the killings of trans people.

The Afro-Brazilian trans leader Alessandra Ramos state that LGBTI people in Brazil are faced with a grave situation of vulnerability and rights violations, particularly because the government of Jair Bolsonaro does not recognize people with diverse sexual orientations or gender experessions. She said that Brazil is the leading country in killings of trans people, with 163 trans victims of hate-crime killings last year. Faced with this situation, she expressed “We exist in order to resist, and we resist in order to continue existing.”

Finally, the Afro-LGBTI Network of Latin American and the Caribbean made a public statement with regards to human rights impacts, violations, and structural discrimination affecting Afro-LGBTI people in the region based upon their sexuality, race, and ethnicity.

Read here statement of the Afro LGBTI Network of Latin America and the Caribbean

Joint Communiqué: 2019 CERD election set a milestone for gender parity

Geneva, Switzerland. 28 June 2019

On June 21st, States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) voted to renew half of the membership of the Committee (CERD). They elected 6 new experts and re-elected 3 members who were already seating in the Committee, among 14 candidates from all regions.

New members include Ms. Stamatia Stavrinaki (Greece), Mr. Eduardo Ernesto Vega Luna (Peru), Mr. Ibrahima Guisse (Senegal), Ms. Faith Dikeledi Pansy Tlakula (South Africa), Ms. Sheikha Abdulla Ali Al-Misnad (Qatar) and Mr. Mehrdad Payandeh (Germany).

They will join 3 experts whose terms as members of the CERD were coming to an end and who have been re-elected for another four-year period: Ms. Verene Shepherd (Jamaica), Ms. Yanduan Li (China), and Ms. Yemhelha mint Mohamed (Mauritania), as well as the 9 other members of the Committee, whose mandate will expire in 2022.

Minority Rights Group International (MRG), the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race & Equality) and the International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), congratulate newly elected CERD members and those re-elected. This year’s election set an important milestone for gender parity within the Committee. With the election/re-election of 6 women, half of the Committee’s seats will be held by women from next year. It was the first time in the history of the CERD that the election led to equal representation of men and women in the Committee. We encourage States parties to continue taking into account of a good gender balance in the CERD’s membership.

On the other hand, there remains a margin of improvement regarding the equitable geographic distribution in the CERD membership. Notably, only one member of the Committee will be from Eastern Europe from 2020. We invite States parties to give a greater consideration to equitable geographic distribution in the CERD membership.

In an effort to promote a merit-based and transparent CERD election process, our three organisations circulated a questionnaire to all candidates on their background, relevant experience and vision of their work as a member of the Committee. Responses received were then posted on a dedicated website: www.untbelections.org, and shared with States parties one month ahead of the election in order to help them learn the qualifications of respective candidates and inform their decision.

Background:
The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is composed of 18 independent experts. Members are elected for a term of 4 years by States parties from among their nationals, consideration being given to equitable geographical distribution and to representation of the different forms of civilization as well as of the principal legal systems, in accordance with article 8 of the ICERD. Elections are held every 2 years at a meeting of States parties held at the UN headquarters in New York. The newly elected members will begin their term in January 2020 and their mandates will expire in January 2024.

For further information, please contact:
Taisuke Komatsu (IMADR) at tkomatsu@imadr.org,
Glenn Payot (MRG) at Glenn.Payot@mrgmail.org,
Tania Agosti (Race & Equality) at agosti@oldrace.wp

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