ILGA- LAC Regional Conference Reportback

ILGA- LAC Regional Conference Reportback

By Sherlina Nageer

SASOD Representative

Feb 5th, 2010

I attended the 5th Latin American and Caribbean Regional Conference of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association (ILGA) in Curitba, Brazil, from Jan 26th- 30th, 2010, as a representative of SASOD. There were approximately 416 individuals present, representing 46 countries- primarily from South and Central America, as well as the Caribbean. The Caribbean countries represented were Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Grenada, The Bahamas, St Vincent and the Grenadines, The Dominican Republic, Curacao, and Suriname.

I attended a Pre-Conference session on “Legal Processes, Public Policies, and the Fight Against Fundamentalism in Latin America and the Caribbean”. We discussed the impact of evangelical and fundamental churches on the legal and political climate in the region, and the challenges that LGBTQI activists and advocates face in trying to achieve a more secular state and equal rights. One interesting take-home point was that many LGBTQI organizations in Latin America were working in coalition with pro-choice and reproductive rights groups, since those groups were also targets of the religious fundamentalists. (I think this is something we should try to do more of here in Guyana).

There was also a link made between poverty and religious fundamentalism- the point being that when people lack economic security, and feel afraid, threatened, and in precarious, uncertain situations- that’s often when they are most vulnerable to adopting fundamentalist ideology. As such, there was a realization that work needed to be done on multiple levels, addressing the multiplicity of oppression that people face, with broad social change (that explicitly safeguards LBGTQI rights) as the goal.

One significant difference between the Latin American and Caribbean countries that came to the fore however, was that fact that Latin America has more diversity in religious though than the Caribbean. In the Caribbean, the choice often is between two or more fundamental groups, not between a fundamental and a liberal one. As such, achieving a secular state within the Caribbean is unlikely in the near future. However, there were still lessons to be learnt about how the fundamentalists operate and influence the public and political spheres. Gaining a better understanding of how these groups function will help us to craft more effective strategies for dealing with them. I also made the point that in Guyana we have Hindu and Islamic fundamentalism to contend with as well as Christian.

The Opening Ceremony of the Conference was held on Jan 27th; it was amazingly gratifying to see the number of elected officials and party representatives in attendance. Mario Kleinmoedig from Curacao and I were both concerned about the situation in Haiti- specifically the fact that the organization of Serovie had lost a significant number of members, and their capacity to serve the LGBTQI community of Haiti was severely negatively impacted. We spoke to the Coordinator of the Local Conference Organizing Committee (Toni Reis) prior to the ceremony, as well as with our colleague Lino Castro from the Dominican Republic, and during the opening ceremony, Lino and Mario made a public statement and about this situation and we observed a moment of silence in recognition of the lives lost.

There was also an explicit acknowledgement of the fact that buggery laws were still on the books in 11 Caribbean countries, and representatives from those countries who were present at the conference (me from Guyana, Nigel from Grenada, Ashley from Trinidad and Tobago, Osei from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Maurice from Jamaica) were asked to come to the stage for a round of applause and expression of solidarity from the Latin American countries in the fight to repeal those laws. It was a very emotional moment; I appreciated the expression of sympathy and solidarity, but also felt ashamed to be from a country with such backward and oppressive laws in the first place.

Early in the conference, the leadership of ILGA-LAC expressed a desire and willingness to work with the Caribbean countries (mostly Anglophone) that have existing buggery laws to strategize how to overturn these laws. They convened a special meeting with us, along with representatives of the Brazilian Secretariat for Human Rights (SEDH/PR- Michelle Meira), InterPride (Bill Ulrich), IDAHO (International Day Against Homophobia- Joel Bedos), ARC International (John Fisher), and ONUSIDA (Dr. Ruben Mayorga), to ask how they could support us. The SEDH representative pledged the support of her department, and to take any other requests we might make in the future to the Brazilian government. ARC, IDAHO, and InterPride also expressed their commitment to working with us in whatever way we desire. We were asked to draft a statement detailing the situation in our countries and with specific request for action and support from ILGA-LAC for inclusion in the official conference letter. (I’m not 100% sure, but I think this will be disseminated to organizations and governments within the region).

We met and discussed among ourselves. There was some disagreement about the appropriate approach- some (ok, just me) advocated for a call for explicit actions such as boycotts from Brazil and other neighboring countries with whom our countries have trade and other agreements. However, cooler, more politic heads (the lawyers) prevailed. Here is a copy of the statement we finally drafted and reached consensus on:

In the Anglophone Caribbean, legal penalties for homosexual conduct vary from 3 years imprisonment for harmless acts of same-sex intimacy like holding hands or simply kissing to a maximum penalty of life-imprisonment for consensual adult anal sex. In the recent past, LGBTI rights activists all across the region have been harassed, tortured, murdered, forced to flee their homes, seek asylum abroad, and denied protection of the legal system.

The LGBTI community and organizations of the Latin America and the Caribbean have a responsibility to show active solidarity and support for the struggle of our Caribbean sisters and brothers to remove these draconian laws and move their countries towards proactive recognition of their rights to equitable treatment under the law and freedom from state and societal discrimination.

We also call on the members of ILGA-LAC to lobby their governments to advocate for the decriminalization of homosexuality in the countries that still have these laws in place, and if necessary for these governments to exert appropriate pressure in international forums like the Organization of American States to accelerate the decriminalization process through the use of OAS Resolutions 2435 and 2504.

It was heartening to hear the expression of commitment from the members and leaders of ILGA-LAC in helping in the fight against the buggery laws and I hope we can maintain communication and really leverage their support to achieve some real change in this area. The fact that most of the Caribbean countries were not official members of ILGA-LAC was not an issue, but I think that we (SASOD) should go ahead and apply for membership. The cost is only $25USD, and while there is a period of verification of the organization’s existence and validity, we should gain membership within a month after applying.

Another major event that has the potential to significantly impact the fight for decriminalization of homosexuality in the Anglophone Caribbean forward was the election of members from three of the ‘buggery’ countries to leadership positions within the ILGA-LAC Regional Secretariat. The group made a strategic decision to advocate for representatives from as many as the ‘buggery’ countries as possible, with the goal of maintaining focused attention on the struggle to repeal these laws in the upcoming year. Maurice Tomlinson from Jamaica was chosen as Primary representative for Gay men (with Mario Kleinmoedig from Curacao as Secondary), I was chosen to represent Lesbian and Bisexual Women (with Yaneris Gonzalez from the Dominican Republic as secondary), and Ashley Dior from Trinidad was chosen as the secondary representing the Trans group (Thalia from the DR is primary).

The choice of representatives from Anglophone countries to leadership positions within the broader ILGA-LAC organization also serves to highlight the need for ILGA-LAC to improve their relationship with non-Spanish or Portuguese speaking countries in the region. One area of some frustration for many from the Anglophone Caribbean countries was the lack of translation in all conference sessions, and of conference materials. While there was simultaneous translation for all the main plenaries, there was very little written material available in English, and many of the work/breakout groups lacked translators, making it difficult for attendees from non-Spanish/Portuguese- speaking countries to fully participate. We raised this issue at several points during the conference, and got acknowledgement of the problem from the conference organizers as well as pledges to improve the situation in the future. By having English speakers holding positions within the Regional Secretariat, ILGA-LAC will be forced to diversify their communication to ensure that all persons are on the same page.

Final highlights- Maurice from Jamaica gave a great presentation on the situation in the Anglophone Caribbean on the final day of the conference. He, Mario, and I were also interviewed by Bill Ulrich from InterPride who plans to show the tape at the InterPride conference in the United States later this year. We drafted and got the conference body to adopt a formal statement pledging support for Haiti, and also ‘passed the hat’ at the final plenary session, collecting $300 USD which will be used to buy necessary goods and supplies in the Dominician Republic and transported to Haiti (Lino from the D.R took responsibility for doing this). The best part though, was connecting with the other folks from the region- bonding with those from the Caribbean with a shared history and struggle, as well as gaining inspiration from those in the somewhat more progressive Latin American countries, who have strategies that we can learn from.

The International ILGA Conference will be held in December (14-17th, I think) in Rio.