Belizean LGBT Rights Violations

December 8th, 2018 Women in Belize continue to experience violence, discrimination, unequal treatment and disrespect. Our LGBT sisters and brothers experience these challenges and much worse. Just as women rights are human rights, so too are LGBT rights. It really is not about special treatment. It is about fair treatment and appreciating that our LGBT sisters and brothers are citizens of Belize too. If our laws don’t protect some of us and if our laws discriminate against some of us then our laws are not working for all of us. Religious beliefs can sometimes cause people to turn a blind eye to some difficult issues that need to be addressed. No one is asking parliamentarians to go against their religious beliefs. However, a parliamentarian’s religious belief should never supersede another person’s constitutional right. Everyone is entitled to human rights and these rights should not always have to be fought for and secured through litigation. It is important that ele...

18/11/2018 Written by: Caleb Orozco I have stood my ground for over 30 years dealing with shitty cock, faggit, salad, skittles, boi gail, battiman. Over and over for 30 plus years. I have fought in the middle of The Central American Boulevard, a bully who met me days before infront of the Nazarene High School with three other persons wishing not only to be insulting, but to do physical harm. I managed to get a hit on the face of one person, one to find out months later, he was a student trying to help me. This happened between the years 1988-1992 while I was going to St. John College.  It was not the only fight, but it was one of many memorable encounters. I could remember in primary school, i did alot of horse play, " punch in your belly games" was a thing. Until, I got the punch. In standard six , i remember getting into a fight with Deon Pitter, he was a bully back then, but I stood my ground. Its funny, I spent all my primary school years rolling between, ange...

6th November, 2018  June Reyes I am sorry that I can’t change who I am even though I tried so long to. I guess I had the audacity to believe I was part of ‘normal’. I am sorry my very presence in church offends you so I ditch the church setting to go to the club but I had no idea I offended you even more; it’s ok I understand that I don’t deserve salvation and that my ‘gay’ money values less than your ‘real’ money. I deserved the insults and violence, how dare I exerc ise my freedom of assembly and association. I am sorry that I am ‘flamboyant’ and should act right when I am around you; it’s ok I deserve the insults and the beatings. How dare I exercise my freedom of expression such openly in public for all to see. Don’t worry I’m going back to the closet. I am sorry that you think I ‘influenced’ your child to be gay; I am sorry for planting those ‘gay seeds’. I forgot that they’re more influenced by me than what they see with you and other family members, on tv, at ...

October 16th, 2018 Belize got decriminalization decision On August 10th, 2016, but we did not get government to respect the decision in full. The result, is that the Government of Belize has tempered its effort with a partial appeal, not for legal reasons, but a political one. At the 124 session of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in Geneva, the Belize delegation struggled to address the question posed by The Human Rights Council on LGBT issues in the first session. They mentioned work on anti-discrimination, but fail to mention that the cabinet note that was given to them for refinement has been stuck at the Attorney General Office for many months. Granted, the Deputy Solicitor General left in the middle of the process.  They mentioned that there was a comprehensive legal review of the immigration act, that the International Organization on Migration was helping with the review,  but failed to tell the committee if a deadline was set on finalizatio...

11th October, 2018 An estimated 1.86 m people are living with HIV in Latin America and the Caribbean. L.A.C countries has spend $1.59B up to 2011. In 2017, The Caribbean region estimated that 310,100 persons were living with HIV and  there were 15,000 new infections and 10,000 deaths. With 11 of the 16 countries in the Caribbean relying heavily on external foreign funding, no ideas of the mortality rates of men who have sex with men, no study on the economic loss of loosing 200,000 people in the region in the course of the epidemic, discussions, have been going in circles about addressing human rights violations. While the region, must be applauded for setting up PANCAP to address a health response, as a mechanism to address human rights concerns for L.G.B.T, Sex workers, substances users, prisoners, it has not have much luck advancing the substance of rights. We know that Jason Jones case was not supported by Global Fund Process and that section 53 did not begin with...

23rd August, 2018 After the Equal Rights Coalition (E.R.C)meeting in Vancouver, member states communique was shared that included language to engage the private sector. It said,"We commit to strengthen relations with the private sector and to work together to foster in all sectors of society, including the workplace, the human rights of L.G.B.T.I persons.." The National LGBT Chamber of Commerce mission defined economic empowerment in is mission as," when an individual or community has an equality of opportunity to participate in, contribute to, and benefit from the formal economy."  Indicating a level of systemic thinking and language coordination. But what does this mean in historical practice? Though, L.G.B.T.I economic empowerment exist within a global systemic context of legal threats, it is because of our concern about our economic standing that we fought so hard to ensure that civil rights advancements were made at the na...

August 9th, 2018 When Belizean L.G.B.T.I colleagues hear The Equal Rights Coalition (E.R.C.) mechanism, immediately, it generates questions about its value to Belize's national L.G.B.T.I concerns.  When we consider 2,343 trans persons murdered around the world alone in 9 years, according to the T.M.M. 2017 Press Release; 202 murders of L.G.B.T.I people that occurred in Mexico alone between 2014-2016; 445 occurring in Brazil in 2017 and  the 54 murders & attempted murders and suspicious cases (14) adding up to 68. The E.R.C. means nothing to the dead victims.  While states in the E.R.C. may have many human rights issues impacting their citizenry, governance structures like the judiciary, opposition parties, constitutional frameworks have not devolve to exclude L.G.B.T.I citizenry from seeking redress or deny that fundamental rights does not apply to them.  It is under this context the E.R.C  exists as an imperfect  political human rights mech...

June 22nd, 2018 As a Belizeans and a citizens of CARICOM I write with concern about the comments political leaders have made in recent years. I believe it was Bruce Golding who once said," not in my cabinet!" in 2011 on the BBC when ask if he would allow homosexual to serve in your cabinet. In 2018, it was former speaker of The House, Micheal Carrington, in Barbados who said, " “If she is gay she should come out and say so and let you know what we are getting as a Prime Minister. .." referring to the Barbados Labour Party leader Mia Motley. Former Minster Denzil Dougal of St. Kitts& Nevis has been caught making  homophobic statements calling his opponent Timothy Harris, a  " little girl" and a "hog" joking that Harris begged him to" breed" him in April, 2013 at a rally. People were heard yelling," batty man hog." so much for principled leadership. At The UN Commission on the Status of Women negotiations, state...

LGBTTTI COALITION CELEBRATES YET ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL OAS GENERAL ASSEMBLY Washington DC, June 14, 2018 The Coalition of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgender, Transsexuals,  Travestis  and Intersex (LGBTTTI) people of Latin America and the Caribbean working within the framework of the Organization of American States (OAS) celebrates the adoption of the Omnibus Resolution on Human Rights ( OEA/Ser.P/AG/CG/doc.5/18 rev.2 ), which includes section (xii) focusing on the “human rights and prevention of discrimination and violence against LGBTI persons,” during its 48 th  Regular Session of the General Assembly, which took place in Washington DC, June 4 and 5, 2018. THE DIALOGUE WITH HEADS OF DELEGATION THE SECRETARY GENERAL, THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL AND REPRESENTATIVES FROM CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS During this Dialogue we saw an increasing number of allies integrate a message of equality for all and acceptance of sexual and gender diversity, ...