Belizean LGBT Rights Violations

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...