Belizean LGBT Rights Violations

Repost: 22nd, September, 2012 “We’ve been asking people with same-sex attractions to overcome something in a way that we don’t ask of anyone else,” said Alan Chambers, president of Exodus International. By ERIK ECKHOLM Published: July 6, 2012  For more than three decades, Exodus International has been the leading force in the so-called ex-gay movement, which holds that homosexuals can be “cured” through Christian prayer and psychotherapy.   “My homosexual feelings began to dissipate and attractions for women grew,” said David H. Pickup, a therapist who specializes in "conversion" treatment. Exodus leaders claimed its network of ministries had helped tens of thousands rid themselves of unwanted homosexual urges. The notion that homosexuality is not inborn but a choice was seized on by conservative Christian groups who oppose legal protections for gay men and lesbians and same-sex marriage . But the ex-gay movement has been convulsed as the l...

Posted September 10th, 2012 Luis Wade and Scott Stirm have been appearing all last week on Rise and Shine show to chat about the Health and Family Education teachers guide see link http://www.plustvbelize.com/Portals/0/News/HFLA-teachers%20guide.pdf .   On the Show, they spoke about masturbation and how too much can cause localise trauma, that it can be addictive and that it can cause men to turn away from women and turn to men. The coverage have even triggered a comment from one person who complained about a simply human sexuality class that was presented to 12 Belizean soldiers as part of a peer education program that is managed by the military. The quote said, "Good morning Wade and crew. Members of UNIBAM have gone into the BDF and are teaching the soldiers about UNIBAM. What is going on in our country? The want us to become like the USA Army. BDF should run them away. Don’t encourage them" see links for full comments  at http://www.plustvb...

Posted September 1st, 2012 Her words were not nearly as bold as recent statements by other Caribbean prime ministers about lesbian and gay equality (whether Portia Simpson Miller in Jamaica's recent election campaign, the new Bahamian PM Perry Christie as an Opposition leader challenging his predecessor, St. Kitts-Nevis's Denzil Douglas in international forums since 2006, Barbados's Freundel Stuart while Attorney General, or even Guyana's Sam Hinds a few weeks ago). In fact they never mentioned sexual citizenship at all. But in a 50th Independence anniversary address, Trinidad and Tobago's prime minister Kamla Persad Bissessar, whose government has been criticised as downplaying the anniversary to not highlight the Opposition PNM's role in winning independence, told her nation's people they " are living in an exciting new chapter and it’s in your power to carry our twin-island nation forward as a pioneer in our region". In a speech that began ...

Posted August 31st 2012 When we have a constitution that speaks to gender equality in its preamble as well as inalienable rights,  yet, could have religious institution dictate the fundamental rights and freedoms in practice. One must be concern that while we elect public officials to lead, we have  obsessed religious institutions who do not want any redefinition of the word spouse that would allow persons, be it friends, roommates, sweethearts, etc. to be able to jointly have loans or advance their economic interests. We now know that we live in a theocracy. It amazes me that the fundamental rights and freedoms can be thrown out the door so easily by bigots and sheepish persons who cannot stand for the constitution. Whats worse a closeted gay man voted against the bill, despite the fact that he comes from the the L.G.B.T community. This in my mind is the ultimate betrayal, against a community that have longed been excluded from the legislative process. Now we see that the...

Sexual Rights and Religious Freedom Posted by Gale on Aug 4, 2012 in Current Issues Global | 0 comments A presentation by Family Watch International at the World Congress of Families VI in Madrid, Spain, in 2012 addressed what the presenters call “Cultural Imperialism,” the hijacking of religious rights by the sexual rights agenda, which seeks to place sexual rights above even the freedom of speech.  The presentation was well received, and representatives from many countries asked for copies ( see the PDF file here ).   Family Watch International is creating a film on this subject, to be released in the future. Sharon Slater, president of the non-profit group, gave the presentation.  She defined “sexual rights” as the following: Rights to contraception, abortion, sexual expression (cross dressing, nudity), pornography (sale and use of), sexual relations, age of consent, sexual orientation, gender id...

Posted 12th August Channel 5 Story Aug 8, 2012 The tooth about UNIBAM founder’s beating now a UN matter? Caleb Orozco From our research, it appears to be the first such case on human rights; but the beating of Caleb Orozco, the president of UNIBAM, has been elevated to the United Nations. The UN Special Rapporteurs on the promotion and protection on freedom of expression and on the situation of human rights defenders have both written to the government seeking answers on the incident. Orozco was allegedly attacked on George Street on February eighth. At the time it was reported that he was threatened by men shouting anti-gay remarks and that one of them threw a beer bottle at him. The bottle hit him in the face and he suffered a broken tooth. In the four-page document dated February twenty-ninth, the UN’s Human Rights Council is expressing concern that the alleged attack may be related to Orozco’s work in advocating for LGBTI rights. Specifically, the government is aske...

Posted July 25th, 2012 When we speak about institutional homophobia in Belize, it normally not understood. Its a concept the represents a structural problem in Belize that impacts rights advancement. The National AIDS Commission was asked, for example, to vote on the United Belize Advocacy Movement request to issue a statement of support, but the vote came back  9 for, 2 abstentions and 8 no's .The resistance can be argued as both rational and passive agressive response to not wanting to rock the boat in the system. Yet, the Universal Periodic Review of 2009 speaks to the NAC as an interim Human Rights Institution. Does this mean it fell short of its role? I will leave the reader to draw its own conclusion. One can argue that because of the section 53 challenge, CEO in Ministries  would not be able to support any public statements to support the human rights needs of the men who have sex with men population. but, what have they been doing the last 10 years?...