1. Lessons from the Americas on violence, human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity
July 2015
Johannesbourg, South Africa
Fanny Gómez Lugo
Human Rights Specialist, LGBTI Rapporteurship, IACHR

2. Inter-American Human Rights System
Inter-American Commission
on Human Rights
Inter-American Court
on Human Rights
NEW COMMISSIONERS:
Enrique Gil Botero (Colombia)
Esmeralda Arosemena de Trotiño (Panama)
Margarette Pay Macaulay (Jamaica)
Francisco Jose Eguiguren (Peru)
Salen – Antoine, Robinson, Ortiz y Gonzalez.
CORTE – Vio Grossi (Chile - relected)
Zaffaroni (Argentina) Pazmiño (Ecuador)
Elizabeth Odio (Costa Rica)
4 new commissioners beginning January 2016
3 new judges beginning January 2016

3. The autonomous human rights organs of the OAS
Mandate: To Protect and Promote HRs
Foundational Instrument: The OAS Charter
Jurisdiction: 35 member states
HQ: Washington DC, USA
Inter-American
COMMISSION on Human Rights
Mandate: Adjudicatory and Advisory
Foundational Instrument: ACHR
Jurisdiction: 23 ratifying states, 21 that have accepted its jurisdiction
HQ: San José de Costa Rica, Costa Rica
Inter-American
COURT of Human Rights

4. Chronology of the I/A System
American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man 1948
OAS Charter 1948
IACHR established 1959
American Convention on Human Rights adopted 1969
IACtHR operationalized 1979

5. The Pillars of work of the IACHR
Individual petition system
Admissibility & Inadmissibility Reports
Merits Reports
Friendly Settlement
Submit cases to the Inter-American Court and appear before it
Monitoring human rights situation in States
Onsite Visits
Annual Reports
Country Reports
Thematic Hearings
Country Rapporteurships
Precautionary Measures
Priority thematic areas
Rapporteurships & Units
Thematic Reports
Onsite visits
Case Reports

6. 2008: AG.RES 2435 2009 AG.RES 2504 2010 AG.RES 2600 2011 AG.RES 2653
OAS GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTIONS ON HUMAN RIGHTS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY AND GENDER EXPRESSION
The result of the work of the Coalition of LGBTTTI organisations of the Americas and the General Assembly
2008: AG.RES 2435
2009
AG.RES 2504
2010
AG.RES 2600
2011
AG.RES 2653
2012
AG.RES 2721
2013
AG.RES 2807
2014
AG.RES 2863

7. OAS General Assembly Resolutions 2008-2012
2010
States told to ensure equal access to justice
States encouraged to find ways to combat discrimination based on SOGI
2008
Concern acts of violence and hr violations because of SOGI
2009
Condemns violence and hr violations
Investigate and bring to justice
adequate protection for hr defenders
IACHR pay attention to issue
2012
- eliminate barriers in access to political participation and to other areas of public life and to prevent interference in their private life
- IACHR asked to prepare a study on laws restricting the human rights of individuals because of SOGI and guidelines aimed at promoting decriminalisation of same-sex intimacy
2011
- public policies against SOGI-based discrimination
- IACHR asked prepare a hemispheric report

8. OAS General Assembly Resolutions 2013 & 2014
Steps forward
- Sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression
- States urged to afford appropriate protection to intersex people and to implement policies and procedures, as appropriate, to ensure medical practices that are consistent with applicable human rights standards
- States encouraged to produce data on homophobic and transphobic violence, with a view to fostering public policies that protect the human rights of LGBTI persons
Push back –“footnotes”
dissenting from the consensus, from several countries in the region about terminology used and other matters
2014 Resolution
Same content as 2013
Footnotes: Barbados, Belize, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, United States.
2013 Resolution
footnotes
dissenting from the consensus, from Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guatemala, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Kitts, St. Vincent & Gren, Suriname about the terminology used and other matters.
Also, Honduras, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago.

9. 2 1 3 4 The LGBTI Rapporteurship
Tracy Robinson, IACHR Chair and Rapporteur on LGBTI Rights 1 2 3
GENERAL MONITORING
and VISIBILITY 4
TECHNICAL ADVICE
THEMATIC REPORTS
PETITIONS and CASES
Rapporteurship for the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Persons
(Unit) Created: November 2011
(Unit) Fully Operational: February 2012
(Rapporteurship): Nov / Feb. 2014

10. Questionnaire of Consultation
The LGBTI Rapporteurship
Regional Report on Violence against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans and intersex persons (forthcoming 2015) 1 1
Questionnaire of Consultation
THEMATIC REPORTS
OAS Member States
NGOs
Individuals
Meetings of experts
Violence
Education and culture
Health
Employment
Families

11. The LGBTI Rapporteurship1
Regional Report on Violence against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans and intersex persons (forthcoming 2015)
Highlights
THEMATIC REPORTS
Violence based on prejudice towards non-normative orientations, identities and expression / towards bodies that are outside the female/male binary
Impact between criminalization and violence
Intersectional violence: women, children and youth, indigenous peoples, persons of African descent, PDL, migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, HRDs, socio-economic status, location
Impunity. State obligations to apply due diligence in the prevention, investigation, prosecution and compensation in cases of VALGBTI persons

12. Main Recommendations to States (draft)
Unit for the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,
Trans and Intersex Persons
Regional Report on Violence against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans and intersex persons (Forthcoming in 2015) 1 1
Main Recommendations to States (draft)
Data collection
Investigate all cases of killings and violence against LGBT/I persons with due diligence: free from stereotyped notions of LGBT; opening lines of investigation to take into account SOGIE at the outset of the investigation.
Decriminalize same-sex intimacy between consenting adults, or declare a formal moratorium on its application
(because of link between violence and discrimination): adopt anti-discrimination laws and policies to eradicate stigmatization and prejudice
Public awareness and sensitization campaigns and programs (emphasis in education sector)
Training at all levels: prosecutor’s office, public defense attorneys, judges, public hospitals, schools, places of detention, etc.
Publicly denounce violence against LGBT/I Persons
Criminalize violence against LGBT/I persons (hate crime laws)
Eliminate non-medically necessary interventions on intersex children, and adapt medical protocols
THEMATIC REPORTS
Publicly denounce violence against LGBT persons
Criminalize violence against lgbt persons

13. 2 The LGBTI Rapporteurship Petitions alleging human rights violations
PRELIMINARY
STAGE
ADMISSIBILITY
INADMISSIBILITY
MERITS R R
PETITIONS and CASES
Requirements: standing, exhaustion of domestic remedies, filed timely (6 months or reasonable time), alleged violation of the Inter-American HR Treaties, no duplication
Precautionary Measures
Protection measures to safeguard life or personal integrity of LGBTI persons or their human rights defenders.
“serious and urgent situations presenting a risk of irreparable harm”
Article 25
Rules of Procedure IACHR

14. What is ahead of us? Cases – approx. 50
The LGBTI Rapporteurship
What is ahead of us? Cases – approx. 50
Violence
Killings of trans women and alleged lack of adequate investigation
Torture, including rape, by the police during detention of LGBT persons
Criminalization
Criminalization same sex sexual intimacy between consenting adults
Family life and partnership recognition
Irregularities in adoption process based on sexual orientation
Denial of right to pension of deceased partner (Oct sent to the I/A Court)
Employment issues
Teacher dismissed because of her sexual orientation
Man dismissed from the Army because of same sex sexual act (Dec – sent to the I/A Court)
Children and adolescents
Discrimination against an 11 year old at school on the basis of perceived sexual orientation
Right to identity for Trans Persons 2
PETITIONS and CASES

15. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
The LGBTI Rapporteurship 3
GENERAL MONITORING
and VISIBILITY
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
PUBLIC HEARINGS
ONSITE VISITS
SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
PRESS RELEASES

16. 3 The LGBTI Rapporteurship Communication strategy
GENERAL MONITORING
and VISIBILITY
50+ Press Releases since 2012
Visibility
Impact
Mostly violence initially
Evolved overtime to include advances and progresses by OAS Member States in matters of legislation, and public policy.
Recognizing differences between levels of development with respect to LGBTI issues in different countries:
for example in certain countries, just positive statements from primer ministers or ministers in countries where homosexuality is criminalized might be progress. The IACHR has recognized this through press releases.
PRESS RELEASES

17. The LGBTI Rapporteurship
Monitoring of violence – 15 months (Jan – March 2014) 3
GENERAL MONITORING
and VISIBILITY (raising awareness)
594 killings & 176 non-lethal attacks
No data collected by States (few exceptions)
Underreporting (fear of reprisals, no trust in the system, ill-treatment of victims)
Pervasiveness of violence
Police abuse, particularly against trans women in public spaces
High levels of cruelty
Invisibility of everyday violence
Invisibility of violence against Bisexual, Lesbians, &Trans Men
High levels of impunity (few reports, ineffective and biased investigations)

18. The LGBTI Rapporteurship
Registry of violence – 15 months (Jan – March 2014) 3
GENERAL MONITORING
and VISIBILITY (raising awareness)
80% killings trans women: 35 years or younger
Trans women – killed firearms & streets
Gay men – killed bladed weapons & private spaces
Lesbian women:
55 attacks, including killings
“corrective” rape & violence (forcibly committed to centers)
Disproportionately affected by family violence
“Collective” violence because of PDA
Lesbian women are at particular risk for violence because of misogyny and gender inequality in society. Through its different monitoring mechanisms the IACHR has historically received information on the vulnerability of lesbian women to acts of sexual violence, or intra-family violence; however, there is major underreporting of these acts. This may be because many forms of violence experienced by lesbian women occur in private and are intersectional forms of violence. Of the 770 acts of violence (lethal and non-lethal) against LGBT persons registered by the IACHR, 55 targeted lesbian women, or those perceived as such. According to the data collected by the IACHR, lesbian women were victims of ‘corrective rape’ or rape targeted to punish them, in an effort to “change” their sexual orientation; collective beatings for public display of affection; attacks with acid; and forcibly committed to centers that offer to “convert” their sexual orientation. Also, according to data collected, lesbian women are disproportionately affected by violence exerted by their family members. Finally, according to the Registry of Violence by the IACHR, the majority of non-lethal violence against lesbian women involves lesbian couples being attacked in public spaces.

19. 3 3 The LGBTI Rapporteurship Social Media Campaign (December 2014)
2 weeks:
10 postings
3 videos
925,000 persons
6,500 more users 3 3
GENERAL MONITORING
and VISIBILITY (raising awareness)

20. The LGBTI Rapporteurship
Length: 6 days
Reach: 830,000 persons
GENERAL MONITORING
and VISIBILITY (raising awareness) 3
May 17, 2015 – IDAHO-T
Joint Press Release
LGBT/I youth and children
IACHR, UN HRs Experts,
UN CRC, Council of Europe
ACHPR – Defenders Rapporteur

21. 30+ 3 3 The LGBTI Rapporteurship Comisionidh
GENERAL MONITORING
and VISIBILITY
30+
Public Hearings on LGBTI issues
VIDEO TRANS
VIDEO INTERSEX
VIDEO LGB
Violence against Trans People in El Salvador
Human Rights Situation of Trans Persons of African Descent in Brazil
Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Violence against Children in Guyana
Situation of Human Rights of LGBTI Indigenous Persons in the Americas
Situation of Human Rights of Intersex Persons in the Americas
Situation of Human Rights of Lesbian Women in the Americas
PUBLIC HEARINGS
Comisionidh

22. 4 The LGBTI Rapporteurship
TECHNICAL ADVICE
Techincal advise to OAS Member States and OAS Political Bodies
General Assembly resolutions
Legislation
Public Policy
Dialogue with OAS Representantives and Ambassadors on Sexuality and Diversity with an academic from T&T. April 2014
Follow up: letter on terminology and main issues around violence faced by LGBTI persons

23. Fanny Gómez Lugo fgomez@oas.org
¡Muchas Gracias!
Fanny Gómez Lugo