British High Commissioner to Guyana Simon Bond yesterday said that states have an obligation to ensure that laws guarantee the same rights to everyone regardless of sexuality, while urging movement by the government on promised consultations on anti-discrimination protections.
In feature remarks yesterday on the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) and for the launch of the video documentary, “My Wardrobe, My Right” by the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) and partners, Bond asserted that human rights are universal and cannot be subject to different interpretations of morality. “Sometimes that means governments need to lead their people, not simply to follow public opinion,” he noted.
Speaking at the event, which was held at the Sidewalk Café & Jazz Club on Middle Street, Georgetown, Bond noted that the Government of Guyana had committed at the Universal Periodic Review at the UN in Geneva in May last year to “hold consultations on this issue over the next two years.” He called for progress in that regard as well as an open and constructive debate.
According to Bond, homosexuality remains illegal in around 80 countries, and is punishable by death in Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Nigeria. He acknowledged the legacy of British colonial laws prohibiting homosexual acts, which have not been changed in many countries, including 43 Commonwealth countries still criminalise homosexual behaviour. Guyana is one of these countries.
“It’s fair to say that the international community continues to struggle to fully recognise the rights of LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] people and many countries, including many in the Organisation of Islamic Conference, in Africa and the Caribbean continue to actively block promotion of LGBT rights in international fora,” Bond said. The arguments for this approach, he contended, tend to be based on religion, morality and culture and that LGBT issues are somehow a “Western thing”. However, he observed that customs and traditions are constantly changing, everywhere, as there was a time when women were treated as inferior to men in every culture and tradition.
But culture and tradition cannot justify denying people their rights as homosexuality exists among all people and has been so since the start of recorded history, Bond argued. “It was not something invented or practiced only in the West,” he noted. And while the UK recognises that these are sensitive issues, he pointed out that it is important to strike a balance between religious freedoms and the rights of LGBT people not to be discriminated against.
He said further that the UK opposes all forms of violence and discrimination against LGBT people as a matter of principle as discrimination is never acceptable, and combating violence and discrimination against LGBT people is an integral part of the UK’s international human rights work.
In that light, Bond said, British embassies and high commissions overseas are encouraged to support the efforts of civil society organizations to change attitudes by supporting anti-discrimination events, such as yesterday’s event marking the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
He acknowledged that Britain, like almost every other country, used to have discriminatory legislation and practices against LGBT people until relatively recently. “And those laws and attitudes, of course, were reflected in the way Britain administered its former colonies, so we clearly have some historical responsibility for the legislation that countries like Guyana inherited at independence,” he conceded.
With regards to the video documentary, Joel Simpson, Co-Chairperson of SASOD, told this newspaper that it would be the first of a series that is being produced. He explained that the documentary focuses on the criminalisation of cross-dressing, while noting that a specific group of people is still being targeted. SASOD, he said, thought that some public education around the issue of criminalisation of cross-dressing needed to be done.
In 2009, seven men found in women’s clothing were each ordered to pay a court fine of $7,500. Simpson added that this was what prompted them to produce a short documentary to examine the issue, in a format people can listen and understand. The basic aim is public education, raising awareness ad generating discussions, Simpson noted, while adding that the documentary can be viewed on national television probably in the month of June.
Yesterday also saw the ‘soft’ launch of the inaugural edition of SASOD’s quarterly newsletter, “Spectrum Vibes.”
Simpson explained that SASOD was dedicating the inaugural issue to the life and work of Dr. Robert Carr, who dedicated over a decade of his life in the Caribbean region and internationally fighting for the rights of people living with HIV. He added that Carr was a strong supporter of SASOD, a passionate advocate and had been working closely with him since 2006, when they first met and SASOD became a member of the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC). These are the reasons, Simpson said, it was thought to be particularly fitting to pay such tribute to Dr. Carr.
