THE Georgetown-based Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is calling on the new government to do more to protect the rights of Lesbian Gay and Transgender people here. The call was made when the group appeared before the Review Committee under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), held at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland from September 28 – 29, 2015.

At a news conference on Wednesday, to debrief the media on Guyana’s Review SASOD said its representatives at the meeting bemoaned the fact that, in Guyana, a number of laws and policies discriminate against LGBT people. “These insidious laws and the everyday societal discrimination LGBTI people face have a profound impact on the economic, social and cultural life of LGBTI people in Guyana,” Schemel Patrick, SASOD’s Communications Director declared.

She said the group’s Stakeholder Reports addressed basic socio-economic rights’ violations, including the right to work, education, social protection, health care and housing, in keeping with the articles of the International Covenant on economic, social and cultural rights. Ms Patrick reported that, in recent years, the Guyana Government has taken some steps to advance the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) citizens; but, she said, there are still significant areas of law, policy and practice where considerable work is required in order for Guyana to meet its obligations under CESCR, and to achieve compliance regarding economic, social and cultural rights of LGBTI persons, particularly LGBTI youth.

Patrick outlined that SASOD continues to advocate for the introduction of policies to prevent bullying and harassment of LGBTI students at private and public schools, and for the provision of sexuality education that is comprehensive and inclusive of different sexualities and gender identities. Further, she said, SASOD documents many cases of discrimination every year, but social stigma against homosexuality is so strong that complainants are reluctant to test existing legal redress mechanisms.

SASOD reiterates that the state has a duty to respect, protect, and fulfil human rights obligations for all its citizens. It argues that the state violates human rights when it has discriminatory laws on its books and offers no protection for minority groups. Guyana, she said, must take urgent action to remedy these deficiencies.

Guyana’s delegation to that forum comprised: Raphael Trotman, M.P, Minister of Governance; Ms. Teresa Gaime, Technical Officer, Department of Governance; and Ms. Bevon McDonald, First Secretary, Embassy of Guyana in Brussels, Belgium. Also attending the forum was Patrick, who submitted a Stakeholder Report to CESCR on the Protection of Rights of LGBTI persons in Guyana on behalf of the organisation.
At the debriefing forum, held at the Chitagong Salon in the Guyana Marriott Hotel at Kingston, Georgetown, Ms. Patrick presented the Stakeholder Report and summarized the review process. She outlined that at the UN forum, civil society organizations were encouraged to submit shadow reports which notify the Committee about issues of human rights violations in a particular country.

It was to this end that Ms. Patrick availed herself to make a short presentation, after which she was open to questions from the Committee. Civil Society representatives from three other countries did likewise.
Ms Patrick made a short statement, summarizing the key recommendations from SASOD’s stakeholder report on the Protection of Rights of LGBTI Persons in Guyana, and responded to questions from the Committee regarding Guyana’s anti-LGBTI discriminatory laws and policies. SASOD’s Stakeholder Report was aimed at informing the Committee of the areas where Guyana is failing to meet its obligations under the ICESCR — to respect and protect the human rights of all people, especially LGBTI individuals. It concluded with recommendations on matters that SASOD urged the Committee to include in the Concluding Observations regarding the Government of Guyana.

Flagrant violations