by Diputado Fidel Santana, Chair of the Human Rights Committee in the Chamber of Deputies of Dominican Republic and member of Parliamentarians for Global Action, the largest transnational network of individual legislators advancing human rights globally

When in 2013, the Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic offered to host PGA’s Parliamentary Seminar “Protecting Human Rights, Combatting Discrimination and Addressing HIV/AIDS in persons with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities,” we became the first Caribbean parliament that opened its doors to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) people, in our country and the region, to listen to their needs and understand their reality.

Parliamentarians from Costa Rica, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Uganda and Uruguay participated in that first meeting. For some, including my Dominican colleagues, it was the first interaction with LGBTI activists providing an opportunity to kick-start a respectful and urgent conversation about the stigma, discrimination and violence that LGBTI people and people living with HIV/AIDS suffer in their access to healthcare, education, justice, employment, and housing, among other sectors.

The objective of the seminar was to strengthen learning and cooperation links among parliamentarians and between them and LGBTI civil society. As a result of this gathering, PGA’s Global Parliamentary Campaign against Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI Campaign) was born. Almost six years later, the Campaign has sensitized over 200 parliamentarians in almost 40 countries around the world about equality and non-discrimination as pillars for the protection of all individuals regardless of personal characteristics. In addition to sensitization and education actions, the Campaign has contributed to legislative reforms promoting equality and upholding the rights of LGBTI people in the Americas, Africa and Asia.

With the backdrop of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), our country has the opportunity to work on the protection of human rights of all individuals, including LGBTI people, particularly though the implementation and monitoring of SDGs 3 on Health, 4 on Education, 5 on Gender Equality, 8 on Employment and Poverty Reduction, and 16 on Strengthening the Rule of Law and Institutions.

And how to accomplish this?

As legislators, we are on a unique and privileged position to undertake actions that guarantee equality and non-discrimination in conformity with article 39 of Dominican Republic’s Constitution and Agenda 2030’s vision of leaving no one behind. Among these actions, I would like to enlist the following:

• Review the legal framework to harmonize it with international human rights treaties to which Dominican Republic has signed onto and our Senate ratified.

• Evaluate the recommendations to the Dominican State by the United Nations Human Rights Council during its latest Universal Periodic Review in January 2019. Our country received 10 recommendations on LGBTI rights from 10 countries. Most of these recommendations refer to the adoption of a general law on equality and non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity as well as to fight against impunity on crimes against LGBTI people. Since 2006, civil society has documented 38 murder cases that could have been hate-motivated against trans women. Dominican justice has only ruled on 4 cases.[1]

• Request Ministerial hearings on relevant portfolios to learn about and oversee measures taken to reduce discrimination in schools, healthcare centers, police stations and governmental offices, among other venues.

• Establish an honest dialogue with the LGBTI community to understand their context and to collaborate regularly in sensitization and education strategies within Congress and among our constituencies.

• Support budgetary plans that allocate resources to programs and campaigns advancing equality and inclusion of LGBTI people.

The Parliamentary Handbook “Advancing the Human Rights and Inclusion of LGBTI Persons,” prepared by the United Nations Development Program and PGA, offer these and other actions we can take to improve the lives of LGBTI people and understand the challenges they face daily.

At times, we feel that values which unite us in our humanity – dignity, liberty, equality – are impossible and distant goals to achieve, when in reality, these should represent a compass to guide our day to day behavior. Moreover when it is us, legislators, who hold the responsibility to make laws, oversee the Executive and represent our constituents; all of our constituents.

I invite you, to once again, become a model for the Caribbean. Let’s request and encourage the Executive, accompanying civil society’s campaign #YoQuieroUnaLey, the introduction in Congress of the project of General Law on Equality and Non-Discrimination to begin its serious and formal assessment.

Let’s prioritize a dialogue with the LGBTI community, non-governmental organizations and responsible institutions on this subject to legislate a project that represents us all, respects our diversity and promotes a culture of peace and inclusion of LGBTI people in our country.