Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), in collaboration with PGA’s National Group in the Legislative Assembly, chaired by Dip. Sigfrido Reyes, and the Office of the Attorney General for the Defense of Human Rights of El Salvador, led by Mr. David Ernesto Morales, convened a Seminar on Equality and Non-Discrimination for Latin American and Caribbean Parliamentarians that took place in San Salvador, El Salvador on Monday, November 3rd, 2014.
The Seminar brought together parliamentarians from Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica and Peru who discussed their national experiences and exchanged strategies on how to incorporate equal rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersexual (LGBTI) persons in their legislative agendas as well as in regional mechanisms such as the Centroamerican Parliament (Parlacen, in Spanish) and the Central American Integration System (SICA).
Salvadoran legislators from the political parties, FMLN, ARENA, GANA and Concertación Nacional, attended the Seminar as well as local civil society, officials of governmental institutions, academics, diplomats and representatives of the United Nations system.
Ms. Montserrat Solano Carboni, Ombudsman of Costa Rica, reminded participants about the international human rights law framework and noted that regionally, the Organization for American States (OAS) adopted the Inter-American Convention against all Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance in June 2013, which specifically includes sexual orientation and gender identity and expression as grounds for discrimination. The Convention has only be signed by 7 Member States.
Dip. Sigfrido Reyes, President of the Legislative Assembly of El Salvador and Chair of PGA’s National Group, remarked that LGBTI persons should have the same rights as everyone else in their countries and prioritized a dialogue with civil society and relevant government institutions to coordinate effectively in ending discrimination in areas such as health, education, labor and access to justice, among others.
Mr. David Morales, Attorney General for the Defense of Human Rights of El Salvador, noted that his country suffers several expressions of discrimination and that hate crimes are on the rise. He welcomed the Seminar as an opportunity to strengthen a dialogue between civil society and parliamentarians and consolidate human rights guarantees.
Ms. Karla Avelar, Director of COMCAVIS Trans and Member of the Permanent Discussion Table on LGBTI, questioned parliamentarians on their will and commitment to stop violence against LGBTI persons and, in particular, the impunity surrounding hate crimes against trans women. She called for the discussion and active engagement to include hate crimes in the Penal Code and to legislate on a gender identity law.
At the conclusion of the deliberations, Parliamentarians adopted the San Salvador Statement of Commitment, which encourages and calls for an open dialogue among legislators, National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) and LGBTI civil society with a view to review national legislation on gender identity, hate crimes and non-discrimination. PGA remains seized with the Attorney General’s office and the Legislative Assembly to follow up on these commitments.
PGA is grateful to the Hivos Foundation for its financial support to realize this activity and to the United Nations Development Program’s offices in Belize and Jamaica for funding the participation of an MP from each of these two countries.
Para español, favor de consultar la Declaratoria de Compromiso de San Salvador.
About PGA
Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) is a non-profit, non-partisan international network of approximately 1,100 legislators in 137 elected parliaments around the globe that informs and mobilizes parliamentarians to advocate for human rights and the rule of law, democracy, human security, non-discrimination and gender equality. In 2013, PGA launched its Campaign Against Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) to promote the human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination and to sensitize parliamentarians on the obligations that States have to all individuals regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity under regional and international conventions to which their countries are party.
To date, PGA has engaged parliamentarians from Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Peru, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tanzania, Uganda, Uruguay and Zimbabwe who have participated in actions and consultations on this subject.
For more information on this activity, please visit: https://www.pgaction.org/news/el-salvador-seminar-equality-and-non-discrimination.html
Para consultar en español, los materiales del Seminario favor de visitar: https://www.pgaction.org/news/el-salvador-seminar-equality-and-non-discrimination.html
Gender, Equality and Population Program
Program Contact:
Mónica Adame
Senior Program Officer
monica.adame@pgaction.org
+1-646-762-7295
