June 21-24, 2016

Dip. Minou Tavárez Mirabal from the Dominican Republic and PGA’s President, Dr. David Donat Cattin, PGA Secretary General, and Ms. Mónica Adame, Program Director, visited Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago from June 21-24 to advance the goals of PGA’s Campaign against Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI), namely sensitize parliamentarians about equality and non-discrimination on the grounds of SOGI and offer technical assistance, as appropriate to address this issue legislatively; explore opportunities of collaboration with the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago on human rights issues, particularly on sexual orientation and gender, as well as with the Equal Opportunity Commission and other national stakeholders.

This mission was possible thanks to the generous support of the Global Equality Fund (GEF) administered by the United States State Department.

Background:

On March 4, 2015 Ms. Adame and Mr. Colin Robinson, Executive Director of the Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation in Trinidad & Tobago (CaisoTT) and Manager of CariFLAGS, a non-governmental organization advocating for equal rights for LGBTI people in the Caribbean, met with members of the then Joint Select Committee (JSC) on Human Rights, Diversity, the Environment and Sustainable Development to advocate for the inclusion of sexual orientation in their agenda for discussion. General elections were held on September 7, 2015 resulting in a change of government and the need to follow up with new members of Parliament (MPs).

On March 2016, Mrs. Lynette Seebaran-Suite, Chairman of the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC), called “to include sexual orientation as a status ground for protection against discrimination and the drafting and tabling of the necessary amendment Bill before Parliament” and opened a window of opportunity for PGA to discuss joint actions in sensitizing and building political will among MPs to address this issue.

During the electoral campaign, civil society organizations distributed an election season Manifesto to mobilize support around six main issues: Representation, leadership and state capacity; Homelessness; Gender identity and genital mutilation; Tolerance, safety and achievement in schools; Legislation and equal protection; and Criminal justice and police protection. PGA is well suited to facilitate some of the actions proposed in the Manifesto and will collaborate with civil society and MPs on the following:

• Convene a forum for the Government and other arms of the state to listen to LGBTI community concerns. PGA could assist in co-convening such a forum in collaboration with the Parliament.
• Encourage national officials to vocally support inclusion and dignity for all, including LGBTI members of the national community, and denounce discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender.
• Advocate for the amendment of the Equal Opportunity Act of 2000 to extend its protections against discrimination in employment, education and provision of accommodation, goods and services to age, HIV status, and sexual orientation, as recommended by the Equal Opportunity Commission.
• Advocate for the repeal of paragraphs 20(1)(c), 20(2)(c), and 20(3)(c) of the Children Act of 2012, which came into force on 18 May 2015 and specifically target young people of the same sex for criminalization and life imprisonment for sexual exploration with each other. This reform would treat non-coercive sexual exploration by young people close in age equally whether children are of the same or opposite sexes.

Main Results:

• PGA’s Delegation held an official audience with four members of the JSC on Human Rights, Equality and Diversity on our Campaign’s goals, results and the importance of discussing equality and non-discrimination based on SOGI among MPs. Based on her experience in Dominican Republic, Dip. Tavárez suggested possible actions that the Committee could take to address discrimination against LGBTI persons in Trinidad and Tobago and noted the drafting of the Project of General Law on Equality and Non-Discrimination. Chairman Dr. Nyan Gadsby-Dolly (PNM, government) expressed her interest, and that of the Committee members, to work with PGA on sexual orientation. She pointed out the need for a national assessment and a review on what is going on around the world to learn from other States how they have brought change. She confirmed this is a topic included for discussion in the Committee’s agenda. It is important to note that the Committee met with members of LGBTI civil society, among them Mr. Robinson, prior to our audience.           
• Thanks to the leadership of long-time PGA member, Senator Wade Mark (UNC, opposition), Delegates witnessed the establishment of a PGA National Group in Trinidad and Tobago. This is the first National Group in the Caribbean Commonwealth and the second one after Dominican Republic’s group in the sub-region. The group has 20 members from the PNM (Chair and Vice-Chair of the JSC on Human Rights), UNC, COP and Independent branch, respectively. PGA’s Secretariat will work through this voluntary and informal parliamentary body to garner support and mobilize MPs on human rights, especially those linked to our programmatic campaigns.
• Delegates also met Hon. Bridgid Mary Annisette-George, MP and Speaker of the House, who reiterated her support on the establishment of PGA’s National Group in the Parliament and expressed her openness to discuss Trinidad and Tobago as the possible host for PGA’s Annual Forum 2019.
• Chairman Mrs. Lynette Seebaran-Suite and three other Commissioners of the Equal Opportunity Commission (the Commission has five Commissioners in total) received PGA’s delegation in their offices and agreed to collaborate in sensitizing MPs and offering adequate information about sexual orientation and the challenges faced by LGBTI persons with the aim to amend the Equal Opportunity Act. Ms. Seebaran-Suite mentioned that a proposal to include sexual orientation was submitted to the Office of the former Attorney General, the Law Reform Commission, on October 15, 2014. Proposals have also called to include age as a status ground and to expand the definition of disability to include certain ailments such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, and multiple sclerosis. The Act, in Section 3, prohibits discrimination against individuals on seven status grounds (race, ethnicity, religion, sex, marital status, origin and disability) but sexual orientation is expressly excluded from protection.

Next Steps:

• Senator Wade Mark, elected as the Chair of PGA’s National Group in Trinidad and Tobago, will participate in a Seminar on Equality and Non-Discrimination based on SOGI for Latin American and Caribbean Parliamentarians, where PGA/UNDP’s Parliamentary Handbook on Human Rights and SOGI will be launched on July 11, in the Parliament of Uruguay, in Montevideo. He will update his colleagues in the group about the results of this important activity.
• The Parliamentary Handbook will be shared with the JSC on Human Rights, Mr. Faris Al-Rawi, MP and Attorney General, the Equal Opportunity Commission (EOC), and other key national stakeholders.
• Maintain close collaboration with the EOC and PGA’s National Group for parliamentary advocacy and sensitization on SOGI and continue discussions with the latter on convening a workshop/seminar on this issue in 2017.

For more information, please contact Mónica Adame, Director of the Gender, equality and Population Program, at monica.adame@pgaction.org