Violence Unveiled: Repression Against Lesbians and Gay Men in Latin America

_________________________ ICCHRLA SPECIAL REPORT _________________________ Violence Unveiled: Repression Against Lesbians and Gay Men in Latin Americ...
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_________________________ ICCHRLA SPECIAL REPORT _________________________

Violence Unveiled: Repression Against Lesbians and Gay Men in Latin America

April 1996

Prepared by the Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America (ICCHRLA) 129 St. Clair Ave. W., Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M4V 1N5 Tel. (416) 921-0801; Fax. (416) 921-3843; E-mail: [email protected]

The Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America

The mission of the Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America (ICCHRLA) is to promote human rights and social justice throughout Mexico, Central and South America, in solidarity with both Canadian and Latin American partner churches, human rights groups and grassroots organizations. This mission arises from a profound belief, as Christians, that the Gospel calls us to struggle together with the poor and the oppressed to transform policies, practices and regimes which undermine or destroy human lives. ICCHRLA maintains close relations with churches, human rights bodies and other representative groupings in those Latin American countries given priority by member churches on the basis of human rights concerns and Canadian Church relationships. Through regular on-site visits and the careful monitoring of reports and documentation, ICCHRLA continually assesses the human rights situation in these countries. It responds to requests for action in crisis situations, but attempts also to work on the underlying causes of human rights violations. ICCHRLA shares its information, analysis and policy recommendations with its own church constituencies, with the Canadian government and the public at large, and with appropriate international human rights bodies. Members of ICCHRLA include: Anglican Church of Canada Canadian Council of Churches Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops Canadian Catholic Organization for Development and Peace Canadian Jesuits (Upper Canada) Canadian Religious Conference (Ontario) Congregation of Notre Dame Council of Christian Reformed Churches Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada Oblate Conference of Canada Presbyterian Church in Canada Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Scarboro Foreign Mission Society School Sisters of Notre Dame Sisters of St. Joseph (Hamilton, Toronto, Peterborough and Sault Ste. Marie) Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul Ursulines of Chatham Union United Church of Canada

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CONTENTS

I.

INTRODUCTION • Breaking the Silence • A Human Rights Issue for the Canadian Churches

1 2 4

II.

HOMOPHOBIA AND THE VEIL OF SILENCE • Particularities in Documenting Abuses Against Sexual Minorities

6 6

III.

EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS • Attacks by Paramilitary Groups and Death Squads • "Social Cleansing" Murders • Attacks by Insurgent Groups

10 12 13 14

IV.

LEGAL AND EXTRA-LEGAL FORMS OF REPRESSION • Denial of Legal Status to Lesbian and Gay Organizations • Criminalization of Homosexual Acts • Broadly Defined Laws and Edicts Used Against Sexual Minorities • Other Forms of Official Harassment • Arbitrary Detentions • Torture and Other Forms of Cruel and Degrading Treatment and Punishment • Death Threats

16 16 18 19 21 22 25 26

V.

CONCLUSION

28

VI.

RECOMMENDATIONS

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This report is dedicated to the memory of two courageous and well-loved colleagues who died in 1995 after complications arising from the AIDS virus.

Robert John Adamson, a committed human rights and refugee rights activist, was known for his deep compassion and solidarity with Latin Americans fleeing political oppression in their homelands. Rob articled with the Toronto-based Centre for Spanish Speaking People and the Parkdale Community Legal Services. Later, as a lawyer, he worked with the Central Toronto Community Legal Services (now known as the Kensington-Bellwood Legal Aid Clinic). Rob lived and studied in Peru in the early 1980s and returned to Latin America on several occasions, visiting refugee camps in Honduras and accompanying Canadian Member of Parliament Dan Heap on a trip to Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Rob later served as regional legal officer for Canada with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and, at the time of his death, was a member of Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board.

Ernesto Barros Cardoso, a Methodist lay theologian from Brazil, was a musician, composer and, at the time of his death, Associate Secretary of the Instituto de Estudos da Religião (ISER), a nongovernmental organization based in Rio de Janeiro. Prior to working with ISER, Ernesto served as Secretary for Christian Education for the Methodist Church of Brazil. Ernesto had a profound humanity and was deeply committed to ecumenism. He worked closely with the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI), serving as its Secretary for Liturgy. During the last two years of his life, Ernesto was a dedicated and well-loved member of the HIV/AIDS Consultative Group of the World Council of Churches (WCC) -- a group established by the WCC Executive to help the churches address the difficult and complex issues related to HIV/AIDS. Despite his weak state, Ernesto travelled to New Delhi, India in late November 1995 to participate in the last meeting of the Consultative Group. He died several weeks later upon his return to Brazil.

I. INTRODUCTION

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In his trilogy entitled "Memory of Fire", Uruguayan author Eduardo Galeano recounts the story of Captain Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish conquistador who in 1513, during the course of his journeys, discovered a group of fifty indigenous men in Panama who had engaged in homosexual relations. Taking the men to a nearby mountain clearing, Balboa had the men stripped naked, then set his dogs on them, allowing the animals to tear the men to shreds.1 Various chronicles of the Spanish conquest of the Americas provide accounts of homosexuality among several of the indigenous peoples inhabiting the region -- an element which, together with others, served to provide "moral" justification for the genocide which marked the conquest. One of the first of these accounts was provided by Hernán Cortes, who, in a letter to Emperor Charles V, wrote: "We know and have been informed without room for doubt that all of [the indigenous inhabitants living in the area in what is today the Mexican state of Veracruz] practice the abominable sin of sodomy".2 Bernal Díaz del Castillo and Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, who together with Cortes participated in the conquest of Mexico, wrote of the indigenous peoples they met: "All of them were sodomites, 3 especially those who lived along the coasts and in warm climates". Another conqueror, Pedro Cieza de León, who explored the area from Panama to Bolivia, gave a detailed account of homosexuality in the region. According to his account: "The highland and lowland peoples held homosexuality in high regard."4 Like their Spanish counterparts, the Portuguese were also scandalized by the open expressions of homosexuality which they encountered among the Amerindian cultures. In Portugal, homosexual acts were considered to be a crime at the same level as treason, and the Tribunal of the Inquisition was responsible for their suppression. Portuguese archives list approximately 5,000 accusations against male and female Portuguese-Brazilians who engaged in same-sex relations. More than 400 of these were imprisoned, sentenced, flogged and banished to distant territories while thirty were sentenced to death and burned at the stake in public autos-da-fé.5

Breaking the Silence 1

Eduardo Galeano, Memory of Fire, Vol 1, New York, Random House Inc., 1987, p. 58.

2

Wayne R. Dynes, Encyclopedia of Homosexuality, Vol. 2, New York, Garland Pub. Inc., p. 804.

3

Lucien Chauvin, "Homosexuality Used to Justify Genocide", Latinamerica Press, October 1, 1992.

4

Ibid.

5

Luiz Mott, (forthcoming) Epidemic of Hate: Violation of the Rights of Gay Men, Lesbians and Transvestites in Brazil, a report prepared for the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.

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Five hundred years after the arrival of the European conquerors, lesbians and gay men in the Americas continue to be subjected to widespread human rights violations. In countries such as 6 Mexico, Colombia and Argentina, sexual minorities have been faced with arbitrary arrest, torture and assassination. Paramilitary groups or death squads in Brazil have been responsible for the death of more than 1,200 gay men and lesbians since 1982. In Nicaragua, Chile and Ecuador, homosexual activity is a crime punishable by lengthy prison sentences. Throughout the region, vaguely worded laws or police regulations are frequently used to arbitrarily detain lesbians and gay men and subject them to various forms of abuses, including extortion. During the last few years, there has been a gradual emergence in some Latin American countries of associations of gay men and lesbians which, as part of civil society, have attempted to press for their basic human rights.7 This process has occurred with the end of formal military dictatorships throughout the region which, in some cases, has provided greater space for new expressions of civil society. At the same time, several church and human rights groups in Latin America, among them partners of ICCHRLA, have become increasingly aware of and have sought to expose violations committed against sexual minorities. Both Colombia's Intercongregational Commission on Justice and Peace and the Ecuadoran Ecumenical Human Rights Commission (CEDHU) have documented cases of arbitrary detention, torture or killings of sexual minorities in their countries; the Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of Mexico has denounced the killings of transvestites in the state of Chiapas while the Nicaraguan Centre for Human Rights (CENIDH) strongly opposed the 1992 amendments to the Nicaraguan Penal Code which criminalizes homosexual acts. In Uruguay, the highly respected Peace and Justice Service (SERPAJ) has begun to integrate into its annual human rights review information regarding the treatment of sexual minorities and people living with HIV/AIDS. Indeed, the founder of SERPAJ-Uruguay, Father Luis Pérez Aguirre, has frequently spoken of the need to broaden the understanding of human rights so that it incorporates "all those excluded, the marginalized, beggars, prostitutes, street children, homosexuals, the shadows of those who were tortured or disappeared, all those forgotten by the 'human rights' community."8 6

For the purpose of this report, "sexual minorities" refers to persons who traditionally have been distinguished by societies because of their sexual orientation, inclination, behaviour or gender identity. 7

According to Wayne R. Dynes (op. cit.), the first openly gay organization in Latin America appears to be Nuevo Mundo formed in 1969 in Argentina. It was forced to close with the advent of the military dictatorship. A few other organizations surfaced in the 1970s but were short lived. Among these was the Frente de Liberación Homosexual which was founded in Mexico in 1971 as a response to Sears stores' firing of gay employees. 8

Luis Pérez Aguirre, "If I Speak of Human Rights", p. 13, cited in Unspoken Rules: Sexual Orientation and Women's Human Rights, a report prepared by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, p. 230.

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At the international level, various non-governmental human rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have now broadened their mandates to include attention to violations against lesbians and gay men.9 The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), based in San Francisco, maintains direct contact with a number of lesbian and gay organizations throughout the world and is one of the primary sources of information on violations against sexual minorities and persons living with HIV/AIDS. Within the United Nations system, there has been some slow movement to begin to consider issues related to sexual minorities. In August 1992, the first openly homosexual person addressed a United Nations human rights forum, denouncing the fact that no organization of lesbians and gay men had UN consultative status and, consequently, questions relating to lesbians and gay men were totally unaddressed by the United Nations.10 The government of Australia echoed this concern in June 1993 at the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, stating: "One of the remaining areas of discrimination which is yet to receive serious and detailed attention within the United Nations is that of sexual orientation. Australia recognises that discussion of the issue is bound to be difficult given the diversity of political, cultural and religious traditions which the international community is required to address. Nevertheless, 11 consideration of this issue is long overdue."

In July 1993, the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) became the first (and to date 12 the only) such organization to be accorded UN consultative status. 9

In 1991, after seventeen years of consideration and debate, Amnesty International resolved "to consider for adoption as prisoners of conscience persons who are imprisoned solely because of their homosexuality, including the practice of homosexual acts in private between consenting adults." In 1994, Human Rights Watch articulated its new policy which "opposes state sponsored and state tolerated violence, detention and prosecution of individuals because of their sexual identity, sexual orientation or private sexual practices." 10

Douglas Sanders, "Getting Lesbian and Gay Issues on the International Human Rights Agenda", Human Rights Quarterly, February 1996. 11

Statement by the Australian delegation at the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, Austria on June 23, 1993, cited in Douglas Sanders, op. cit. 12

For more information regarding the events leading to this decision, and some of the subsequent developments related to ILGA participation in UN fora, please see Douglas Sanders, op. cit.

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During the past few years, several countries have interpreted the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees to include lesbian and gay asylum seekers who have a well founded fear of persecution based on their sexual orientation.13 In countries such as Canada, the United States, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, recent decisions have found that homosexual women and men constitute a "social group" for the purpose of the Convention, defined by a fundamental, 14 immutable characteristic.

A Human Rights Issue for the Canadian Churches In June 1995, an ICCHRLA representative attended the 17th World Conference of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The meeting brought together approximately 300 participants from close to sixty countries (including delegates from at least eight Latin American nations) as well as representatives from various human rights organizations including Amnesty International and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission 15 (IGLHRC). This report is based primarily on information presented at the Conference together with documentation prepared by IGLHRC and Amnesty International and a series of interviews with a wide range of individuals and organizations in Central and South America. While a variety of concerns exist on this subject, this report does not attempt to provide a comprehensive overview of each of these but rather, seeks to focus on some of the most basic violations against the rights of 16 lesbians and gay men. Theologically, ICCHRLA approaches the need to break the silence around the deep seated and systematic violations against lesbians and gay men from a profound faith commitment to the intrinsic value of all human life. The particular scandal for churches in the face of the repression 13

In 1992 a 28 year old Argentine citizen became the first person to be granted refugee status in Canada on the grounds of his sexual orientation. According to his testimony, he had been expelled from school, fired from several jobs and repeatedly arrested for being gay. He asserted that the Argentine police had beaten, tortured and raped him during his detention. 14

Nicole LaViolette and Sandra Whitworth, "No Safe Haven: Sexuality as a Universal Human Right and Gay and Lesbian Activism in International Politics", Millennium: Journal of International Studies, 1994. 15

International Lesbian and Gay Association, "Consolidation and Democracy", press release, Brussels, June 26, 1995. 16

For a more detailed study of the subject, see James D. Wilets, "International Human Rights Law and Sexual Orientation", Hastings International and Comparative Law Review, Volume 18, Number 1, Fall 1994.

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against sexual minorities is that Christian theology and church doctrines have often been used to promote, justify and legitimize discrimination and violence against gay men and lesbians. The religious roots of homophobia and the all too frequent religious justification of hatred against sexual minorities calls us to reflect on the less often heard affirmation of God's value, concern and love for all people. With that love comes God's justice and the rejection of all forms of repressive violence and death. Specifically, in the inclusive vision of God's justice, the call for abundant life and freedom from oppression embraces lesbians and gay men. During the past decade, many churches and faith communities have been involved in deep and complex processes of rethinking doctrines and theologies which deny the dignity and integrity of sexual minorities and their right to live.17 The powerful inclusiveness of God's reign as incarnated in the life and ministry of Jesus reaches out to all who are excluded and vilified by the dominant model of society. The "least of these" according to the vision of Matthew 25 includes all who are denied their dignity as people. ICCHRLA lifts up therefore two sets of criteria for the defence of the human rights of lesbians and gay men: on the one hand, the standards and obligations of international human rights laws, declarations and agreements; on the other hand, the ethical and theological affirmation of God's option for all who are oppressed, marginalized and excluded.

17

As part of this process, in September 1995 the World Council of Churches (WCC) published a book written by Dr. Alan Brash, former deputy general secretary of the WCC, entitled "Facing Our Differences: The Churches and Their Gay and Lesbian Members".

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II. HOMOPHOBIA AND THE VEIL OF SILENCE In the early hours of June 27, 1995 a young 19 year old gay man, Liborio Cruz, was hunted down in Mexico City's Colonia Obrera by a group of 15-20 men wielding iron bars, clubs, stones and broken bottles. Within minutes of the attack, Cruz's broken and lifeless body lay dead on the Calzada de Tlalpan. In an article which appeared several weeks later in the Mexican newspaper La Jornada, columnist Marta Lamas posed the question: "Why has no one written about this [killing]? If this type of terrifying and fascist violence by a death squad had ended the life of a student, a worker or a woman, wouldn't there have been multiple expressions of indignation? Wouldn't the Attorney General or the Chief of Police have been hounded by reporters and questioned by the media and have been forced to make statements to the press? Wouldn't there have been official interest in clarifying the crime? But [the victim] was merely a transvestite, a "degenerate" someone who is sacrificed by true macho men whose manhood has been offended. Obviously, he looked for it and got 18 what he deserved." With few exceptions, most of the abuses committed against lesbians and gay men have gone undocumented and remain shrouded in a blanket of impunity. This serious omission is the result of a variety of factors, many, if not all of which are rooted in covert or overt expressions of "homophobia" -- the irrational fear of homosexuality and persons of homosexual orientation.

Particularities in Documenting Abuses Against Sexual Minorities "There exists a process within lesbian and gay groups in Latin America that has different characteristics from those in other continents. The fight in Latin America -- the recognition of the rights of gays and lesbians -- is very much tied to the general struggle for human rights in the context of the adverse political, economic and social situations". Rebecca Sevilla, former Executive Director of the Homosexual Movement of Lima (MHOL). Lesbians and gay men were among the tens of thousands of persons to "disappear" during the Argentine military dictatorship; they have wasted away in Uruguayan prisons and have been tortured by Pinochet's secret police in Chile. They have been killed by death squads in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and El Salvador, have sought shelter and protection in Honduran refugee camps 18

Marta Lamas, "Homosexualidad: silencio y derechos humanos", La Jornada, Mexico, July 17, 1995, p. 11.

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and count among the hundreds of thousands of internal refugees living in conditions of squalor in Peru's pueblos jovenes. At the same time, homosexuals have held, and continue to hold positions of power in many Latin American countries. They are right-wing politicians and Supreme Court judges, military officials and Cabinet Ministers. In a few recent cases it is widely rumoured that they have even occupied the position of President. If there is a common denominator between these two groups, it is perhaps their "invisibility" as sexual minorities. In Latin America, as elsewhere, the social stigma associated with homosexuality forces the majority of lesbians and gay men to hide their sexual orientation. The higher one is in the rigid socio-economic stratification present in many Latin American societies, the more one has to lose if one's homosexual orientation is revealed. While all sexual minorities experience various degrees of repression, the level and extent of abuses depends largely on the person's degree of "visibility" as a homosexual and the socio-economic position of the individual. For both lesbians and gay men, many of the most common experiences of oppression are not directly related to statesponsored acts or omissions but, rather, to the actions of private groups, individuals and even family 19 members. In drafting this report, ICCHRLA has been faced with a number of challenges. First and foremost, there is little documented information with respect to violations against lesbians and gay men. In an interview with Sister Elsie Monge, President of the Ecumenical Human Rights Commission of Ecuador (CEDHU), ICCHRLA was told that abuses are occurring, "but people are too frightened to 20 come forward and denounce them." This reality is due to a number of factors. As noted above, the underlying climate of homophobia, which is constantly reinforced by a variety of social organizations and the media, results in distorted views and even a "dehumanization" of lesbians and gay men. They are often portrayed by the media as criminals, objects of ridicule or psychologically impaired. In Ecuador, according to Sister Monge: "Homosexuals are portrayed as abnormal people who are even considered dangerous because people believe they corrupt the youth".21 Brazilian gay activist Luiz Mott reported that in its coverage of the 7th Brazilian Meeting of Gays and Lesbians, the Rio de Janeiro newspaper A 22 Notícia ran a front page article with the headline "Faggots Want to Be People". The advent of 19

For a more detailed study, please see Nicole LaViolette and Sandra Whitworth, op. cit.

20

Interview with Sister Elsie Monge, Quito, Ecuador, October 20, 1995.

21

Ibid.

22

Luiz Mott, op. cit.

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HIV/AIDS and its identification in the media as a "gay disease" has resulted in even more virulent attacks. This has resulted in little public sympathy or support when gays are arrested or attacked. Moreover, the lack of positive role models and negative stereotypes serves to reinforce a sense of internalized homophobia within lesbians and gay men. Consequently, many do not even denounce the abuses they are subjected to, believing that they have no other option but to tolerate them. Impunity for crimes against gay men and lesbians is widespread and is compounded by the fact that relatives are often embarrassed to push for an investigation. Similarly, it is reported that the police often refuse to investigate crimes against lesbians and gay men, preferring to blame them on common delinquency or lover's quarrels. Another important factor in explaining the lack of documentation regarding abuses against sexual minorities is that Latin American lesbians and gay men generally have little faith that the system will protect their rights. This fact was made more than clear to Colombian human rights lawyer and gay activist Juan Pablo Ordoñez when, in the course of an interview in November 1994 with Oswaldo Henríquez Linero, Human Rights Ombudsman for the city of Barranquilla, Colombia, he was told: "The moment a faggot begins hanging around my house, [his] human rights are over...I'd rather have a daughter who is a whore than a faggot son...[If I were to have a homosexual child] I would treat him like the family dog, just like any other case from my office. I 23 believe I love my dog more than I'd love a faggot." The rampant homophobia behind these remarks is not limited to government officials, but transcends virtually every sector of society -- including, unfortunately, church institutions and representatives. An honest assessment of the role played by the Latin American churches with respect to sexual minorities shows that while some sectors within the churches have demonstrated a recognition of the oppression which Latin American lesbians and gay men face and a solidarity with them, other sectors have demonstrated the exact opposite. Many Latin American lesbian and gay Christians have been profoundly saddened that some of their leaders, going against international human rights standards, have continued to strongly support colonial era laws that criminalize homosexual acts or, in other cases, have actively worked to 23

Juan Pablo Ordoñez, No Human Being is Disposable: Social Cleansing, Human Rights and Sexual Orientation in Colombia, a joint report of the Colombia Human Rights Committee, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and Proyecto Dignidad por los Derechos Humanos en Colombia, 1995, pp. 65-66. Although Ordoñez made a formal complaint and presented the National Human Rights Ombudsman, Jaime Córdoba Triviño, with a tape of the entire interview with the Ombudsman from Barranquilla, no disciplinary action was taken and that person remains in office to this day.

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obstruct lesbian and gay meetings from taking place or to prevent their organizations from obtaining legal status, leaving lesbians and gay men vulnerable to arbitrary abuses. Argentinean gay men and lesbians were outraged when, in August 20, 1994, the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Antonio Quarracino, stated that homosexuals were "a dirty stain on the nation's face" and called for the creation of a zone of exclusion "where they could all live with their laws, their newspapers, their television and their Constitution."24 With few exceptions, Church leaders in Latin America have remained silent in denouncing the ongoing physical assaults and assassinations of sexual minorities in their countries. Even worse, others, speaking in the name of the church, have made statements which have served to legitimize and incite violence against lesbians and gay men. One reprehensible example of this is Argentine army chaplain Father Lobardero, who, in both the written and television media, has repeatedly called for the death penalty for homosexual persons, arguing that the commandment "Thou Shalt Not Kill" does not apply to homosexuals.25 Homophobia is also a factor among some organizations dedicated to the protection of human rights. In researching this report, ICCHRLA learned of a sad case in which a South American lesbian was arrested in 1977 during a military operation. She was never seen again. The woman's family joined an association of relatives of the disappeared, however, according to the account: "Once [the Association] learned of [the woman's] sexual orientation, they began to ignore her and her family. They abandoned all efforts to find her and no longer carried her picture in the marches they organized."26 While, as noted in the introduction to this report, an increasing number of human rights organizations in the region are beginning to document abuses against sexual minorities in their countries, they remain a minority. And few of these have established direct links with organizations of lesbians and gay men. As a result, the information they provide is often incomplete. For example, some human rights organizations in Colombia have documented assassinations of "homosexuals". However, according to Juan Pablo Ordoñez: "Death certificates of murdered men list them as homosexuals only if they were dressed in women's clothing at the time they were killed. All government and non-governmental statistics of homosexual murders are based on these identifications. However, transvestites are a minority within the homosexual community, and many homosexuals whose rights are 24

Latin American Council of Churches, "Rapidas", Quito, September 1994, p. 7.

25

James D. Wilets, op cit. p. 34.

26

Ana Martínez, "Uruguay", from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Unspoken Rules: Sexual Orientation and Women's Human Rights, p. 232.

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violated are not transvestites. Thus, the statistics are far from realistic and many human 27 rights violations against homosexuals go unnoticed."

III. EXTRAJUDICIAL EXECUTIONS The most fundamental of rights is that to life itself. Throughout Latin America, sexual minorities have been deprived of this right through targeted assassinations by state agents, paramilitary organizations, and, in some cases, insurgent groups. In countries such as Brazil, for example, there have been widespread killings of sexual minorities. The Gay Group of Bahia (GGB), Brazil's oldest gay rights organization, has documented more than 1,200 cases of assassinations of lesbians, gay men and transvestites since 1982. According to GGB president Luiz Mott, the killers in only two percent of these cases have been brought to justice; the 28 remaining 98 percent have never been investigated. In a speech given at the opening session of the 17th World Conference of the International Lesbian and Gay Association, Brazilian Congresswoman Marta Suplicy confirmed this report, stating that an average of one homosexual 29 person is murdered every four days in Brazil. The situation described above has been noted in numerous other Latin American countries. In an August 1995 study on the situation of sexual minorities in Honduras, prepared for the Canadian Lawyers Association for International Human Rights (CLAIHR), author Richard Elliot reports that: "Many of those interviewed spoke of members of the [Public Security Force], the Army and/or the (now disbanded) DNI [National Division of Investigations], carrying out extrajudicial executions of gay men, primarily transvestites, in both San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa...[They] indicated that periodically, the bodies of gay men, usually transvestites, are discovered by the roadside or in a ditch. In some cases, there is evidence suggesting that police officers or army personnel may have been responsible".30 27

Juan Pablo Ordoñez, op. cit. p. 16.

28

Interview with Luiz Mott, Rio de Janeiro, June 20, 1995.

29

Speech given by Marta Suplicy, Congresswoman from the State of São Paulo for the Worker's Party, at the opening of the 17th World Conference of the International Lesbian and Gay Association, June 20, 1995. 30

Richard Elliot, Human Rights Violations in Honduras Against Sexual Minorities and People With HIV/AIDS, report prepared for the Canadian Lawyers Association for International Human Rights (CLAIHR), August 1995, p.45.

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The following are a few of the cases reported in other Latin American countries in which evidence points to the involvement of state agents: •

Between June 1991 and February 1993, at least 15 and perhaps as many as 25 gay men and transvestites were killed execution-style in the locality of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, in the Mexican state of Chiapas. Most of the murder victims were shot by the same calibre bullets used by the police. Less than one week after the arrest of the alleged author of the assassinations, the Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of Mexico and the Gay Cultural Circle sent a letter to Amnesty International in which they openly denounced the participation of the state police of Chiapas in several of the murders. In the letter, they state: "We have strong evidence which lead us to believe that this campaign is being carried out by various police bodies, with the possible involvement of the Army. Most of the assassinations were conducted in a similar manner. The victim is picked up in the street, sometimes in a taxi, where they are then taken out of the city or the urban area, they are shot at point blank range and their body is thrown onto the highway...The shots are fired with great skill, using high calibre weapons including 9mm -- used by the Army --, and Super 38 and 45 calibre, which are used by the 31 Judicial Police"



On February 6, 1993, Neftalí Ruiz Ramírez, Vice-President of the Tuxtla Gutiérrez Gay Transvestite Group, died after being shot in the face while standing on a street corner in Tuxtla Gutiérrez. The shot, apparently from a 38mm calibre gun, was fired from a passing car. Eye witnesses claimed that the assassin worked for the State Judicial Police. Neftalí Ruiz had taken part in several marches protesting the killings of gay men in Chiapas.



In March 1993, Renildo José Dos Santos, a councillor from the municipality of Coqueiro Seco, in Brazil's state of Alagoas, was kidnapped, tortured and decapitated. Six months prior to his murder, he had revealed his bisexuality in a radio program. Immediately afterwards, the town council voted to ban him from office and he began to receive death threats. The Gay Group of Bahia asked Canada to grant him political asylum however before a response 32 came, he was kidnapped and killed. His severed head was found in an adjoining state. In

31

Luis Vinalopo, "Mexico: vestidas para morir", Cambio 16, Lima, Peru, May 31, 1993, p. 24.

32

James Brooke, "In Live and Let Live Land, Gay People Are Slain" New York Times, August 12,

1994.

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an action alert, Amnesty International expressed concern that members of the state security 33 forces were responsible for the killing.

Attacks by Paramilitary Groups and Death Squads "Keep Bahia Clean: Kill a Faggot Every Day!" signs which appeared in the city of Salvador Bahia, Brazil in 1995. Throughout the region, sexual minorities have been among the sectors targeted by various paramilitary groups and death squads. In some cases the ease with which the groups are able to operate together with the equipment used to carry out their attacks point to involvement of members of the state security forces. Added to this, the passive attitude in investigating and apprehending the perpetrators provides an indication of the degree of state complicity. In Brazil, according to Professor Luiz Mott of the Gay Group of Bahia, extermination squads targeting sexual minorities have been active from the north to the south of the country for twenty years. According to Mott, the first reference to the existence of an anti-gay death squad in Brazil goes back to 1976 during the military dictatorship when paramilitary groups proliferated. According to reports, on June 10 and 16 of that year, the bodies of two homosexual men -- a 19-year old transvestite known as Wanderley Barbosa Tinoco and a 25 year-old hairdresser known only as "Beny" -- were found in the Paraibuna River, located in the city of Guaratingetá, state of São Paulo. They had been murdered by members of the so-called "Hortelã Squadron", a group taking its name from the herb that reportedly has the property of killing "bichas" (worms: a pejorative term for 34 homosexuals). The Gay Group of Bahia has identified twelve anti-gay "extermination groups" which operate or have recently operated in various parts of Brazil. Among these are the "Group for Hunting Homosexuals" in Belém do Pará, the "Koran Commando", comprised of youths in downtown Rio de Janeiro, the "Grupo Febrônio", named after a paedophile psychopath of the 1920's who

33

Amnesty International, "Brazil: AI Concerned at Killing of Homosexual Politician", AMR 19/07/93, April 1993. 34

Luiz Mott, op. cit.

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committed several murders, and a neo-nazi skinhead group based in São Paulo whose members 35 wear t-shirts saying "Death to Homosexuals." Paramilitary activity targeting sexual minorities has been reported in several other countries in the region. The following are a few illustrative examples: •

In 1990 and 1991, more than forty transvestites were killed in Lima, Peru, by right wing 36 groups known as "mata cabros" or "kill faggots".



In Ecuador, at least twenty gay men and transvestites were murdered between November 1991 and February 1992 by a group known as the "Band of Terror".



In Chile, an anti-gay "commando" unit claimed responsibility for the fire set in the gay discotheque Divine in the city of Valparaiso in September 1993. Nineteen people died in the attack. Earlier that year, in a press conference given in Sweden in April 1993, President Patricio Aylwin reportedly stated that there was no discrimination against lesbians and gays 37 in Chile. Rather, he stated, it's merely that Chileans "do not like homosexuals".

"Social Cleansing" Murders "The perpetrators of "social cleansing" operations justify their actions based on aesthetics coupled with economics, and on morality. The aesthetic/economic rationale goes something like this: the rabble must be removed, because even if they are not criminals, they look like criminals, or because they are crazies and may scare away customers with their looks, or simply because they are dirty and annoy customers with their panhandling, or because they are hookers or unsightly faggots. The moral rationale is based on the need to protect society from prostitutes and homosexuals. People apply either statement to individuals they consider "disposable".38 Colombian Human Rights lawyer Juan Pablo Ordoñez

35

Ibid.

36

Lucien Chauvin, "A Key Decade for Latin American Gays and Lesbians", Boston Gay Community News, March 18-24, 1991, cited in James D. Wilets, op. cit. 37

Defensa Gay y Lesbianas (JUVCONGAY), "A Las Organizaciones Internacionales de Solidaridad y Defensa de los Derechos Gay y Lesbianas", Concepción, Chile, September 25, 1993. 38

Juan Pablo Ordoñez, op. cit., p. 36.

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The killings committed by paramilitary groups and death squads are often intimately linked to the ill-named phenomenon known as "social cleansing". Inspired by a neo-nazi ideology, "social cleansing" operations have been reported in several Latin American countries and have taken on alarming proportions in recent years. Colombia's Inter-Congregational Commission on Justice and Peace reported 200 deaths in that country during 1995 which it attributes to "social cleansing". Among the victims were street children, beggars, delinquents, drug addicts, recyclers, sexual 39 minorities and sex trade workers.

39

Comisión Intercongregacional de Justicia y Paz, "Boletín informativo", Volumen 8, No. 4, October-December, 1995, Bogotá, Colombia.

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The following cases are among the 200 documented by the Inter-Congregational Commission: •

On September 22, 1995, Juan Carlos Villegas, a fifteen year old homosexual, was killed in the city of Cali, department of Valle by unknown individuals who fired repeatedly at him, four of the bullets hitting him in the face. The incident occurred at 11:30 p.m. in the La Merced neighbourhood.40



On September 29, 1995, the body of a transvestite whose name is not known but who was approximately 27 years of age, was found on the Panamerican highway near the Puente Bonilla in the city of Mercaderes, department of Cauca. The victim bore three bullet 41 wounds in different parts of his body.

Attacks by Insurgent Groups While the majority of violence against sexual minorities would appear to come from private, state or paramilitary groups, insurgent forces on the left have also been responsible for abuses against homosexual persons. ICCHRLA was told that the ideology of some of these groups has tended to view gay men and lesbians as "anti-revolutionary" or as "products of bourgeois decadence"42 and 43 therefore as a threat to a leftist political project. One of the most documented cases of anti-gay attacks by an insurgent group are the killings committed in the early 1990s by the Peruvian guerrilla organization, the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA). According to the Homosexual Movement of Lima (MHOL), the MRTA, whose leader, Victor Polay, stated that homosexuals represent a danger to society, has both threatened, and carried out its threats, to kill gays. Between May and July 1990, the MRTA 40

Comisión Intercongregacional de Justicia y Paz, op. cit., Volumen 8, No. 3, p. 103.

41

Ibid., p. 104.

42

Various interviews conducted at the 17th World Conference of the International Lesbian and Gay Association, June 1995. 43

One group which has shown a greater openness to sexual minorities is the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) in Mexico. In April 1995, the pro-government Mexican press published innuendos that Zapatista leader Subcomandante Marcos was homosexual. In response, the Zapatistas issued a press release which stated in part: "About whether Marcos is homosexual: Marcos is gay in San Francisco, black in South Africa, an Asian in Europe, a Chicano in San Ysidro, an anarchist in Spain, a Palestinian in Israel, a Mayan Indian in the streets of San Cristóbal...a single woman on the metro at 10 p.m., a peasant without land...and, of course, a Zapatista in the mountains of southeast Mexico. So Marcos is a human being, any human being, in this world. Marcos is all the exploited, marginalized, and oppressed minorities resisting and saying, Enough!"

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was responsible for the murder of at least three and perhaps as many as nine gay men who were killed in the towns of Pucallpa (department of Ucayali) and Tarapoto (department of San Martín). Most of the victims were hairdressers or transvestites. Some reportedly had received warnings prior to their killings that they should leave town or they would be killed as part of a process of "moralization". Two years after these killings, on September 11, 1992 members of MHOL received a phone call at their office from a person who stated: "We are from the MRTA and we don't like gays...You have 44 only twenty minutes to leave the premises before the machine gun fire and bombing starts." More than 30 people were evacuated from the MHOL office in response to the call, however no attack occurred. In an interview with two members of MHOL, ICCHRLA was informed that there are some questions regarding the source of the threat: according to the persons interviewed, the call came at a time when both many of the MRTA's leaders were behind bars and the insurgents had been relatively inactive in Lima for several months.45 Whatever the source, the call had its desired effect of spreading fear among the members of MHOL.

44

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, "Guerrilla Group (MRTA) Threatens Gays in Peru", press release, September 18, 1992. 45

Interview with two members of the Homosexual Movement of Lima, October 29, 1995.

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IV. LEGAL AND EXTRA-LEGAL FORMS OF REPRESSION

"Police repression uses traps to mock the formal character of legality which gay and lesbian communities have in general in Latin America. In this manner, not even the most benign constitutions nor the most democratic systems guarantee real protection for the civil 46 rights of lesbians and gays".

Throughout Latin America many lesbians and gay men, particularly the most economically disadvantaged, are frequently denied the most basic rights and freedoms: of expression, assembly, association, privacy, non discrimination -- and even the right to life itself. In the absence of antidiscriminatory legislation to protect sexual minorities, combined with the political will to enforce it, the disclosure of one's homosexuality can result in losing one's job and livelihood, home and family. At present, lesbians and gay men in Latin America are subject to a variety of discriminatory policies: in some cases through legislation designed specifically to criminalize homosexual relations or, in others, through the selective application of vaguely defined laws which are frequently used by police officials as a means to harass, intimidate and extort sexual minorities.

Denial of Legal Status to Lesbian and Gay Organizations The development and growth of civil organizations is an essential element to any democratic society. In the case of sexual minorities, there are many obstacles which have impeded the creation of representative organizations of lesbians and gay men. In many Latin American countries, legal recognition (personalidad jurídica) is necessary to allow an organization to exist. While the consequences of not obtaining this recognition may differ from country to country, generally speaking, without this status, organizations may not open a bank account, cannot solicit funds or operate publicly. Added to this, in many cases, organizations which are not officially registered may face legal action including closing down of their offices, confiscation of their materials and imprisonment or fines for their members. ICCHRLA is aware of several cases in which legitimate organizations comprised of lesbians and gay men have been 46

Dr. Miguel Angel Polikowski, "Represión policial ilegal", paper presented at the 17th World Conference of the International Lesbian and Gay Association, June 1995.

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denied legal status. The few examples cited below provide an illustration of some of the problems encountered: •

In 1995 the Ministry of the Interior of Honduras denied a petition by the Association of Honduran Homosexuals Against AIDS (AHHCOS) for legal status on the grounds that it was contrary to "public morality and public decency." Since it was formed in 1991, AHHCOS has faced numerous obstacles to its work including a warning by (then) Minister of Public Health, José Enrique Zelaya, that homosexuals should not organize to defend their rights because the Honduran populace was not ready to accept them. Without legal recognition, the members of AHHCOS run the risk of further problems: Article 332 of the Penal Code of Honduras permits imprisonment of the directors and fines for the members of "illicit associations", the definition of which includes associations contrary to the law and "public morality".47



In 1995 the Costa Rican Office of Registration of Organizations (a department of the Public Registry) rejected a petition by the gay group ABRAXAS to grant it legal status. ABRAXAS was founded in April 1995 and adopted as its central goal the struggle against the social discrimination levelled against people with homosexual orientations. The justification given was that the group's goals violated the Law of Associations which states that "no group that undermines good customs and morality may legally register". Article 23 of the Law of Associations further provides that a public place may be shut by the police if within the establishment there are committed acts against public morality.48



The Argentine Homosexual Community (CHA) faced repeated obstacles in its three year struggle to obtain legal recognition. CHA first petitioned the Argentine government for legal status in 1989 however its request was denied by the ruling judge who reportedly stated that he "couldn't make room for a hybrid gender". This decision was upheld in November 1991 when the Supreme Court ruled that "[t]he constitutional right of freedom of expression is limited by the need and duty to preserve public morals for the common good." After CHA took its case before the Inter-American Human Rights Commission, the Argentine government reluctantly decided to grant legal recognition in 1992.49

In addition to the above, ICCHRLA was informed that in many more cases, lesbians and gay men have been unable to gather the signatures needed to even present a petition needed to initiate the

47

Richard Elliot, op. cit. pp. 39, 59.

48

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, "Action Alert", June 1995.

49

James D. Wilets, op. cit., pp. 87-88.

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process to register an organization due to the well-founded fear their members have of public exposure and reprisals.

Criminalization of Homosexual Acts At present, three Latin American countries have legislation which prohibits sexual relations between persons of the same gender and establishes lengthy prison sentences as punishment. These laws violate international norms guaranteeing the right to non-discrimination, freedom of expression and privacy. Moreover, as Amnesty International has pointed out, in some of these cases, the terms used are so broad and undefined that they could allow for the prosecution of persons for activities such as promoting lesbian and gay rights, imparting health information concerning sexuality or having homosexual relations in circumstances which would not be criminal 50 were it to involve heterosexual persons : •

In Ecuador, Article 516 of the Penal Code criminalizes homosexual behaviour between two consenting adults over the age of 21. It carries a mandatory prison sentence of 4 to 8 years.



In Nicaragua, Article 204 of the Penal Code, passed in June 1992 by the Chamorro government, provides prison sentences of 1-3 years for "anyone who induces, promotes, propagandizes or practices in scandalous form sexual intercourse between persons of the 51 same sex".



In Chile, Article 365 of the country's penal code makes consensual homosexual relations between adults illegal. The punishment is between 541 days to 3 years in prison.52

Although these laws are rarely enforced, their existence provides the legal backdrop against which much of the harassment of sexual minorities is able to occur. Indeed, many of the testimonies gathered by ICCHRLA, in particular with regards to Ecuador, indicate that this legislation is used as a constant threat, allowing the police to intimidate, abuse and extort lesbians, gay men and transvestites. 50

Amnesty International, "Nicaragua: Article 204 - Legalizing the Repression of Homosexuality", London, October 1994, AMR 43/03/94. 51

Ibid.

52

As this report was being drafted, an international campaign had been launched to press the government of Chile to repeal this law. According to the Santiago-based Movement for Homosexual Liberation (MOVILH), on August 2, 1995 the lower house of the Chilean parliament voted to amend the law so that it would only apply to persons under the age of 18 years. The proposal has been sent to the more conservative Senate for its review in early 1996.

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Broadly Defined Laws and Edicts Used Against Sexual Minorities According to information ICCHRLA has received, police harassment of sexual minorities is common, even in those countries where homosexual acts are not criminalized. In many cases, sexual minorities are treated as delinquents, and broadly defined laws referring to public order and morality are frequently used as a basis to intimidate, detain and/or subject lesbians and gay men to extortion. A case in point is Argentina where, according to reports provided by activists from that country, the police routinely harass sexual minorities through the application of a series of police edicts (edictos policiales) and the Law of Investigation of Antecedents. The broad nature of the Law of Investigation of Antecedents provides the authorities with sweeping powers to arbitrarily detain an individual and take him or her to a police station where they may be held for up to 10 hours, ostensibly to check the person's record. According to Argentine activists, this occurs even after a review of the person's identity card shows it to be in order. The police edicts are not laws as such but rather Federal Police regulations whose enforcement is left to the discretion of the police themselves. Under the provisions of the police edicts, anyone 53 found guilty of violating them can be arrested and held for a period of up to 30 days. Among the police edicts used most frequently against sexual minorities are the Edict of Scandal (Edicto de Escándalo) and the Public Dances Edict (Edicto Bailes Publicos). Article 2 of the former, promulgated in 1949, establishes penalties for "those who disturb with flirtatious remarks" or those who incite "to commit a carnal act in the public street". According to Argentine activists, any public expression of affection between two women or two men can be cited under this charge and result in the arrest of the guilty parties who, as noted above, may be held for a period of up to 54 30 days. Paragraph F of the same article prohibits "public exhibition of persons wearing or disguised with clothes of the opposite gender". Under this provision, transvestites are frequently detained and held for lengthy periods.55 Article 3, paragraph A of the Public Dances Edict punishes any owner of an establishment that "permits men dancing together". They, too, may be held for a thirty day period.

53

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, "Action Alert", August 1995.

54

Alejandra Sarda, "Argentina" from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Unspoken Rules: Sexual Orientation and Women's Human Rights, p. 3. 55

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, "Action Alert", August 1995; Alejandra Sarda, op. cit., p. 3.

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The Buenos Aires based group Gays for Civil Rights (GDC) recorded 342 complaints resulting from enforcement of the police edicts between September 1992 and September 1994. According to the GDC, there was a sharp increase in the use of the police edicts during 1995 with 91 cases of arbitrary detention during the first five months of 1995.56 Those arrested under these provisions have a well founded fear of further repression. According to an Argentine lesbian activist: "The Argentinean police have a long history of authoritarianism and violent repression. Police brutality (sometimes resulting in death), the rape of women in custody, psychological mistreatment -- all of these abuses are common. The 10-hour limit on detention and the suspect's right to make a telephone call [in the case of those detained under the Law of Investigation of Antecedents] exist on paper but are often not respected. Lesbians who are arrested in bars or on the street are frequently subjected to verbal abuse or intimate body 57 searches by male officers." ICCHRLA was informed that extortion is also common practice in many of these cases. According to the same report: "The police threaten to reveal to employers or to family members that someone was arrested in a lesbian [or gay] bar. Lack of information about their rights together with the intense fear which the Argentinean police inspire in the majority of the population leads lesbians [and 58 gay men] to comply with police orders without questioning them." In Brazil, as in Argentina, homosexual relations are not prohibited by law, however various articles of the penal code are often used selectively by police officials as a means to harass or extort sexual minorities. For example, Article 233 of the penal code establishes prison sentences ranging from three months to one year for committing "an obscene act in a place that is public or openly exposed to the public". According to Brazilian activists, "[this] is often used by police against same-sex couples in situations which would never be considered criminal for heterosexual couples (for instance, kissing in public)."59

56

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, "Action Alert", August 1995.

57

Alejandra Sarda, op. cit., p. 3.

58

Ibid.

59

Miriam Martinho, "Brazil", from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Unspoken Rules: Sexual Orientation and Women's Human Rights, p. 17.

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Similarly, in Mexico, the "Regulations for Police and Good Government" refer to "moral lapses" and "accepted customs" in such a way as to allow them to be used to impose fines or arrest lesbians or gay men who embrace or display other signs of affection in public. In a recent report prepared by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Mexican activists denounced the following case: "A recent example involved two women who were kissing in a car. A police patrol approached, demanded an explanation, and gave them a citation on the grounds that what they were doing was deviant; they were threatened with being taken to the police for 'moral culpability'. Even after the women accepted the citation, the officers continued the interrogation with prurient questions about the nature of the women's relationship. They were made to get into the police wagon separately and they were asked to pay a certain sum for their release."60

Other Forms of Official Harassment In addition to the type of ongoing abuses noted above, lesbians and gay men in Latin America often face many obstacles for the simple right to hold meetings and conferences. ICCHRLA is aware of several cases in recent years in which lesbians and gay men have been obstructed in their attempts to meet. This practice clearly violates international norms, including Article 20 of the Universal Declaration which states that "everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association". The following examples are a few of the most documented cases: •

In April 1990, the 2nd Latin American and Caribbean Lesbian Feminist Meeting was held outside the capital of San José, Costa Rica. The meeting had to be held under tight security in a secret location as it was feared that participants would be subject to violent attacks. This came in the wake of a campaign of intimidation launched after news of the upcoming event was made public in one of the country's major dailies. Under the headline "War Against Lesbians", various groups expressed their opposition to the event. In an article entitled "A Slap on the Costa Rican Womens' Faces", a group calling itself the "Free Costa Rican Movement" threatened to make a list of every lesbian or other person who publicly supported the meeting in order to "take actions against them". Church leaders were among the opponents to the meeting: in a press conference, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of San José expressed his opposition to the event and urged the government to take concrete action against the meeting. On April 9, the Minister of the Interior announced that the government would deny visas to foreigners who wanted to come to the meeting. He further stated that

60

Gloria Careaga Pérez and Patria Jiménez, "Mexico" from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Unspoken Rules: Sexual Orientation and Women's Human Rights, pp. 117118.

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airport authorities would prevent the entrance of every "suspicious" woman which included 61 single women, women travelling alone or women travelling with other women. •

In June 1991, the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) was scheduled to hold its 13th World Conference in Guadalajara, Mexico. In the weeks leading up to the Conference, a campaign was launched by various local authorities, including sectors of the church, to prevent it from taking place. In an interview with the daily, Metropoli, the mayor of Guadalajara, Gabriel Covarrubias Ibarra, stated: "An event of this nature cannot be authorized in any way because neither our customs, nor history, nor education, nor religion, nor anything will permit it." The organizers, fearing violence, eventually had to cancel the event as the intimidation and harassment increased amidst the mayor's statements that there would be no police protection for conference participants.62

In addition to the examples cited above, ICCHRLA is aware of other events and conferences dealing with feminism or HIV/AIDS which have been marked by harassment due to the fact that lesbians and gay men were among the participants. The following example is illustrative: •

In 1993, the 6th Latin American and Caribbean Feminist Meeting, held in El Salvador, was met with an intense campaign of harassment and intimidation. In the weeks leading up to the meeting, there were repeated virulent attacks by the conservative media which alleged that the event was being orchestrated by the FMLN and their sympathizers to corrupt traditional Salvadoran values and that, in reality it was a convention of lesbians. As a result, the Conference was marked by death threats to the organizers, the reneging of a contract by one of the host hotels, arbitrary detentions at the airport and the refusal to allow entry to four participants.

Arbitrary Detentions According to the information ICCHRLA has gathered, arbitrary detentions of sexual minorities is a frequent occurrence in many Latin American countries. In virtually every one of the interviews conducted, lesbian and gay activists could provide precise information regarding numerous incidents of arbitrary raids conducted against lesbian and gay establishments in their countries. They

61

Ana Elena Obando Montserrat Sagat, "Meeting with Repression: 2nd Encuentro LesbicoFeminista de Latinomerica y el Caribe", Off Our Backs, August-September 1990, p. 2. 62

Gloria Careaga Pérez and Patria Jiménez, op. cit., p. 121.

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denounced that the raids were most often accompanied by verbal and/or physical abuse and ended 63 in unlawful detentions.

63

Various interviews conducted by ICCHRLA in June 1995 during the 17th World Conference of the International Lesbian and Gay Association, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and subsequent interviews conducted in October-November 1995 in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela.

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In Colombia, according to information gathered by human rights lawyer Juan Pablo Ordoñez: "It is not uncommon for gay bars to be closed and patrons are continually harassed by the Police and the Army. Police raids are not unusual, especially in establishments located in poor neighbourhoods, and from time to time, tear gas and firebombs have been used to disrupt gatherings and frighten the clientele."64 In addition to the above, activists from several countries also reported that the police frequently extort bribes as a pre-condition to be released or for not telling a person's family or employer that he or she is homosexual. These abuses are seldom denounced for fear of reprisals or exposure by those affected. This is particularly the case in countries such as Ecuador where homosexual activity is criminalized and where sexual minorities have the potential weight of a prison term hanging over them. In a recent study on the situation in Honduras, human rights lawyer Richard Elliot reported that: "According to several gay men interviewed, patrons of bars would sometimes be detained by police; on at least some occasions, the police would back up a van or covered police truck and simply load all customers into the vehicle to be taken to the station. On some occasions, some of the men detained would be charged with "public indecency" (if found dancing with another man, for example). One person remarked that it was not uncommon for police to extort money from those detained, although those interviewed suggested that men with connections to families of the military or political elite would be more likely to be 65 released with a minimum of harassment." In Brazil, according to a report prepared by Luiz Mott of the Gay Group of Bahia, anti-gay chauvinism takes its most violent form in the different departments of the civil and military police. Writes Professor Mott: "Wrongful imprisonment and police abuses are so intolerable that many transvestites who have been arbitrarily detained and imprisoned, as a last resort for obtaining freedom, have mutilated their bodies by cutting their arms, neck or legs, thus trying to scare the police authorities with the blood. With the advent of AIDS, some use these self-mutilations as 66 weapons to threaten their assailants."

64

Juan Pablo Ordoñez, op. cit., p. 69.

65

Richard Elliot, op. cit. p. 49.

66

Luiz Mott, op. cit.

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The following provide a few other examples of the type of treatment lesbians and gay men often experience. •

On March 12, 1995, members of the police force in Caracas, Venezuela conducted forceful raids of five lesbian and gay clubs in Caracas. According to the Gay Movement of Venezuela, several patrons were verbally abused and physically assaulted and others were 67 arrested.



On April 15, 1995, the police conducted a raid on Boicot, a lesbian bar in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Ten women were arrested and held for several hours during which time they were subjected to verbal abuse and threatened that the police would inform the press of their names and the fact that they were lesbians. According to one of the women present, the police were selective in their choice of those arrested, selecting the youngest and those who seemed to have the least economic resources. It was believed that the reason for doing this was the presumption that the younger and apparently poorer women would be less informed 68 and more easily intimidated.



On August 11, 1995 a unit of 30 policemen raided the Gas Oil, a gay bar in Buenos Aires. After demanding to see everyone's identification, they proceeded to arrest 130 patrons, detaining 67 of them for up to 10 hours. According to reports, the police alerted the media to the raid and allowed them to film the faces of some of those arrested, thereby exposing 69 them to further harassment and possible reprisals.



In late January and early February 1996, more than 600 people were detained in a series of raids on gay nightclubs in Lima, Peru. Although there have been raids in the past, these were unprecedented in their scope and magnitude. According to eye-witness accounts, people approaching the police to ask why they were being detained were beaten with clubs. All those detained on January 26 were taken to the Sixth Precinct, infamous for its mistreatment of detainees, where they were allegedly shoved, insulted and subjected to demands for bribes. The majority of the detainees were held until the following morning.70

67

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, "Action Alert", June 1995.

68

Alejandra Sarda, op. cit., pp. 3-4.

69

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, "Action Alert", August 1995

70

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, "Action Alert", March, 1996.

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Torture and Other Forms of Cruel and Degrading Treatment and Punishment "Lesbians and gay men in the custody of government officials often face torture and illtreatment. In some countries, homosexual activists are targeted as "examples, in attempts to control their public identities and community activism, while in other places, gay people living relatively quiet and private lives may fall victim to this type of government abuse....Lesbians and gay men who face torture and ill-treatment may be doubly victimized, as societal discrimination prevents them from seeking the legal, religious, social or psychiatric support services available to other victims. Often these abuses are kept secret, rendering the wounds even more difficult to heal."71 Amnesty International According to ICCHRLA's findings, torture remains a systematic practice in many Latin American countries. As noted above, the arbitrary detention of sexual minorities is often marked by verbal and physical abuse and, in some cases by sexual abuse and torture. Due to the social stigma associated with homosexuality, lesbian and gay men are particularly vulnerable and less likely to denounce these types of abuses by the authorities. In a report presented to the Organization of American States, the Ecuadoran Foundation for Support, Education and Prevention of AIDS (FEDAEPS) denounced that: "Frequently the police arrest homosexual persons without a legal warrant and torture them: stripping them at midnight, forcing them to bathe in freezing water...stabbing them in the 72 hands with sharp objects, applying electric current to their genitals, etc..." This practice was confirmed in a January 1994 report by the Ecumenical Human Rights Commission of Ecuador (CEDHU). According to this report, six gay men were violently arrested by a police unit in downtown Quito in late 1993. They were taken to Quito Regiment No. 1, stripped and placed in ice cold water after which they were beaten with baseball bats and clubs. They were forced to bend over and were sodomized with a pole. Four police officers participated in the assault, one of whom told the victims that after their punishment, "they would be men again". In an interview with Sister Elsie Monge, President of CEDHU, ICCHRLA was informed that: "Whenever gay people have been detained, they are roughed up more than anyone else. There is 71

Amnesty International, "Breaking the Silence: Human Rights Violations Based on Sexual Orientation", New York, February 1994, pp. 14-15. 72

Fundación Ecuatoriana de Ayuda, Educación y Prevención del SIDA, "Petición ante la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos de la OEA", Quito, November 7, 1994.

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little, if any recourse to legal remedies when these situations occur due to the widespread impunity 73 the police and military enjoy". In addition to abuse by the police or military authorities, lesbians and gay men have also been subjected to cruel treatment in an effort to change their homosexual orientation. According to a lesbian activist in Brazil: "Many Brazilians still consider lesbianism a disease. Until they reach the age of 18, girls can be subjected to psychological treatments and behaviour modifying shock therapy without any legal recourse. Although homosexuality ceased to be classified by the Brazilian medical profession as a sexual deviation or psychological disturbance in 1985, shock therapy as well as prescribing tranquilizers, is still practised as a 'cure for lesbianism'".74

Death Threats Sexual minorities are frequently subjected to verbal abuse and attack. This is particularly true with regards to those who reveal their sexual orientation or who conform more closely to the stereotypes of what a lesbian or gay man is assumed to look like. ICCHRLA is aware of several cases in which sexual minorities or those working with organizations to prevent the spreading of HIV/AIDS have been subjected to attack and death threats. The following are a few examples: •

In 1993, Jurema Batista, Councillor in Rio de Janeiro for the Workers Party and an advocate for the civil rights of lesbians and gay men, received a letter signed by the Commando Group for Hunting Gays in which it promised to kill two members from each of five lesbian and gay organizations in Rio unless she stopped speaking out in favour of ending discrimination against sexual minorities.75



On December 14, 1993, a bomb was detonated in the EUDES shelter -- a hospice for people with HIV/AIDS located in Bogotá, Colombia. The explosion resulted in substantial material damage and created a climate of panic. Less than one month later, on January 4, 1994, 18 heavily armed men raided the shelter. They stole a number of items and warned the 76 residents they would kill them unless they left. 73

Interview with Sister Elsie Monge, President of the Ecumenical Human Rights Commission of Ecuador, March 1995. 74

Miriam Martinho, op. cit., p. 16.

75

Luiz Mott, op. cit.

76

Juan Pablo Ordoñez, op. cit., p. 40.

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On November 5, 1994, Wilfredo Valencia Palacios, a health promoter with the Oscar Romero AIDS project, was followed by a black Nissan with polarized glass windows in San Salvador, El Salvador. Two men got out of the car and pulled a gun on him, warning that they were going to "clean up the city, and if AIDS doesn't kill the faggots, we will". Later the same day, he was stopped two blocks from his house by the assailants and warned that 77 he would be killed unless he stopped his work and left the country within 30 days.



On June 24, 1995 three armed men forcibly entered the offices of FUNDASIDA, a nongovernmental organization based in San Salvador, El Salvador, which provides support to persons living with HIV/AIDS. At the time, a secretary, three health promoters and ten young people were present, participating in a workshop on HIV/AIDS prevention. The intruders said that they were looking for Dr. Francisco Carrillo, director of FUNDASIDA, and warned that they were going to kill him. After threatening to kill the others in the office, the armed men forced the members of FUNDASIDA and a Canadian missionary, who had entered the building at that time, into the courtyard. After a lengthy search of the office files, the intruders eventually left, taking with them a computer, typewriter, television, VCR and confidential documents from the office. Among the information stolen was a database of the clients of FUNDASIDA and a list of the members of a gay mens group, Entre Amigos (Among Friends) which normally holds its weekly meetings in the offices of FUNDASIDA. According to reports, since this incident, several of the staff have received numerous death threats both at their homes and office.78 In a related incident, members of Entre Amigos received three death threats on July 6, 1995 79 from an anti-gay death squad called the Black Shadow . The threats, delivered by telephone, warned that they were going to come to the next meeting of the group and kill 80 everyone present. As a result of the fear arising from the death threats, the group has since disbanded. 77

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, "Action Alert", November/December

1994. 78

Amnesty International, "Urgent Action" AMR 29/02/95, July 3, 1995; CISPES, "HIV/AIDS Advocates, Gay Community Targets of Repression in San Salvador", El Salvador Watch, New York, August 1995. 79

Later that month [July 1995], 15 men were arrested in San Miguel and accused of being members of the Black Shadow. Among the 15 were a member of the former National Police (a force under military command) who, at the time of the arrest was serving as a senior officer in the new National Civil Police. As well, three lower-ranking policemen were among those arrested. In November 1995, 6 of the 15 men were released for "lack of evidence". 80

Amnesty International, "Urgent Action" AMR-29/03/95, July 7, 1995.

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ICCHRLA Special Report

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V. CONCLUSION "First they came for the communists and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the Jews, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist. Then they came for the Catholics, and I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. Then they came for me, and by that time, there was no one left to speak up." Pastor Martin Niemoller After years of struggle by women's organizations to raise awareness about violations against women, there is now a widespread consensus in the international community that women's rights are human rights. In the same way, the courageous efforts of lesbian and gay rights groups in many parts of the world have brought about a growing recognition that violations against lesbians and gay men are a fundamental human rights issue. But much more needs to be done. As this report has attempted to illustrate, lesbians and gay men in the Americas have a long history of attacks directed against them -- attacks which continue to this day. In spite of various international covenants and constitutional guarantees which articulate a variety of freedoms (freedom of assembly, movement, participation in the political process; freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention or exile, freedom from torture and cruel, degrading treatment or punishment) and rights (the right to life, liberty and security of person; the right to free expression, privacy, equal protection and non-discrimination) these guarantees are often non existent for sexual minorities. It is ICCHRLA's hope that this report serve as an important step in breaking the wall of silence around these issues and fostering a spirit of reflection, dialogue and commitment to a more inclusive understanding and defence of human rights.

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VI. RECOMMENDATIONS The Inter-Church Committee on Human Rights in Latin America makes the following recommendations: 1.

In view of the role some church representatives have played in contributing to a climate of physical and/or psychological violence against lesbians and gay men, ICCHRLA urges its member institutions and all other church and secular organizations to review their policies and statements regarding sexual minorities to ensure that they are not advertently or inadvertently promoting intolerance and violence against lesbians and gay men and that their policies are congruent with international human rights standards.

2.

ICCHRLA urges human rights groups in Latin America to establish contact with organizations of lesbians and gay men in their countries, where these exist, and together seek ways to develop "safe spaces" whereby lesbians and gay men who have been subject to human rights abuses can come forward in trust to present their complaints. We further urge these groups to make efforts to develop institutional consciousness within their organizations of issues related to human rights abuses of sexual minorities and people with HIV/AIDS.

3.

ICCHRLA calls on the governments of Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador and Mexico to take effective actions to dismantle paramilitary groups in their countries, some of which have targeted sexual minorities. We further call on these governments to ensure that police and military officials who are implicated in supporting these groups be removed from active duty and duly sanctioned.

4.

In light of the widespread phenomenon of extortion of sexual minorities by police agents throughout the region, ICCHRLA calls on the governments of Latin America to take disciplinary actions against security forces' personnel guilty of this crime.

5.

ICCHRLA urges the governments of Chile, Ecuador and Nicaragua to decriminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults.

6.

ICCHRLA urges the governments of other Latin American countries where homosexual acts between consenting adults are not criminalized, in particular Argentina, to ensure that police edicts or other broadly defined laws concerning public order and morality are not applied repressively against sexual minorities.

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ICCHRLA Special Report

7.

April 1996

ICCHRLA calls on UN and OAS human rights bodies, including thematic Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups, to integrate into their reports information pertaining to the experiences of sexual minorities.

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