WASHINGTON, USA – The Organization of American States (OAS) and the organization Synergía-Initiatives for Human Rights, have agreed to work together for the rights of LGTBIQ groups and promote inclusive policies in the Americas, during a ceremony held at the headquarters of the hemispheric institution in Washington, DC.
The secretary-general of the OAS, Luis Almagro, said “after the signing of this agreement, we now have a lot of work to do, we must make the letter of the Inter-American Convention against All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance a reality and fight for a more equitable and more egalitarian hemisphere.”
The executive director of Synergía, Stefano Fabeni, said: “In a context of endemic violence and systematic violations of human rights against LGTBIQ people and sex workers, with laws that criminalize,” the signed agreement “is a political and technical commitment that gives us the possibility of doing joint projects” to help us “face the challenges that lie ahead.”
The Permanent Representative of Costa Rica and coordinator of the LGTBI Core Group of the Permanent Council (made up of 12 OAS member states), Alejandra Solano, said that although there has been progress in favor of the rights of the people who make up this group, “there are still many challenges ahead, such as those related to human mobility and the decriminalization of homosexuality, which unfortunately still prevails in some countries in the region.”
Meanwhile, the Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ persons, minister Fabrizio Petri, who participated virtually said: “I firmly believe that human rights can only be truly promoted if international organizations, nation-states and civil society collaborate.” In this regard, he added that his country “is ready to work” with the OAS and Synergia in defense of the rights of the LGTBI collective.
The Synergy-Initiative for Human Rights organization acts as the technical secretariat of the Coalition of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transvestite, Intersex and Sex Workers Organizations (LGBTTTI&TS), which includes 66 organizations from 26 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.