Stop discrimination against Blacks and Gays

SIR RONALD SANDERS

Sunday, November 14, 2010

MICHAEL Kirby, a former Justice of the High Court of Australia, drew a recent report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to my attention.

It confirms what Caribbean countries had always heard about the way people of African descent are treated in some Latin American and Caribbean countries, and it also highlights the legal intolerance and criminalisation of homosexuals and lesbians in the countries of the English-speaking Caribbean because of their sexual preferences.

According to the report, during its 140th period of sessions from October 20 to November 5, 2010, the commission held 52 hearings and 28 working meetings and concluded that "structural human rights problems still persist in the region". These include the situation involving people of African descent, women, persons deprived of liberty, and the "gay" community.

The commission expressed its concern about information it received concerning persistent practices in the Dominican Republic whereby persons of Haitian descent "who were born in that country" are denied their right to nationality. The commission believes that the Dominican Republic's argument that "there are no stateless persons in that country, since children born to Haitians in the Dominican Republic can be registered at the Haitian consulate", is incompatible with the Inter-American Convention and case law of the Inter-American Commission and Court.

Of course, the Dominican Republic is not the only place in which Haitians or persons born of Haitian parents are denied basic rights. In the Turks and Caicos Islands, it was well known that the Haitian migrant community were exploited as a workforce and denied the right to become "belongers" or citizens, and in the latter case the consideration was not racial, it was pure and unadulterated xenophobia practised against people of the same race.

Sadly, this latter phenomenon has also been witnessed in the countries of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) where discrimination has been ruthlessly applied in immigration controls against people of African descent while a blind eye has been turned to Europeans and other non-black peoples.

The commission also reported excessive use of police force against Afro-descendants in Brazil. The report said the IACHR had "received troubling information about the high rates of crime and police violence in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Espírito Santo, Bahia, and Pernambuco, and heard petitioners' allegations regarding the close link between these violent deaths and racial discrimination".

Charges of "institutional racism" were also levelled at Brazil, and petitioners claim that it contributes to the "high levels of harassment, deprivation of liberty, and executions among the population of African descent in Brazil, as well as the underreporting of violent deaths perpetrated by the police".

Costa Rica was also fingered in the report for poor human rights practices toward Afro-Caribbean people in the canton of Talamanca. The IACHR was informed that Talamanca has the lowest index of social development nationally, along with the highest levels of extreme poverty and illiteracy in the country.

As a point of general concern, the commission received what it called "sobering information" about the risk, threats, and the troubling number of murders of human rights leaders and defenders among the Afro-descendant population in various countries of the region.

All Caricom countries, with the exception of the British Colony of Montserrat, are members of the Organisation of American States (OAS) and are entitled to seek election to the IACHR. However, of the seven members now serving on the commission, none of them are from the Caribbean.

Yet, election to the commission presents an opportunity for Caribbean states to be mindful of the conditions of people of African descent in Latin American countries. Their membership might also encourage more cases of racial discrimination to be brought to the fore. In these circumstances, it behoves Caribbean governments -- who are the only ones who can do it -- to propose Caribbean persons for election to the commission.

But Caribbean countries also have to be aware of the mote in their own eye while they champion the cause of persons of African descent who are discriminated against.

The same commission received information indicating that "12 countries of the English-speaking Caribbean still have laws criminalising sexual and intimate conduct between persons of the same sex". The commission named these countries as: Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.

According to the commission's report, sentences range from 10 years in prison or forced labour to life imprisonment for consensual sexual conduct between adults of the same sex. The commission received information indicating that the very existence of such laws perpetuates unwarranted stereotypes, is a cause for fear in the sexually diverse community, and fosters impunity for serious crimes committed against this community.

Other detrimental factors that could be added to this are the spread of HIV/AIDS that could result from clandestine same-sex practices, the fear of seeing doctors, and the loss of a productive people who could make a real contribution to Caribbean development in the broadest meaning of that term.

There has been more than a handful of non-heterosexual Caribbean persons who have made a lasting contribution to Caribbean civilisation and whose worth and dignity have been publicly acclaimed. It is a frightening thought that the significant contribution of these persons could have been denied because of their personal and private sexual preferences.

The issue of decriminalising homosexuality between consenting adults has been confronted squarely in many parts of the world. Homosexuals and lesbians have served in the highest councils of government, business and the arts, and they continue to do so today.

In the Caribbean, the issue is linked to the doctrines of some religious groups and to their influence on people who vote in elections. Political parties have been loath to fall afoul of voters swayed by some strident religious leaders.

But just as discrimination against persons of African descent must be resisted and overturned wherever it occurs, so too must discrimination against consenting people of a different sexual persuasion. They are a part of our common humanity.

Sir Ronald Sanders is a consultant and former Caribbean diplomat

Responses and previous commentaries at: www.sirronaldsanders.com

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COMMENTS (16)

tickyticky fish
11/18/2010

Is a mango and ackee the same? each to its kind, gays are seeking out a discriminated group to join up with them to fight for their cause so they find the 'lowest' on the pecking order to join them.

Don Jam
11/15/2010

Unfortunately the anto gay sentiments gushing form some of these comments suggest that sadly, many Jamaicans are still stuck in time and still exhibit the remnants of slavery

Elli Deedo
11/15/2010

I will always be cautious about the idea of discrimination against people of a different gene. Having a knowledge of the causes for sexual Disorders, Homosexuality): I personally cannot identify any reasons, why there is discrimination against those people. I can undersatand that Racists do possess Animal Gene, they are 95% Beasts, looking like human beings. Their discrimination against our Skin is no more effective. Write a article about Racism, (different from Homosexual discrimination)

PL BOGLE
11/14/2010

I try to avoid debating on issues for example politics and sex. Reason being there is a tendency for ppl to become very emotional on these issues. That being said i am totally against any form of discrimination & i believe that everyone has a right to practice their desire as long as it is in the boundary of the law
@HowieJ- i think it was ridiculous to compare homosexuality w/ bestiality anyway i always respond to your comments based on the level of respect in the manner in which you respond.

howie J
11/14/2010

Lee Mac, I agree with you. Not only gays, but normal kids also lust after their relatives. But this is where man is superior to the animal kingdom; we have to conquer these urges on which society has placed limits. Man is by nature described as a beast and in order to show himself to be civilize he has to agree to give up some of his freedom. You cannot just take a man wife, because you have the urge. You cannot steal something because you have the urge and nobody is looking. We have to abide by codes of ethics in the society.

howie J
11/14/2010

Come on now Verna Kitson, don’t flatter yourself. In what way have you disappointed me? What is there of substance that you have brought to the table? I attack arguments, not people. I leave the personal attacks to emotional people. Try and distinguish yourself from people with no self control by extending the principle of charity to those with whom you disagree so that they can respond in an equally respectful manner. We may not agree, but at least, we can be civil.

Lee Mac
11/14/2010

@Howie J
There is a BIG difference between ADULTS having consensual sex and someone having sex with a child or animal, i.e. an adult has the ability to consent while a child or animal DOES NOT!
Psychologically speaking, a gay man subconsciously yearns for the love of his father, a gay woman for that of her mother. These aren't deliberate choices but rather deeply subconscious & instinctive desires, which is why psychologists unanimously agree that homosexuality is neither deviant nor unnatural.

Anancy Bedward
11/14/2010

Here we go again equating racial discrimination with homosexual discrimination. Homosexuality is a deviant, unnatural behaviour how is that the same as skin color?

gary lee
11/14/2010

Very factual article showing the discrimination against blacks in many latin countries, and the continued exploitation from nultinational corporations of people of colour in tourist areas. Why the links with the "rights" of gays with racism though I don't see.

howie J
11/14/2010

I agree that man should be free to do whatever he wants to do, but I also believe that our behaviors should have boundary conditions if we are to have a civilize society. To live in a civilized society means that there are limits to our behaviors. We know that people get involve in all kinds of sexual practices behind closed doors which includes pederasty, beastiality, incest, homosexuality, adultery and fornication. Isn’t it discriminatory to only legalize homosexuality? Why not just go ahead and legalize beastiality and ban marriage, so that no one has claim to any one person. Should I turn a blind eye to a man who is making out with a goat? Who determines boundaries in civil society?

Antonette W.
11/14/2010

I don't like the fact that racial discrimination is always lumped with gay discrimination. Gays deserve to have their rights and protection like all other citizens. However, the gay community is divided too. Do you realize that within the gay community, there's widespread discrimination against black gays? Speak to gays of African descent and you'll discover their plight is twofold; hated by society for being gay, and hated by white gays for being black. Hence white gay clubs and black gay clubs

Verna Kitson
11/14/2010

@ howie J - and when you are paying attention to what is going on outside of your own head, you will learn that this response of "blacks can't be compared to gays" is totally lazy, passe and devoid of any substance. Sorry to disappoint you. Do your homework and ask more questions of yourself.

Elli Deedo
11/14/2010

Michael Kirby, was Justice of the High Court in Australia. I'am sure he must have seen the terrible discrimination handed down to the aborigines of Australia, police brutaliuty, and very squilid living conditions, very poor standard of justice for those people. We as Jamaicans can only speak for our Country where discrimination is concerned. Homosexual discrimination is different from Racial. Each European State have different regulations, likewise Jamaica. Sadomy and Racism are not similar.

Don Jam
11/14/2010

And Brazil was sadly awarded the 2016 Summer Olympic games. It is well known that Black Brazilans are being blatanly discriminated against by European Brazilians.

howie J
11/14/2010

When you know your history and the anthropology of the human race then this comparison between blacks and gays is really based on weak arguments. The only link is the ‘discrimination’, but why should blacks care what others think about their skin. We are the original human being. Everybody else came out of Africa, so based on this argument everybody else but blacks needs to reverse the color of their skins.

Richie L
11/14/2010

It has always baffled me why a people who has been so historically discriminated against by others are so discriminating against homosexuals. Whenever I hear anti-gay statements from fellow Jamaicans, I have always pointed out that we and our forebears have been discriminated against and that we should be in the forefront to stop it in all forms.
.
There is always some counter-argument that there is a difference because people are not born gay.
.
And that is the problem, the ignorance.
.
Richie

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Stop discrimination against Blacks and Gays