PBI-Honduras accompanies Asociación Arcoiris at LGBTQI+ pride march

On August 26, the Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project posted, “During the past weekend we accompanied Asociación Arcoiris (the Rainbow Association) to San Pedro Sula where a cultural night and an LGTBIQ+ pride march was held.”

PBI-Honduras adds in their Facebook post that, “Together with several organizations of sexual diversity (such as Afet Asociación feministra Trans, Frida Trans, Colectivo Unidad Color Rosa, Aprest o Kukulcan) they toured the streets to claim a habitable Honduras where human rights are respected for all.”

In their monthly newsletter posted last week, PBI-Honduras had noted, “At the end of this month, Arcoiris and other LGBTIQ+ organizations will participate in a pride march in the city of San Pedro Sula, claiming the rights of this community and in commemoration of Bessy Ferrera and other murdered human rights defenders.”

That newsletter had shared, “At the beginning of July, we received the news of the murder of the trans rights defender Bessy Ferrera, who worked with Asociación Arcoiris, [which has been] accompanied by PBI-Honduras [since July 2015].”

From June 2015 to March 2016, six members of Arcoíris were killed. PBI-Honduras has noted that Arcoíris activists have survived assassination attempts, while many others have faced intimidation, harassment and physical attacks.

Arcoíris coordinator Donny Reyes says, “The biggest problem that we face is the violence of the state security forces towards the LGBT+ community: the armed forces, the police, the criminal investigation police, military police, municipal police.”

Front Line Defenders has reported, “Threats and assassination attempts against the members of Arcoiris have not been taken seriously by the authorities in the past, sending a message of impunity to perpetrators.”

And a Washington Blade article has also made the connection that, “Violence, along with discrimination and poverty, has prompted many trans Hondurans to migrate to the U.S. and Mexico over the last two years.”

The Yogyakarta Principles on human rights and international law affirm that “sexual orientation and gender identity are integral to every person’s dignity and humanity and must not be the basis for discrimination or abuse.”

Principle 27 calls on all states to, “Ensure the protection of human rights defenders, working on issues of sexual orientation and gender identity, against any violence, threat, retaliation, de facto or de jure discrimination, pressure, or any other arbitrary action perpetrated by the State, or by non-State actors, in response to their human rights activities.”

Peace Brigades International has accompanied pride marches in Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico this year. You can read more than that in this article.

#PBIacompaña #Pride2019