PBI-Honduras accompanies presentation on the right for transgender people to change their name

On October 28, PBI-Honduras tweeted: “PBI accompanies LGTB organizations in the presentation of proposals for reforms to the law and regulations of the @RnpHonduras [National Register of Persons] for the recognition of the name change of trans people in #Honduras.”

In November 2016, the Brussels-based International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association noted in its Trans Legal Mapping Report that in Honduras it’s “not possible” to change your name and that it’s “forbidden by law to make any modification of the sex assigned in the original birth certificate.”

On June 28 of this year, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) ruled that Honduras must make systemic changes to assure the rights of transgender people including allowing trans people to legally change their name and gender.

The Guardian reports: “[The IACHR] ruled that the state must allow people to alter their gender identity on identification documents and public records.”

Vice also reported: “The adoption of rules that allow name and gender changes could have an important effect on the inclusion of trans people, including in politics. The country’s only trans candidate for political office in the last election, Rihanna Ferrera, said that she lost votes because she appeared on the ballot under her birth name.”

Reuters has noted: “The government did not respond to a request for comment on the ruling, or what its next steps would be.” The BBC adds: “It is not clear how or when [the Honduran government] will enact the court order.”

The Guardian has also reported: “[Honduras] has the world’s highest rate of murders of trans people.”

The Peace Brigades International-Honduras Project has accompanied Arcoíris, the LGTB Association of Honduras, since July 2015.