PBI-Honduras accompanies Arcoiris/Rainbow association at media conference on the situation of the LGTBQI+ community

On November 2, PBI-Honduras posted: “This afternoon, the Arcoiris LGTB Association of Honduras and Somos- CDC [Center for Development and LGBTI Cooperation] will share about the situation of the #LGTBI community in #Honduras and the need for a human rights approach in media coverage.”

It adds: “Together with other organizations they work on several legislative projects for a more inclusive society without discrimination and without hate speech.”

The 52-minute video of that media conference can be seen here.

A general election will take place in Honduras on November 28 of this year.

On September 14, PBI-Honduras tweeted: “More than 30 human rights organizations ask to prevent and sanction campaigns that promote hatred towards women and LGTB people. In the electoral framework, they ask the @MP_Honduras [Public Ministry] to act ex officio against any incitement to discrimination.”

The Honduran Constitution expressly bans same-sex marriage and refuses to recognize them even if they have been legally sanctioned in other countries, including in Canada where it has been legal since July 2005. Honduras also bans adoption by same-sex couples.

It is also not possible to change your name and it’s “forbidden by law to make any modification of the sex assigned in the original birth certificate.” This past July, the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IACHR) ruled that the Honduran State must allow people to alter their gender identity on identification documents and public records.

And Arcoiris coordinator Donny Reyes has stated: “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.”

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