In the past few years, the Mexican diplomatic and consular network in the United States, following its long tradition of innovation and dynamism, has began actively engaging with an important segment of its immigrant diaspora: the LGBT community.
There are approximately 11 million people of Mexican origin living in the U.S., creating a unique environment that is permeated by distinct historical, cultural, economic, social and political realities. Consequently, Mexican consulates have gone beyond the traditional services and practices, evolving into dynamic centers that provide wide-ranging services, programs and activities. Those programs engage a wide and specialized network of partners to address issues ranging from immigration, criminal and civil rights, to labor rights, and now represent key allies to maximize our ability to reach out to LGBT communities.
In September of 2014 the webinar “An overview of HRC and Understanding Ways to Better Protect LGBT Immigrant Families and Individuals” was presented to consular staff with specific material to take into account the particular characteristics of Mexican consulates. The presentation addressed what it means to be LGBT, statistics about LGBT immigrants, their ethnicities, immigration and civil status, and the benefits that were available to same sex-couples at the time. Read More
Uganda: Facing the mediterranean
For the last five decades, Kenya and Uganda have had an unofficial pact of providing a passageway for each other’s escapees. This started with the 1971 Idi Amin overthrow of Milton Obote, which saw a mass exodus of Ugandans into Kenya and elsewhere in the world. The other mass exodus happened in 1986. The second Milton Obote government was overthrown by Brigadier Bazilio Olara-Okello and General Tito Okello. Following the post–coup chaos, the Yoweri Museveni–led National Resistance Army (NRA) seized power.
The story is different in 2015. There is no military takeover in Uganda and Kampala has not fallen. Yet today there are growing numbers of Ugandan refugees and asylum seekers in Kenya. The shift in circumstance is that these particular Ugandans, mainly in their 20s, say they are running away from home because of their sexuality and whom they choose to love.
According to official UNHCR documents, the present crisis began in 2014 when a handful of Ugandan escapees showed up at UNHCR in Nairobi and at Kakuma refugee camp in Northern Kenya. They were all seeking asylum, citing the passage of the 2014 Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda as one of their reasons for fearing for their safety. Read More
Israel: Jerusalem’s chief rabbi visits victim of gay pride parade stabbing
A few hours before Shabbat in Israel, Jerusalem’s Chief Rabbi Aryeh Stern posted an arresting photograph on his Hebrew Facebook page. In it, the ultra-Orthodox cleric, in his full rabbinic regalia, is holding the hand of a victim of Jerusalem pride parade attack. Six people were initially reported as wounded, including a sixteen-year-old girl who who later died. The alleged assailant, Yishai Schlissel, was an ultra-Orthodox man who had previously served 10 years in prison for a similar crime in 2005.
At the hospital, Stern said, “The person that committed this sinful act is a criminal in every way, and his intention to kill Jews is something which is terrifying.”
Other ultra-Orthodox figures have also sharply condemned the attack. “The Torah of the Jewish people is the Torah of life, and the value of life is above everything,” said Moshe Gafni, head of ultra-Orthodox UTJ party. “The attempt to kill & injure is something severe which we utterly reject. [It] is opposed by Judaism, morality, Jewish law, and our path since we have been a people.” Read More
Australia: Marriage rallies across the country
Thousands are turning out in Australia to call for same-sex marriage, as its Federal Parliament prepares to debate the reform next week. In Brisbane, more than 5,000 people attended a rally at Queens Garden. Lisa Origliasso from band The Veronicas spoke, saying “I hate to say it by Australia is still sadly standing behind the rest... Now is the time for us to get loud. Now is the time for us to kick and scream for human rights. The right to be you. The right to me. To put it simply, we stand hand in hand with our loved ones today, unified to send a message to this great nation, that we are here to make this country better.
In Hobart, 1,500 people packed Hobart City Hall, with the crowd so large it flowed out onto the street. They heard from Tasmanian celebrities, leaders and advocates, including Hobart Lord Mayor Sue Hickey. The audience also heard from Nick Outterside, who spoke about being raised by two mothers and the death of one before they were able to marry.
Tasmanian Premier Will Hodgman has also supported the Federal Government allowing federal MPs a free vote on the issue. "Ahead of the introduction of a cross-party bill this week, the rally sends a strong message to federal parliament that Tasmanians want marriage equality,” says Australian Marriage Equality national director Rodney Croome. Rallies were also held in Sydney and Perth. Melbourne and Adelaide rallies will happen next Saturday. Read More
Taiwan: In wake of US ruling, Taiwanese rally for gay marriage
Thousands of gay rights supporters marched through Taipei, months ahead of elections that are likely to usher in a pro-gay party and could make Taiwan the first place in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. Protesters waved rainbow flags, lit candles and shouted "gay votes are still votes" as they marched between parliament and the headquarters of Taiwan's two main political parties.
Taiwan is one of Asia's most gay-friendly places, boasting a vibrant social scene and little overt discrimination. Polls show a majority in favour of gay marriage, and a recent study commissioned by the Ministry of Justice advocated legislation. There is no formal recognition of same-sex couples, however, and many young people are still reluctant to come out to their parents.
"There's a huge generational split on the issue," said Mei-Nu Yu, main author of a stalled marriage bill. Yu's Democratic Progressive Party supports gay causes more than the ruling Nationalist party, whose fortunes have been in steep decline, particularly among young people who accuse it of cozying up to China. Large Chinese cities have thriving gay cultures & there's public discussion of gay rights, but the government has detained activists in a crackdown on civil society. Read More
Russia: LGBT activist flees after accusations of collaborating with US intelligence
Russian LGBT rights activist Alexander Ermoshkin has left the country after a nationally televised story on the state-owned Russia-1 channel accused him of collaborating with U.S. intelligence services. He confirmed in a Facebook post that he had arrived in New York and was staying with friends.
Ermoshkin refuted the allegations, saying the show’s producers had set him up. “Without the help, so to speak, of the authorities, it would have been impossible to do this,” he said. “The Rossiya 1 footage cynically distorts the normal diplomatic activities of our Embassy,” a U.S. Embassy said. “Moreover, it includes fake events such as the obviously staged scene in Moscow of supposed recruitment which involved video of people who were clearly not associated with the U.S. Embassy, but were presented as such.”
Ermoshkin is not the first person accused by Russian media of working with American spies: Kendrick White, an American professor who has lived in Russia for more than two decades, was fired from his post at a Russian university earlier this month after being accused of spying in a state television documentary. Read More
Australia: Kaleidoscope Australia develops guide for LGBTI refugees
Human rights organisation Kaleidoscope Australia has developed the first guide of its kind to processing LGBTI refugees, intended to provide governments, refugee advocates, and NGOs with a basic introductory tool. President of Kaleidoscope Australia Dr Paula Gerber said, “Our hope is that this guide will assist governments around the world to properly and fairly assess applications for refugee status based on sexual orientation or gender identity grounds.”
A 2012 survey on attitudes towards LBGTI refugees and asylum seekers found that around 175 million LGBTI people were living in places where they faced persecution. From that number, the report projects that of the 5000 that apply for asylum, less than 3000 are granted protection each year.
Concerns have been raised where refugees seeking asylum for persecution based on sexuality have been confronted with the task of having to “prove” their sexuality. The process has involved refugees seeking and presenting video or photographic evidence of their participating in sexual acts in order to make credible their claims. The guide covers procedures of “ascertaining credibility” in a respectful manner, and dealing with applicants who are uncomfortable or who have not disclosed their sexual orientation. Read More
Hungary: In Europe, Pride is a key political barometer. Budapest’s was safe, at times even joyful.
When Pride marchers had filled Elizabeth Bridge, the people walking in the front released hundreds of multicolored balloons, and the thousands of participants let out a happy cheer. I realized it was the first such cheer I had heard since the march began two hours earlier. “You see, it's a hybrid,” said Katalin Orban, a media studies professor who marched with her partner, Zsofia Ban, a prominent Hungarian fiction writer. “It's not like Moscow or Kiev, but it's not like Vienna, either—it's not a celebration.”
Something odd has happened in Europe: The continent's political dividing line seems to have become defined by the way the Pride march proceeds there—if it proceeds at all. In Moscow, an attempt to stage Pride in May was punished with beatings and jailings. In Kiev, Ukraine, in June, the police failed to adequately protect marchers, some of whom were beaten. Later in June, police used water canons to disperse the Pride march in Istanbul, Turkey.
Hungarian pride organizers have worked to normalize the event by attracting corporations, straight allies, and gay celebrities. Unlike last year, marchers did not walk through a tunnel of police in riot gear. But it also meant that spectators were too far away to see anything. This march was a statement, not a spectacle. The gathering place, in front of the opera house, stank of excrement. Shit had apparently been strewn along the bottoms of the trees that line Andrassy Street. This was a milder form of the tactics of Moscow's self-proclaimed Orthodox activists, who consistently throw human waste at LGBTQ demonstrators. Read More
Japanese out politician urges South Korea to improve LGBT rights
Taiga Ishikawa, Japan’s only gay politician, has spoken about South Korea’s progress on LGBT rights.
He attended the Korea Queer Festival, which was protested against by conservative Christian groups. Police attempted to ban the parade, on public safety grounds, but the ban was overturned by the courts.
Mr Ishikawa said: “I was shocked to hear that the parade was blocked by the state forces. It saddened me. Then it hit me; there isn’t an openly LGBT lawmaker in Korea yet. Policymaking in Japan as a whole is conducted as if sexual minorities do not exist. I wish to be an advocate of LGBTs, as I am one myself."
Mr Ishikawa became Japan’s first gay politician in 2011, when he won a seat on the Tokyo Assembly. He has been firm advocate for LGBT rights. Read More
Turkey: Police fire pepper spray at gay pride parade
Although the gay pride parade has happened in peace for at least 13 years in Istanbul, this year the parade was interrupted by police who fired pepper spray and rubber pellets at thousands when they arrived to march. Parade organizers noted, "The use of Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting, as an excuse to curtail the freedoms of assembly, demonstration, and speech is a clear violation of rule of law. In taking this illegal decision, the Governor’s Office has thus broken the law." And further stated that police were not wearing helmets with their registration numbers, making identifying those responsible for the assault impossible.
"This is happening after the elections because they realize the power of the LGBTI movement," said transgender activist Ruzgar Buski. "Erdogan's government has lost their power and they know the LGBTI community stands with minorities." Read More
Read the Istanbul LGBTI Pride Week Committee full statement here.
South Korea: This is what happened when Christian groups tried to shut down Korea Pride
Tens of thousands of people marched through the South Korean capital in an LGBT pride festival, despite attempts by Christian groups to shut it down. The atmosphere was defiantly jubilant at the parade, the culmination of the three-week long Korean Queer Culture Festival.
Christian groups have been running a campaign for weeks to try to block the parade. In May, they camped out for a week in front of the police station where parade organizers had to apply for a permit and filed a competing request to hold an event in the same place. Police initially responded by canceling the parade citing the conflicting permit applications, but a court ruled that the parade had to be allowed. The Seoul police deployed thousands of officers to keep order between the queer festival — which began in a large grassy plaza in front of city hall — and eight counter protests that entirely surrounded the area. Read More