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Joint Statement of the OAS General Secretariat and the LGBTTTI&TS Coalition Commemorating International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, Lesbophobia and Transphobia IDAHOBIT

The de-pathologization of homosexuality by the World Health Organization in 1990 has since then been a cause for celebration every year since the establishment of the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia to warn about the violence and discrimination that the LGBTI+ population still faces.

From the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the LGBTTTI & TS Coalition we express ourselves in favor of respect for the rights of LGBTI+ people as a primary element to advance the promotion of a culture of rights for the region.

We recognize, however, that the different forms of violence and discrimination that LGBTI+ people face every day places them in conditions of vulnerability and consequently marginality. In that sense, we make our own the motto of the OAS General Assembly to be held in June in Paraguay - “Integration and Security for the Sustainable Development of the Region” - so that no one is left behind on our agenda and we seek the mechanisms to achieve equality and justice and we manage to guarantee their freedom.

We must achieve a permanent and open dialogue around development, which allows us to understand the social place occupied by LGBTI+ people and identify the triggering factors for their marginalization. It is important that the public agenda on poverty, health, education, workplaces and even migration and environmental problems consider sectors such as LGBTI+ to make effective the motto of leaving no one behind.

It is necessary to firmly commit to articulating sexual orientation, gender expressions and identities with social change, democracy, human rights and development, especially when the latter is conceived as part of the cumulative improvement of subjectivities and human relations.

It is urgent that the progress that has been made in the field of human rights be present in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) routes, to recognize the different intersections in the lives of people who live in poverty and the impacts of discrimination and violence. Introducing sexual orientation, gender expressions and identities into the SDG agenda is not an easy task. It requires the elimination of prejudices and stereotypes, but above all, recognizing and fighting against the impact that it has daily on their lives.

From the OAS General Secretariat and the LGBTTTI & TS Coalition we urge the member states of the OAS to continue advancing in open dialogues that make it possible to build a world free of homophobia, biphobia, lesbophobia and transphobia, where respect for sexual social diversity and cultural, social relations and government actions prevail.

Reference: E-034/24