Militância LGBT e de comitês populares da Copa publicam manifesto LGBT para a Copa do Mundo
O grupo LGBT Dignidade, de Curitiba, até o momento é o único até o momento a organizar manifestações relacionadas aos direitos humanos e políticas ligadas aos homossexuais durante o Mundial de Futebol. Em parceira com outros movimentos sociais, o grupo publicou um manifesto que pauta as manifestações durante os jogos do mundial.
O manifesto, escrito em inglês, está intitulado de “In Repect of LGBT People During The 2014 World Cup” e discursa sobre os contrastes de países que assinam a Declaração Universal dos Direitos Humanos e ao mesmo tempo não respeitam o que está escrita nela como o “direito à vida, liberdade, segurança pessoal, proteção igual perante a lei, a igualdade de proteção contra a discriminação, bem como o direito de não ser submetido à tortura, ou tratamento ou castigo cruel, desumano ou degradante”.
No texto também há o alerta que em 76 países a homossexualidade é crime e nos países como Arábia Saudita, Irã, Lêmen, Mauritânia, Sudão e algumas partes da Nigéria e Somália a homossexualidade é paga com a própria vida.
Quem assina o “In Respect Of LGBT People During The 2014 Wold Cup” são a Aliança Paranaense pela Cidadania LGBT, que fazem parte o Grupo Dignidade, Dom da Terra, Aliança Jovem LGBT, Centro Paranaense da Cidadania, Transgrupo Marcela Prado, Artêmis, Articulação de Lésbicas do Paraná, Associação Paranaense da Parada da Diversidade, Liga Brasileira de Lésbicas, Articulação Brasileira de Lésbicas e a Associação Brasileira de Lésbicas Gays Bissexuais Travestis e Transexuais; e o Comitê Popular da Copa que incluem o Coletivo Subversiva, Grupo Lambda LGBT, Unicão da Juventude Socialista, União Paranaense dos Estudantes Secundaristas, União Brasileira dos Estudantes Secundaristas, Sindicato dos Psicólogos do Paraná e o APP Sindicato.
Leia o Manifesto na integra:
In Respect Of LGBT People During the 2014 Wold Cup
The guarantees contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights include equal rights, human dignity, each person’s right to life, freedom, personal safety, equal protection under the law, equal protection against discrimination, as well as the right not to be subjected to torture, or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Notwithstanding, homosexual acts are still illegal in 76 countries, the majority of which are signatories to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in five of them (Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, Mauritania and Sudan) as well of some parts of Nigeria and Somalia, homosexual acts are punishable with the death penalty.[1] As such, the principles of the universal and indivisible nature of human rights are being violated, given that lesbian women, gay men, bisexual and transgender persons (LGBT), just because their sexuality or gender identities[2] differ from the heteronorm, are being humiliated, persecuted, harassed, beaten and even killed with State approval.
This phenomenon has been referred to as “State Sponsored Homophobia[3]”, i.e., when a State adopts a homophobic posture through its legislation or acts of its government which promote discrimination or instill hatred against and reproach of LGBT people.
Even when there is not a declared State policy of repression against LGBT people, many countries are negligent in relation to hate crimes against LGBT people and fail to criminalize homophobic violence and discrimination or to create laws that protect or ensure the equal rights of LGBT people. In our country, Brazil, for example, according to the Report on Homophobic Violence in Brazil: year 2012,[4] published by the Human Rights Secretariat of the Office of the President of the Republic and based on data from human rights violations reporting systems (Disque 100/Ligue 180/Ouvidoria do SUS), 9,982 homophobic human rights violations against the country’s LGBT population were reported in 2012 (27.34 violations a day on average). The same source, based on data obtained from monitoring the media, reported 310 homicides of LGBT people nationwide on homophobic grounds.
In the 2014 World Cup, the city of Curitiba will host games between Iran and Nigeria (June 16th) and Algeria and Russia (June 26th). In these countries, which are signatories of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, LGBT people are persecuted by the State in the following manner:
According to article 338 of the Algerian Penal Code, enacted by Decree 66156, dated June 8th 1966, homosexuality is a crime in that country and “Any person found guilty of an homosexual act shall be subject to imprisonment for between two months and two years and a fine of between 500 and 2000 Algerian Dinars”.1
The Islamic Republic of Iran, the laws of which are determined in accordance with the Islamic Sharia, in addition to criminalizing homosexual relationships also provides for the death penalty, as per articles 108 and 110 of the Iranian Penal Code. The most recent executions took place by hanging in 2011, although according to Islamic law homosexuals can be persecuted and condemned to death by stoning, hanging, stabbing or being thrown from a cliff, it being the responsibility of the judges of the Islamic courts to rule how homosexuals should be killed. In addition to official homicides perpetrated by the government, murders are also committed by the victims’ own families : murder, in this case, because it takes place to defend the family’s honour, is not subject to any kind of retaliation or punishment.[5] Like Iran, the legal system of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, in West Africa, is also ruled by the Sharia and punishes male homosexuality with death and female homosexuality with 50 whiplashes in public and six months imprisonment. In some regions of Nigeria not governed by Islamic Law, the penalty is “just” 14 years imprisonment.[6]
The Russian Federation, despite having officially decriminalized homosexuality in 1993, has a law that “prohibits the propaganda of unconventional sex relations”. This law is widely used to veil homophobia on the part of public institutions, neo-Nazi groups and the Russian Government itself. In May 2013, a young man in the city of Volgograd was beaten up and raped with a beer bottle before having his skull crushed – during the same week in which the crime occurred, the suspects confessed having attacked the young man and told the police they did so because of the victim’s sexual orientation.[7] In the last semester of 2013, more than 200 videos were found on Russian social media showing neo-Nazi groups tricking young gay men into meeting with them and then humiliating them – teenagers are the main victims of this type of ruse and intimidation. Furthermore, all attempts at holding LGBT Pride marches are strongly repressed by the police and there is a large number of homicides of LGBT people.[8]
Considering that the Brazilian Federal Constitution establishes that:
Article 4 – The Federative Republic of Brazil conducts its international relations according to the following principles: (…) II – prevalence of human rights;
Article 3 – The fundamental objectives of the Federative Republic of Brazil are: (…) IV – to promote the well-being of all people, without prejudice in relation to origin, race, sex, colour, age or any other forms of discrimination.
Article 5 – All people are equal before the law, without any distinction whatsoever, and Brazilians and foreigners resident in the Country are guaranteed the inviolability of the right to life, freedom, equality, security and property…
Considering that the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), the organization that is promoting the World Cup to be held in 2014 in Brazil, states that is mission is to: “Develop the game, touch the world and build a better future”, and that for the Federation “building a better future” means that “football is no longer considered merely a global sport, but also a unifying force whose virtues can make an important contribution to society. We [FIFA] use the power of football as a tool for social and human development, by strengthening the work of dozens of initiatives around the globe to support local communities in the areas of peacebuilding, health, social integration, education and more.”[9]
We, of the LGBT MOVEMENT AND ALLIES, in view of the harsh reality of persecution and disrespect for fundamental freedoms shown above, cannot remain silent and stand idly by while our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender brothers and sisters, who are human beings above everything else, are being discriminated against and being murdered because of prejudice and the violence perpetrated by the very institution, the State, that should ensure common well-being, therefore demand that the countries that disrespect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as other human rights treaties and conventions, and criminalize homosexual behaviour, be excluded from the competitions organized by FIFA. We demand United Nations intervention to ensure the primordial right to life and freedom of LGBT people living in these countries. We demand that Brazilian parliamentarians draw up and approve legislation criminalizing homophobic violence and discrimination and making provisions for same-sex partnerships and adoption and we demand that the Brazilian Executive Branch at the municipal, state and federal levels implant affirmative State policies for LGBT people.
In June 2014, we will march together, in a democratic and peaceful manner, through the streets of Curitiba to demonstrate and give voice to our cry for help, clamouring for justice, public policies and the intervention of international organizations, for the right to life and the right to live life fully, with our fundamental rights ensured and our sexual orientation and gender identity respected, as provided for by the Yogyakarta Principles which state that “Human beings of all sexual orientations and gender identities are entitled to the full enjoyment of all human rights”.[10]
It is essential to make clear that we do not condone acts of violence, rioting or vandalism, nor are we against the football teams or the people of Iran, Nigeria, Algeria or Russia. Our intention is to denounce homophobia in the world and demand measures to curb it.
We hope that through our struggle, ideology and persistence, humankind will take on the ideal of respect for other people, people’s fundamental rights and a fairer world in which all forms of love and family arrangements can be admired for the beauty of their essence: love.
Curitiba, February 18th 2014
Do Mixbrasil