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Re: Jamaica – LGBT organisation J-FLAG refused permission to host a meeting in Jamaica Pegasus Hotel

On 16 November 2010, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) were refused permission to hold a meeting on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) issues at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston. On 11 November a booking had been made by J-FLAG, with the aforementioned hotel, to host a meeting with other similar organisations and stakeholders with a view to examining the role of human rights in respect of the LGBTI community in Jamaica. J-FLAG is a human rights lobby group working towards a Jamaican society in which the human rights and equality of LGBTI persons are guaranteed.

The meeting was due to take place on 18 November, however on 16 November Mr Dane Lewis, Executive Director of J-FLAG, received a phone call from the hotel Director of Sales and Marketing who explained that because of the nature of work carried out by J-FLAG, the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel was not willing to allow such an event to take place on its premises. In the past the Jamaica Pegasus has hosted different groups including LGBTI persons, however this refusal marks a change of policy with regard to hosting LGBTI persons and organisations.

Front Line believes that the refusal by the management of Jamaica Pegasus Hotel to allow a meeting organised by J-FLAG to take place on their premises is discriminatory towards LGBTI people and organisations, and is linked to their legitimate work in the defence of human rights, in particular LGBTI rights. Front Line is concerned that this event highlights a broader undercurrent of intolerance and hostility within Jamaican society towards members of the LGBTI community.

Front Line urges the Jamaican authorities to:

Proclaim that all forms of discrimination including discriminatory acts based on sexual orientation, such as institutional barriers to carrying out human rights activities, are unacceptable in Jamaican society, in accordance with Article 2 of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights which states that “Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind (...),” and Article 20 (1): “Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association”;

Guarantee that all members of J-FLAG, as well as all human rights defenders in Jamaica, can carry out their legitimate work in the defence of human rights, free of restrictions and reprisals.



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