- Conference
- 2009 National LGBT Conference
- Date
- 30 July 2009
- Decision
- Carried
Conference celebrates the impressive achievements of the Cuban people in healthcare, education, sustainable development and other areas, in this the 50th anniversary year of the Cuban revolution.
Conference notes that it is less well known that there have also been significant advances in recent years in the field of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights.
Consenting sex between men was decriminalised in 1979. Trans people have the right under the Identity Law to change their name and gender identity on official documents, and, since 2008, to free comprehensive health care including gender reassignment surgery.
In 2005, Cuba had its first gay film festival. In May 2008, Cuba marked the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) for the first time. In 2009, Cuba again marked IDAHO with a programme of events and a rally in a centrally located Havana park under the slogan “Diversity”. The event was attended by Ricardo Alarcon, president of the Cuban National Assembly, who said that commemorating IDAHO showed that Cuba is advancing in terms of the rights of sexual minorities, though it is a complex and lengthy process. He told reporters that Cuban society, as any other society, must guarantee that no one is discriminated against for any reason and must also guarantee that persons with different sexual orientations fully enjoy their civil, political, economic and social rights and that they be respected according to their differences. This event was preceded by the launch of the 2009 programme of cultural and education initiatives to promote respect for sexual and gender diversity, ‘Diversity is natural’.
Conference notes that these events and campaigns were organised by the National Centre for Sexual Education (CENESEX), which has developed a broad programme in support of the recognition of sexual and gender diversity since 2004. The director of CENESEX, Mariela Castro, who is the daughter of Cuban President Raúl Castro, has been a leading advocate of LGBT rights.
Conference also welcomes further anticipated advances. Proposals have been submitted to the Cuban parliament for reforms to the Family Code, in force since 1975, including reforms relating to gender identity and legal recognition of same sex couples.
Whilst recognising there is still more to be done, Conference salutes these developments, and instructs the National Committee to:
1.Publicise the advances of the Cuban people in terms of LGBT rights;
2.Support where possible CENESEX in their campaign to reform the Family Code;
3.Continue to work with the Cuba Solidarity Campaign;
4.Encourage regions to affiliate to the Cuba Solidarity Campaign.
Conference also supports the decision of UNISON National Delegate Conference 2009 to call for an immediate end to the illegal blockade of Cuba and the release of the Miami Five.