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RedLacTrans (Latin American and Caribbean Network of Transgender People) Regional Coordinator, Marcela Romero, along with representatives of Belize, Chile, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and the Dominican Republic, were able to have political incidence during the 48^th Regular Session of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) held on June 4^th and 5^th 2018 in Washington, DC. A few days earlier, RedLacTrans representatives participated in the Incidence Workshop of the LGBTTTIQ Coalition.

Thanks to its broad Latin American and Caribbean representation level, RedLacTrans had its seventh consecutive incidence action in General Assemblies through its participation in the LGBTTTIQ Coalition since 2013, which gathers organizations from across the region which coordinate political incidence actions within the framework of the inter-American human rights system.

During this last Assembly, RedLacTrans made a strong statement demanding States to comply with Resolution OC-24/17 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, implement resolutions on LGBTTI rights approved in General Assemblies since the year 2008, put an end to hate crimes motivated by gender identity and expression, stop funding anti-rights organizations and put an end to forced migrations.

Furthermore, in line with the statement made by RedLacTrans, the LGBTTTIQ Coalition prepared and presented its own statement in which, as in previous years, it demanded “OAS to condemn all forms of discrimination and violence by reason of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, and to urge Member States to prevent, investigate and punish acts of violence and discrimination against LGBTI persons, and guarantee access to justice.” The adoption of measures to eliminate barriers preventing LGBTI persons from accessing political participation was also mentioned. Additionally, the need for collecting data on violence and discrimination, and for adopting measures to protect human rights defenders was also emphasized.

Thanks to the political incidence work carried out by RedLacTrans, and despite opposition from fundamentalist groups and countries such as Paraguay, Saint Lucia and Jamaica (characterized by the non-protection of human rights of LGBTI persons), the General Assembly of the Organization of American States adopted the Omnibus Resolution on Human Rights (OEA/Ser.P/AG/CG/doc.5/18 rev.2), which includes Section XII entitled “human rights and the prevention of discrimination and violence against LGBTI persons.”