WHEN:
Wednesday, September 21st, 2016
8:00AM - 10:00AM
Media RSVP required.
WHERE:
OutRight Action International
80 Maiden Lane, suite 1505
New York, NY 10038
WHY:
Orozco, who serves as Executive Director of the United Belize Advocacy Movement (UNIBAM), challenged Section 53 of the 1981 Criminal Code of Belize claiming it to be unconstitutional. The Belize Supreme Court made a historic ruling in favor of Orozco, and struck down the country’s anti-sodomy law on 10 August 2016.
Since the ruling, the Prime Minister of Belize has announced that the government will fight part of the ruling, and allow for the formation of a Morality Commission, both of which stand to undermine the Supreme Court ruling. This puts the lives of LGBT people at continued risk. Response from the public has been forceful and Orozco has received verbal attacks and even threats on his life.
Orozco will be in New York City to participate in the high-level United Nations event, Path2Equality: Global Leaders Discuss Progress Towards LGBT Equality, with Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, Vice President to the United States, Joe Biden, Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile, and Erna Solberg, Prime Minister of Norway, among others.
We invite you to speak with Orozco to get a first-hand account on what is at stake for the LGBT community in Belize and where he sees the future of LGBT human rights in his country and in the Caribbean more widely.
If you are interested in speaking with Caleb, please send us a request for a time slot by 5PM Monday, September 20th, 2016.
For further details, please contact Rashima Kwatra at rkwatra@outrightinternational.org, or at 917-859-7555.
Published on September 19, 2016 | OutRight Action International an LGBT human rights organization