PHILIPSBURG:--- St. Maarten/St. Martin Alliance for Equality (SAFE) held its first International Human Rights Day lecture last Wednesday, December 10 at the University of St. Martin (USM).
The lecture, which was a collaboration between SAFE and USM, drew about 20 people to the university campus to hear Sociologist, Denise Vijber outline the origins of human rights, the United Nations Universal Declaration on Human Rights, its applicability to St. Maarten/St. Martin and the way forward for minority groups.
Vijber said that the most important thing about human rights were that they were universal and indivisible, meaning that human rights extended to all human beings by virtue of them being human and that one right is not more important that another.
"So if a person is violating someone's human rights by discriminating against him or her or abusing him or her, that person cannot claim that it is a human right to do so based on free speech, etc. One right does not take precedent over another, all human rights must be respected," Vijber said.
She further explained that many of the doctrines found in the non-binding UN Declaration on Human Rights can be found in the Constitution of St. Maarten, which has legal weight and ensures that citizens cannot be victimized by the state or by other citizens. Vijber noted that where there were gaps in the constitution, legislation and ordinances where used to the same effect.
Vijber suggested that as it concern LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender) people in particular, the government, family and social stigma still played a role in denying them their human rights. This included areas such as: marriage, the right to adoption, the right to education, and the right to socialize.
"When it comes to education, of course, there is compulsory education, but we can ask ourselves how much is a child really taking in if they are being bullied or teased or made to feel alone or different. These are things that we have to look at and understand," Vijber said.
She said that the way forward for minority groups, including LGBT organizations and individuals, was via a four pronged approach; participation, accountability, non-discrimination and equality and empowerment.
"It is important for LGBT organizations and individuals, but also for all minority groups, to participate in conversations about human rights and also conversations that relate to their human rights, they cannot isolate themselves from this. They must also hold government and others accountable to treaties and conventions they have signed off on, but in order to do this, they must hold themselves accountable to learning about these conventions and treaties and about the monitoring and evaluations that go along with these. Minority groups must also work together and must not discriminate amongst themselves, because that weakens, rather than strengthens them. They must treat each other equally. Finally, they must empower each other and especially the individuals within their groups, so that they are stronger together and so can fight for their human rights and see more progress," Vijber said.
Vijber and SAFE President, Lysanne Charles - Arrindell took some questions from the audience and then there was a celebratory drink and snacks in honor of SAFE's one year anniversary.
"We really appreciate Denise Vijber's flying in from Curacao to make this special presentation for us. While the audience was not yet in the numbers we would have wanted it to be, those that attended the lecture said that they certainly learned a lot. This is most certainly a lecture that we hope to make into a yearly celebration of both International Human Rights Day and also the anniversary of SAFE, which was incorporated on December 10, 2013," Charles- Arrindell said.
She said that the theme for this year's International Human Rights Day was Human Rights 365 and that her organization was going to keep coming back to this concept throughout 2015.
"We say this time and time again, LGBT rights are not gay rights or lesbian rights or bi rights or trans rights, they are in essence, at their core, human rights. The right of LGBT people to be safe, to express themselves, to be happy, to have community, to practice their religion, to move about uninhibited, etc., they are all human rights, not special rights we want for ourselves and that is a conversation we will keep having with those who engage with us," Charles- Arrindell said.
She extended thanks to the University of St. Martin, especially to Khalilah Peters, who is in charge of the lecture series and Valda Woodley-Hazel, who was instrumental in the initial structuring of the collaboration. She also thanked all individuals who came out and supported the lecture.
"This is an event that we will certainly host again and we look forward to future and further discussions about human rights from all perspectives. These conversations can only help us grow and progress as a society and a country," Charles- Arrindell said.
