Kamla Persad-Bissessar, prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago
In response to a letter from the UK-based LGBT advocacy group, Kaleidoscope Trust, Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has stated that the country’s new Gender Policy will include increased recognition of the human rights of LGBT individuals.
As a result, there will likely be a repeal of anachronistic anti-gay legislation such as Section 8 of the country’s Immigration Act, which bans the entry of homosexuals.
I am encouraged by this statement by the Trinidadian Prime Minister and congratulate LGBT groups in the country, such as I Am One and CAISO, along with all the other national, regional and international players that made it possible.
However, I am anxious to see an actual timeline for the implementation of this policy, besides a moving target of “coming months.” We certainly don’t want this to be a repeat of the Jamaican Prime Minister’s promised parliamentary conscience vote on the review of the anti-buggery law. Jamaica’s Minister of Information recently announced that this vote has been placed at the “bottom of the [legislative] pile” (read: not up for serious discussion) by her administration.
by Maurice Tomlinson
Source – Erasing 76 Crimes
