Submission from David Northcott, on behalf
of Two Words and A Comma, Bermuda
Please find attached the submission from the
non-governmental organisation Two Words and A Comma in Bermuda
regarding the lack of protection for Bermuda residents against
discrimination based on the grounds of sexual orientation.
We attended and spoke recently at the public
meeting held at the Mt St Agnes Academy and this document is a
revised and expanded version of the one given to the MP's at that
meeting and this comprises our formal submission.
A BRIEF HISTORY
OF TWO
WORDS AND
A COMMA
The Two Words and a Comma group was formed in
April 2007 by a group of Bermuda residents with the express intent
of having "the Human Rights Act 1981 amended to explicitly
include the protection of all residents of Bermuda from discrimination
on the grounds of sexual orientation".[301]
The group came together because of a common concern at the continued
lack of action of the Bermuda Government in continuing to exclude
sexual orientation from the Human Rights Act. Two Words and a
Comma is run completely by volunteers in their own time and has
a working group of around 20 people and a support list of over
500.
The title of the group is a simple reminder
of (just about) all it would take to ban discrimination on the
grounds of sexual orientation in Bermuda; by adding those two
words (sexual orientation) and a comma into the list of protected
categories in the Human Rights Act 1981.
The group decided that they should carry out
this mission by:
— Lobbying Members of Parliament, Senators
and other political figures.
— Consulting with the Human Rights
Commission and other relevant Government agencies.
— Working in partnership with other
non-governmental organisations.
— Raising awareness, educating and
informing the general public about Bermuda's Human Rights legislation
and discrimination based on sexual orientation.
And in carrying out the mission they committed
to:
— Create open, honest and respectful
dialogue in the Community.
— Encourage and promote the values
of diversity and inclusion.[302]
The Human Rights Commission in Bermuda has twice
recommended the amendment of the Act to include sexual orientation
as a specific category or group against whom it would be illegal
to discriminate (in 2001 and 2005[303]
and again in 2006).[304]
The Commission has on a number of occasions received complaints
from the public against discrimination on the grounds of sexual
orientation (the latest being in 2006)[305]
but has been able to act on the complaints because sexual orientation
is not covered under the Act. The Chair of the Human Rights Commission,
Ms Venous Memari has publicly confirmed this.[306]
Despite this, statements have been made by both the then Premier
Alex Scott, the current Premier Ewart Brown and the then Opposition
Leader Wayne Furbert asserting that sexual orientation is already
covered in the Human Rights Act.[307]
Quite clearly Bermuda suffers from a climate of homophobia as
well as a climate of misinformation.
In 2006, the Hon Renee Webb MP, JP presented
a private member's bill to Parliament to amend the Human Rights
Act to include sexual orientation, but apart from Ms. Webb, only
one other Member of Parliament spoke on the bill, and therefore
under the rules of Parliament, it could not progress any further.
The debacle in the House of Assembly that was the cowardice on
the part of our elected officials to speak out on the issue (whether
for or against the issue) was quite stunning, and there was a
major demonstration the following week outside Parliament to protest
the MP's silence, which received good coverage in the local press.
In the Throne Speech of November 2007, the Government committed
to bringing the Human Rights Act to international standards, but
again, there has been little movement on the matter, "despite
the Human Affairs Department undertaking a comprehensive review
of the Human Rights Act which involved consultation with community
stakeholders during summer 2007. (This report has yet to be published).
So, 14 years on from the decriminalisation of consenting
sex between adult men (the Stubb's Bill, 1994), and seven years
on from the Human Rights Commission first recommending the amendment
to the Human Rights Act, the Government has yet to act. In addition,
the main body charged with responsibility for human rights issues,
has in the opinion of Two Words and a Comma not adequately fulfilled
its mandated role in public education. Two Words has been formed
to fill that void and to counter the climate of homophobia and
misinformation with lobbying and public education.
Two Words and a Comma have been very active
in carrying out their stated mission. Since forming nearly a year
ago, the group has:
— Run a six week public education campaign
in the local print media highlighting the lack of protection in
the Human Rights Act for all persons on the grounds of their sexuality.
— Held a public movie night and discussion
on discrimination on the grounds of sexuality attended by more
than 200 people at the members of the public (including the Minister
responsible for the Human Rights Commission, and the same Ministry's
Permanent Secretary).
— Created a website as a resource for
information and communication which has received well in excess
of 1000 unique hits during the public education campaign.
— Organised six lobbying meetings island-wide
for ALL candidates in the lead up to December 2007 General Election
to meet with members of the public. Nearly half the candidates
attended along with a total of some 100 plus members of the public.
— Made a detailed submission to the
Human Affairs Department's Human Rights Review.
The group wishes to capitalise on the momentum
of last year's work and intends to continue the work this year.
We have already met with the new Minister responsible for the
Human Rights Commission, and are awaiting a written reply to our
concerns about the lack of progress.
We also have planned the following work for
2008:
— Running a new (part two) public education
campaign in the media.
— Holding dialogue sessions with clergy
and other prominent members of the different religious denominations,
particularly with those who have publicly opposed the inclusion
of sexual orientation in the Human Rights Act.
— Following up with all the candidates
and subsequently elected MP's with information packs and lobbying,
as well as holding meetings with the Premier, the Opposition Leader,
Attorney General and members of the Senate.
— Building a strong relationship with
the new members of the Human Rights Commission.
— Continuing to work with the Human
Affairs Department.
— Working with Amnesty International
(we are the invited speaker at their AGM in April 2008).
— Holding additional movie nights with
discussion sessions and other educational events.
In the view of the members of Two Words and
a Comma, the progress on the inclusion of sexual orientation into
the Human Rights Act has been painfully slow. Whilst we prefer
to see an amendment made by the Bermuda Government that is domestically
driven, voluntary and inclusively supported, rather than having
change imposed upon by the UK, we nonetheless wish to highlight
the situation in Bermuda to the UK Foreign Affairs Committee.
Thank you for your interest. We are more than
happy to make ourselves available for further discussion or information
at any time.
22 March 2008
APPENDIX
MISSION STATEMENT
Our mission is to have the Human Rights Act
1981 amended to explicitly include the protection of all residents
of Bermuda from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.
We will carry out this mission by:
— Lobbying Members of Parliament, Senators
and other political figures.
— Consulting with the Human Rights
Commission and other relevant Government agencies.
— Working in partnership with other
non-governmental organisations.
— Raising awareness, educating and
informing the general public about Bermuda's Human Rights legislation
and discrimination based on sexual orientation.
In carrying out our mission we will:
— Create open, honest and respectful
dialogue in the Community.
— Encourage and promote the values
of diversity and inclusion.
301 Two Words and a Comma Mission Statement (see Appendix). Back
302
Two Words and a Comma Mission Statement (see Appendix). Back
303
Human Rights Commission Annual Reports 2001 and 2005. Back
304
The Royal Gazette, 5 and 11 May 2007. Back
305
The Royal Gazette, 20 October 2006. Back
306
The Royal Gazette, 27 July 2007. Back
307
The Royal Gazette, 1 September 2006 and 20 October 2006. Back
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