Costa Rica - IOM Costa Rica and the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights (IIDH) this week hosted two days of discussions on migration and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transsexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTTI) communities.

More than 30 representatives from the LGBTTI communities, government, NGOs, academia and other human rights organizations gathered in San José to exchange information, spur dialogue and analyze the migration experience of the LGBTTI migrant community in Central America.

The number of women, unaccompanied minors and LGBTTI migrants transiting through the region has grown in the past decade.  Although there is no specific data related to the number of LGBTTI migrants, reports compiled by organizations working with LGBTTI populations in the region show an increase in hate crimes and violence towards persons that are sexually diverse. 

 LGBTTI migrants have also reported being victims of beatings and sexual assaults as a form of punishment.  They also report suffering insults and humiliation and other types of abuses, simply because of their sexual orientation.

 Governments in the region lack information and therefore provide inadequate responses to combat and eradicate these crimes, which lead to forced migration (either internally or across borders) of LGBTTI population, usually in irregular conditions.

 “IOM’s offices around the world have seen that LGBTTI migrants are frequently marginalized or isolated, even in the context of distribution of humanitarian assistance.  Many times this is due to sheer lack of knowledge about them and their needs,” says Robert Paiva, IOM Regional Director for North and Central America and the Caribbean.

“Unfortunately, migration does not guarantee better or fair treatment for this population once they reach their destination. Often they live in fear of being deported to their countries of origin,” he adds. 

The group agreed to strengthen the exchange of information with the LGBTTI communities on migration issues and the risks of human trafficking and migrant smuggling; to create a network amongst organizations to provide assistance and information to its members; reach out to governments and other public entities to provide migration-related trainings focused on the needs of sexually diverse populations; and to request the Regional Conference on Migration (RCM) to include the issue of migration of LGBTTI people in order to start developing specific public policies.

This week’s event is part of the IOM regional project "Protection and Assistance to Vulnerable Migrants in the Mesoamerica Region" funded by U.S Department of State Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM.) 

For more information please contact

Carolina Urcuyo
IOM San José
Email: curcuyo@iom.int
Tel: + 506.22.12.5308