Guatemala Constitutional Court issued a ruling Friday requiring public security authorities to supervise the LGBTQ+ Pride Parade to ensure it conforms to “good customs.” This decision came in response to a legal challenge filed by lawyer Roberto Cano, who claimed the parade contains “immoral, sexual, and depraved scenes contrary to the moral and integral development of children.”
The Court’s ruling, announced in a statement on Friday, granted Cano’s request for a provisional injunction. It directed President Bernardo Arévalo, the Minister of Interior, and public security authorities to implement appropriate surveillance measures.
In line with this decision, the Court exhorted parade organizers and participants to exercise their rights peacefully and in accordance with “good customs,” specifically mentioning concern about the best interests of children. The Human Rights Ombudsman was also instructed to oversee compliance with these measures.
The Parade Organizing Committee swiftly responded to the Court’s ruling, issuing a statement that confirmed the parade would proceed as planned. They denounced the decision as “an attack on the rights of freedom of expression, demonstration, and association of all people, based on hate speech, prejudice, intolerance, and ignorance.” The Committee also expressed concern over the Guatemalan state’s apparent lack of a clear stance in favor of human rights for all individuals, including LGBTIQ+ people, and indicated they were considering legal action against the Court’s decision.
There is tension between the Court’s ruling and international human rights standards. The United Nations Human Rights Committee, in its General Comment No. 37 (2020) on the right of peaceful assembly, stated that restrictions on peaceful assemblies for the protection of “morals” should be rare. The Committee emphasized that such justifications should not be based on conceptions of morality derived exclusively from a single social, philosophical, or religious tradition, and cannot be imposed in opposition to expressions of sexual orientation or gender identity.
The controversy surrounding the Pride Parade occurs against the backdrop of Guatemala’s complex political and social landscape. President Bernardo Arévalo, who took office earlier this year, had promised the LGBTIQ+ community protection from discriminatory acts and pledged to combat hate speech. However, Guatemala continues to grapple with anti-LGBTIQ+ discourse and a hostile environment for this community. This is evidenced by the increase in hate crimes, with the Observatory for Violent Deaths of Lambda reporting at least 34 such crimes in 2023, a 15% increase from previous years.
