Human Rights Watch writes to the Prime Minister of Jamaica urging him to publicly to condemn attacks - verbal or otherwise - on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and to affirm that human rights in Jamaica cannot be restricted or infringed on the basis of anyone's sexual orientation or gender identity.

The United Nations General Assembly should reverse its decision to exclude three human rights and sexual health nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from its June 10 high-level meeting on HIV/AIDS, a coalition of human rights groups and international AIDS organizations said today.

We write on behalf of Human Rights Watch to thank you for your response to our letter of February 27, 2008, expressing our concern regarding a violent homophobic attack on a group of men in Mandeville in January 2008 and the disappearance of one of the victims of the attack.

Letter from the Prime Minister of Jamaica regarding the violent attack on a group of men at a house in Mandeville in 2007.

We write on behalf of Human Rights Watch to express our concern that Jamaican police have again failed to protect individuals from homophobic violence and to investigate recent abuses against men suspected of being gay by members of the Jamaican community. We urge you to direct the police forces to duly investigate these cases of abuse and violence and to bring to justice those found responsible. We also urge you to ensure a full investigation of the whereabouts of a victim who remains missing after the most recent attack.

A homophobic mob attack in Jamaica that left one man severely injured and another missing and feared dead shows yet again that authorities must take urgent action against violence and hatred, Human Rights Watch said today. This incident is the latest in a string of homophobic mob violence over the last year, including an attack on mourners in a church.

Gareth Williams, a leading AIDS activist and voice for the rights of sexual minorities in Jamaica and the English-speaking Caribbean, is the recipient of the 2006 International Award for Action on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and Human Rights Watch announced today. Stella, a Montréal-based support and information group organized by and for sex workers, is the recipient of the Canadian award.

As you know, Human Rights Watch has documented an atmosphere of homophobic intolerance and violence in Jamaica, and a pattern of indifference or reluctance to investigate such violence on the part of the police. While we are encouraged by the increasing willingness of authorities to work with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, we urge you to ensure that a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation is taking place into the murders of Candice Williams and Phoebe Myrie.