Panama rights group reports discrimination against same-sex families to Inter-American Commission
Panamanian human rights organisation Fundación Iguales addressed the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in Panama City on 30 October 2026 about obstacles to legal recognition of same-sex families. According to the foundation’s statement, the intervention took place at the Commission’s dialogue with civil society during its 197th session.
The foundation was represented by its executive director, lawyer Iván Chanis Barahona. He spoke for Red de Litigantes LGBTI+ de las Américas, a network of lawyers and organisations pursuing legal protection for LGBT people through litigation. The foundation says the network includes representatives from more than 14 Latin American and Caribbean countries, and Iguales was among 20 organisations selected for the meeting.
The main complaint concerns refusals to register children of same-sex couples. Chanis argues that, in such cases, a child’s access to Panamanian nationality is made dependent on their mothers’ sexual orientation. The foundation also said social security reform had failed to include same-sex couples. These are the organisation’s assessments presented to the Commission.
In the regional part of the presentation, the network reported shrinking space for LGBT organisations, restrictions on funding and international cooperation, and stigmatisation. Fundación Iguales works on legal protection, education and LGBT people’s situation in Panama.
The Commission’s official calendar lists the 30 October meeting as a civil society dialogue at the Latin American and Caribbean Parliament building. La Prensa confirmed that organisations presented concerns on various human rights issues there.
The legal background appears in Panama’s official legal database: on 16 February 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that provisions defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman and prohibiting same-sex marriage were constitutional. The foundation’s intervention therefore concerns continuing disputes over recognition of these families.
Uránia previously reported the registration of a same-sex civil marriage in Bolivia, where the couple sought recognition through administrative and judicial proceedings.
