Organising our Coming Out at the United Nations / Report on ILGA's activities at the United Nations in 2006
Report on ILGA's activities at the United Nations in 2006
The statement delivered by Norway this Friday December 1 is but a step, a glorious and historic one with the greatest government support ever, in a process started in 1992 with the first speech on gay rights ever given at the United Nations in the name of ILGA. An arduous process which fortunately and unexpectedly went through an acceleration in 2003 when Brazil presented the first resolution banning discrimination on sexual orientation and gender identity.
ILGA, as the only worldwide federation of LGBT groups, has played its role in this process. Our efforts to have sexual orientation and gender identity come out at the United Nations grew in importance in 2006 and organised around three aspects:
- Gaining the right to speak in our own name at the United Nations: the ECOSOC campaign
- Maintaining an LGBT presence at the Human Rights Council: read the speeches given by actists at the UN in October 2006
- ILGA held its XXIII World Conference in Geneva, home of the UN Human Rights Council
READ OUR REPORT
http://www.ilga.org/news_results.asp?LanguageID=1&FileID=937&FileCategory=1&ZoneID=7
Sincerely,
Patricia Curzi & Stephen Barris
International Lesbian and Gay Association
Get involved! Make a donation to ILGA: http://ilga.org/donate.asp
Le donne cambiano la Storia, cambiamo i libri di Storia.
LE DONNE CAMBIANO LA STORIA, CAMBIAMO I LIBRI DI STORIA
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Historic recognition of LGBT organisations at the United Nations: one of ILGA’s regions and two of its members granted consultative status
Yesterday, 11 December 2006, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) granted consultative status to three gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender organisations: to ILGA-Europe, the European Region of the International Lesbian and Gay Association, to the Danish and German national lesbian and gay association, LBL and LSVD. Consultative status granted by the ECOSOC allows NGOs to enter the United Nations, participate in its work and speak in their own name. No other LGBT group till this day enjoyed this right, apart from COAL, the Coalition of Activist Lesbians, a group based in Australia.
“State homophobia has been hit and will not remain unchallenged anymore,” says Rosanna Flamer Caldera, Co-Secretary General of the International Lesbian and Gay Association. “It is a very special moment for the LGBT movement: this historic decision follows the statement made by Norway at the UN Human Rights Council on behalf of 54 countries, pushing that forum to address sexual orientation and gender identity.
ILGA, a federation of 550 LGBT groups around the world, has been working for a number of years to have sexual orientation and gender identity come out at the United Nations. The first speech at the UN on LGBT rights was given in its name in 1992. In 2006, ILGA held its world conference in Geneva, European headquarters of the United Nations and organised four panels on LGBT issues at the second session of the Human Rights Council.
ILGA also initiated a campaign to have an increasing number of LGBT groups apply for ECOSOC status. In a clear demonstration of uneasiness and an attempt to avoid any debate on the topics of sexual orientation and gender identity, countries sitting at the ECOSOC postponed the debate, using procedural manoeuvres from one meeting to another. “This last meeting of the ECOSOC is the fourth this year where countries have had to discuss these applications from LGBT groups,” comments Rosanna Flamer-Caldera.
“Some states argue or fear we may be asking for special rights and use this as an alibi to block us from entering the UN,” she continues. “This is not a question of special rights. It is a basic question of equality and universality of human rights. We demand the right not to be discriminated against on the grounds of who we are, as lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender persons. On the international level, this starts with the United Nations recognising the mere fact LGBT people exist, that they can organise as groups and, as such, participate in UN work and protest against the many human rights violations we still suffer from around the world”.
ILGA thanks the many NGOs which have supported this campaign - with special recognition to Arc International and ISHR, the International Service for Human Rights.
In 2007, applications from seven other LGBT groups will be considered by the ECOSOC.
Patricia Curzi & Stephen Barris
ILGA, International Lesbian and Gay Association
For more information:
http://www.ilga.org
Special report on this ECOSOC Campaign available at
http://www.ilga.org/news_results.asp?LanguageID=1&FileCategoryID=44&FileID=936&ZoneID=7
UN Press release is available at http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2006/ecosoc6242.doc.htm
Questo importantissimo riconoscimento fa seguito ad un'altra dichiarazione dell' 1 dicembre scorso
alba
Une déclaration historique devant le Conseil des droits de l'homme de l'Onu
La date est historique. Vendredi 1er décembre, l'ambassadeur norvégien auprès des Nations unies s'est exprimé devant le Conseil des droits de l'homme au nom de 54 pays. Une première, d'autant que Wegger Strommen a choisi de prendre position contre les violations des droits de l'être humain, motivées par l'orientation ou l'identité sexuelle d'un individu. Il a rappelé que le Conseil des droits de l'homme avait reçu, au cours de sa dernière session, «des preuves étendues» de telles violations. Il a donc recommandé que des procédures spéciales soient adoptées. «Les principes d'universalité et de non-discrimination exigent que ces questions soient examinées», a-t-il conclu, encourageant le président du Conseil à lancer une discussion sur le sujet. L'initiative a été saluée par plus de 300 ONG, dans 40 pays. «C'est la plus grande déclaration délivrée à l'Onu sur les! questions d'orientation sexuelle, et la première qui souligne explicitement les violations des droits de l'être humain fondées sur l'identité sexuelle», remarque John Fisher, codirecteur d'Arc International. Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, cosecrétaire générale de l'International lesbian and gay association (Ilga), a observé pour sa part que la déclaration norvégienne avait «rassemblé les États et ONG dans le monde autour d'un message clair: les violations des droits de l'être humain à l'encontre de nos communautés ne peuvent plus être ignorées».
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