By Nicholas Snow
As we embrace a New Year, I am honored to report about the very important work of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), a champion for us all. You may have read the news that in recent years “the full United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) voted in favor of a US-led resolution to grant the IGLHRC consultative status. IGLHRC is only the tenth organization working primarily for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) human rights to gain such status at the United Nations.”
About this magnificent achievement, President Barrack Obama expressed, “I welcome this important step forward for human rights, as the International Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Commission (ILGHRC) will take its rightful seat at the table of the United Nations. The UN was founded on the premise that only through mutual respect, diversity, and dialogue can the international community effectively pursue justice and equality. Today, with the more full inclusion of the International Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Commission, the United Nations is closer to the ideals on which it was founded, and to values of inclusion and equality to which the United States is deeply committed.”
According to members of the IGLHRC team, “Our work requires the development of strong human rights movements globally, which is why building advocacy partnerships is at the heart of what we do. As partners, we work hand-in-hand with local activists to strengthen their capacity to confront human rights violations at home. We also connect our partners to the broader human rights arena—including the United Nations system and NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) at the regional and global level. Together with our partners we create visibility for human rights violations by monitoring and documenting abuses and by responding to human rights emergencies. We stand firm with those who seek to change discriminatory laws and policies affecting our communities.”
At their web site is a section that allows visitors to see what communities in countries around the world are facing, a great resource also for LGBTI tourists planning their journeys. For example, if you look up Indonesia you will find a link to a document headlined, “Police Allow Fundamentalists to Disrupt Another LGBT Event.”
The story begins, “Twenty-four hours after they issued a permit to do so, police in Yogyakarta, Indonesia denied lesbians, gay men, waria (third gender), women’s-rights activists, interfaith-youth activists, and other human-rights activists the right to hold a cultural performance to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO).”
The above is in stark contrast that in August of 2009 the President of Indonesia officially opened and welcomed the 9th International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, held in the ostensibly gay-friendly Bali, which has gay clothing optional resorts, a popular gay beach and gay nightclubs.
“Four critical goals shape our work,” they continued. “We advocate for the elimination of discriminatory laws, policies and practices, such as sodomy laws which empower police and other authorities to abuse, harass, extort, imprison and execute us. We support the enactment and implementation of anti-discrimination laws, policies and practices to help build a world that is more equitable and fair. We strive to reduce family, community and state-sanctioned violence, publicly condemning all forms of violence against individuals because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. And we actively promote economic, social and cultural rights such as those related to employment, housing, education and health.”
They further explained, “Our work is critically needed. More than 80 countries still criminalize consensual same-sex intimacy. And every day in countries around the world, from Brazil to Botswana, Bulgaria to Bangladesh, those who challenge sexual or gender norms are arrested, forced into psychiatric ‘treatment’ or marriage, denied basic job protections, healthcare, and parental rights, brutally attacked, tortured, and even murdered.”
In conclusion, the team expressed, “We work for a day when people with diverse sexualities can flourish. We work for the day when all human beings are valued, and treated with dignity and respect. We work for the day when justice becomes a reality, everywhere.”
Find IGLHRC on Facebook by searching their full name, and be sure to visit their official web site at www.IGLHRC.org.
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