Subject: International Tribunal
From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 12 Oct 1995 11:14:50 -0400

NEWS RELEASE

Press Contacts:  Michael Kaminer 212-627-8098
Barbara French 415-788-7788
Paul Pendergast  415-621-0600
or email   [email-masked]  or [email-masked]

B-roll/photos available upon request.

Lesbians and Gays Demand Action
>From UN on Human Rights Violations

International Tribunal in New York Coincides With UN's Fiftieth Anniversary

San Francisco (Oct. 2, 1995) - As heads of state from around the world gather
to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the founding of the United Nations,
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender activists will convene an
international tribunal in New York City to call attention to the widespread
and systematic abuse of lesbian, gay and bisexual and transgender people.

The first-ever International Tribunal on Human Rights Violations Against
Sexual Minorities will occur on Tuesday, October 17, 1995, 9:30 a.m. to 1:30
p.m. at the United Engineering Center, 345 East 47th Street (First Avenue) in
New York.  The Tribunal will provide an international forum for individuals
who have suffered persecution and abuse based on their sexual orientation.  A
list of confirmed testifiers and an outline of their individual cases is
included on the back page of this release.

The testifiers, who represent a range of issues and regions, will present
their cases to a distinguished panel of international human-rights experts
including Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, former director of the Robert F. Kennedy
Memorial Human Rights Center, and Deputy Marta Suplicy, member of the
Brazilian Parliament and Brazilian Human Rights Commission.

At the conclusion of the testimony, the judges will issue recommendations
calling for the UN and other human-rights organizations to take their
rightful and necessary roles as protectors and defenders of the human rights
of sexual minorities worldwide.

"The UN continues to turn a blind eye to human-rights violations based on
sexual orientation, gender identity and HIV status," said Julie Dorf,
executive director of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission
(IGLHRC), one of two San Francisco-based organizations sponsoring the
Tribunal.

"This is about basic human rights," said Lester Olmstead-Rose, executive
director of Community United Against Violence, the other sponsoring
organization.  "The Tribunal will illustrate the physical attacks against us;
physical attacks of arrest, torture, harassment and murder; physical attacks
which deprive us of life and liberty."

Co-chairs for the Tribunal are Urvashi Vaid, activist, author and former
executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, and James C.
Hormel, gay philanthropist and a founding director of the Human Rights
Campaign Fund.

"The UN must recognize that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are
entitled to all existing human-rights guarantees," Vaid said.

"The Tribunal forum offers a means of presenting with dignity a clear case of
need for redress," Hormel said.  "It is time to focus the world's attention
on persecution based on sexual orientation and to put an end to these civil
wrongs."

Individuals confirmed to testify at the Tribunal include:

Wilfredo Valencia-Palacios, San Salvador, El Salvador. A gay man and AIDS
activist who has been marked for assassination by a death squad.  Wilfredo
has been beaten, followed and shot at in the street.  Amnesty International
has issued urgent appeals on his case after being approached by IGLHRC.

Daphne Scholinski, San Francisco, U.S.A.  A 29-year-old lesbian who was
institutionalized in a psychiatric facility between the ages of 14 and 18
with a psychiatric diagnosis of "gender identity disorder."  Medical staff
tried to make her behave in a more "feminine" manner.

Serkan Altan, Turkey. A 23-year-old gay man who was taken into custody by
Turkish police, raped and beaten because of his sexual orientation.  The U.S.
government granted him asylum in 1994 based upon fear of persecution.  He
currently resides in a Washington, D.C., suburb.

Anuja Gupta, New Delhi, India.  She has worked with ABVA, the group of
prostitutes, lesbians, gay men, professional blood donors and others whose
attempt to distribute condoms inside Tihar Jail in New Delhi has sparked a
whose three foster children were taken away from her by the Argentinean
government.  Mariela won the sympathy of the Argentinean public during a
highly publicized court case and now runs a home for single mothers and their
children.

Herbert Mondhlani, Harare, Zimbabwe.  He will be speaking as a member of Gays
and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), which was recently denied permission to
participate in the International Book Fair in Harare.  Following
international protests, President Robert Mugabe issued threats of
imprisonment of lesbians and gay men and publicly supported the denial of
freedom of association.

Ciprian Cucu, Timosoara, Romania.  Ciprian Cucu and his lover were arrested
under Romania's Article 200 which outlaws same-sex sexual relations.  Police
broke into the couple's house, arrested them and imprisoned them for several
months, until they were released under pressure from IGLHRC and Amnesty
International.

Elizabeth Lim, Quezon City, Philippines.   She and her lover Evangeline
Castronuevo were terminated from their jobs at a human rights organization
because of their relationship.  Their law suit charging their employers with
discrimination is the first legal case in Asia on a lesbian issue.

Other judges and testifiers will be announced as confirmed.

Note:  Interviews with witnesses can be arranged in advance.