Subject: Intro & First Mailing
From: International Gay Lesbian Human Rights Commission <[email-masked]>
Date: 20 Jan 94 23:45 PST

Welcome to the IGLHRC ERN Mailing List

This first message is a test.  We have put into our e-mail
database all the addresses that have requested to be put on the
mailing list.  If we have made a mistake with your particular
address, please send us a message to have it removed.  We
apologize for any inconvenience.  Below is our genral
information.

What is the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission?

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)
was formed in Moscow the summer of 1990 by U.S. and Russian
lesbian and gay activists to focus the spotlight of world opinion
on the oppression of lesbians and gay men around the world.  Two
glaring examples of such oppression are Article 121 of the Russian
Criminal Code (Recently stricken) and the existance of anti-sodomy
laws in the United States.

IGLHRC moniters, documents, exposes, and mobilizes urgent response
to human rights violations against lesbians, gay, bisexual, and
people with HIV and AIDS all over the world.

Some of Our Recent Accomplishements.....

*Organizing and sponsorship of the first International Lesbian and
Gay symposium and Film Festival in the Soviet Union in July 1991.

*Successful lobbying of Amnesty International to change their
mandate to include lesbian and gay prisoners of conscience through
pressure tactics, publicity, and sharing documentation of abuses.

*Supported the successful struggle to legalize a lesbian and gay
rights organization in Argentina.

*Support for La Red, the network of Latino/a lesbian and gay
groups, preparing for a historic organizing conference in 1994.

*Mobilizing a successful international pressure campaign to secure
the release of two men who faced up to 20 years in prison for
sodomy cahrges in the Bahamas.

*Development of AIDS support for HIV+ people in the former Soviet
Union and dissemination of AIDS treatment and prevention
information to health care providers in the CIS.  The World Health
Organization donated 41,000 condoms to this project.

*Generation of over 5,000 column inches of press, television, and
radio coverage on gay human rights struggles in other countries.

*Provided documentary support for attorney's working on asylum,
sodomy, and other discrimination cases in Canada, United States,
England, Argentina, Sweden, Australia, and the Commonwealth of
Independent States (Five gay men received asylum or refugee status
in 1992 alone).

*Completion of a Romanian Fact Finding Mission in May 1992,
documenting the situation of gays and lesbians, establishing
allies with domestic human rights organizations, and lobbying
parliamentary and ministry officials to abolish the Romanian
sodomy law.

Program's of IGLHRC include......

Latin American Support Section.  Collaboration with groups and
individuals in Central and South America on issues ranging from
sodomy law repeal to AIDS education and prevention.

Emergency Response Network.  Network of over 200 regular
participants responding to monthly action alerts produced by
IGLHRC and committed to urgently acting on behalf of others facing
human rights abuses through letter writing campaigns, phone/fax
zaps, and lobbying of other human rights groups and government
officials.

Research/Documentation Center.  Coordination of a volounteer
research committee establishing a clearing-house of information on
gay and lesbian persecution country by country.

TEMA International.  IGLHRC's quarterly journal bringing articles
from non-U.S. sources to English-speaking readers.

International Outreach & Solidarity.  Coalition building among
lesbian and gay rights organizations and individual activist from
around the world, including Asia, Pacific Islands, Africa, Latin
America, and Eastern Europe.

International Volounteer Training and Support.  Providing U.S.
volunteers living and/or travelling to other countries the
necessary orientation, skills, and contacts to work as
international activists.  IGLHRC currently has volunteers in
Russia, Czechoslavakia, Mexico, Columbia, Malaysia, Indonesia,
Japan, India, Hungary, Taiwan, and Argentina.

International Computer Network.  Establishing a network of gay and
lesbian activists via e-mail; currently on line are groups in the
CIS, Croatia, U.S., and Peru.

Community Education.  Publicizing of human rights violations
through the media, organization of international workshops for gay
and lesbian conferences, speaking engagements with corporations,
professional associations, student groups,a nd mainstream human
rights organizations, and video presentations of documentary
footage highlighting the situation of gays and lesbians in other
countries.