Date: Thu, 9 Mar 1995 01:18:51 +0100 From: Steffen Jensen Subject: Pressrelease International Lesbian and Gay Association Hans Hjerpekjon, Secretary General Storgatan 49 N-3110 Tonsberg Norway Telephone & Fax + 47 33 31 05 71 PRESS RELEASE Copenhagen March 8th. 1995 IS THIS SUMMIT FOR US ? - asks gays and lesbians. In 1995, in the UN 'Year of Tolerance', 100 years after the Oscar Wilde trials, 50 years after Hitler's persecution, the world leaders have gathered in Copenhagen to address the tragedy of social exclusion. For the largest socially excluded minority in the world - the hundreds of millions of lesbians and gays - this event represents another possibility to draw world attention to our situation. But will we be heard, or will we again be ignored ? Indeed, will we again even at this conference be socially excluded ? asks Hans Hjerpekjon, the secretary general of The International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA). ILGA - a worldwide umbrella organisation for gays and lesbians - will through its participation at this conference try to focus an two aspects af this issue: 1. The problem of Homophobia and 2. The benefits and new opportunities for the world community, if lesbians and gays were socially accepted. Not only is Homophobia a result of general attitudes and wide-spread prejudices in the population, it is also a product of stateordained discrimination and suppression, which find their expression in anti- homosexual legislation. In order to stop intolerance against lesbians and gays, it is a pre-condition to stop all legal discrimination against homosexual women and men and to garantee them egual rights and equal opportunities. ILGA would also like to focus on the vast gains that could be obtained by social acceptance of lesbians and gays. To day hundreds of millions of us are forced to live a hidden double-life. Many of us cannot sustain the burden, resulting in loss of life or mental incapacitation in varying degrees and forms. For us all this represents a tragic and unneccessary loss of human resources on a vast scale. Adversely social inclusion of lesbians and gays could read enormous potential benefits for the world community at large. Social inclusion would mean releasing the human resources of hundreds of millions of people, inviting lesbians and gays to contribute by making use of their strength, their caring and creative abilities at work and in their private lives. ILGA hopes and invites the NGO-Forum and the Summit to address these issues, Hans Hjerpeskjon concludes. ILGA and the National Danish Organisation for Gays and Lesbians organises two events at the NGO-Forum: 1. On Friday 10th. March at 1.00-2.45 p.m. in room 50 'Homosexuality, a Human Right' A paneldiscussion. Participating among others Ebba Strange (ex- MP) and Hans Hjerpeskjon (ILGA). 2. On Saturday 11th. March at 1.00-2.45 p.m. in room 50 'Lesbian Visibility - a EU-project' The project managers - Inge-lise Paulsen and Vibeke Nissen will tell about the project and discuss the results of their research. ------------------------------ End of forwarded message 1