STATEMENTS AT UN FOCUS ON GAY AND LESBIAN HUMAN RIGHTS During August, two statements about gay and lesbian human rights were presented to the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. The first statement was a joint statement by the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) and Human Rights Advocates, a Non-Governmental Organization with consultative status at the UN. The statement was made on August 6 in Geneva, Switzerland. The second statement, a joint effort by five Non-Governmental Organizations, was delivered on August 25, 1992. This statement was the first effort by a newly-formed coalition of NGO's in Geneva. The coalition, called the International Task Force on Lesbian and Gay Issues, has a mandate to influence, lobby, and inform the UN system and the international community on gay and lesbian issues. Members of the coalition include: The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, the Habitat International Coalition, the International Union of Students, the World Christian Federation, and the World Young Women's Christian Association. To contact the Coalition, write to: WILPF, International Secretariat, 1, rue de Varembe, C.P. 28, 1211 Geneva 20, Switzerland. Full text of the two statements follow, along with a press release from Douglas Sanders of ILGA. Contacts for ILGA are given in the press release. ****************** MEDIA RELEASE FIRST GAY SPEAKS AT UNITED NATIONS CANADIAN PROFESSOR REPRESENTS LESBIANS AND GAYS AT UN The first statement by an openly gay person to a U.N. body was made today, August 6, in Geneva, Switzerland. Douglas Sanders, a Canadian law professor, spoke on behalf of the International Lesbian and Gay Association [ILGA] and Human Rights Advocates. ILGA was formed in 1978 and has 500 members in more than 50 countries in all regions of the world. Sanders' statement at the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities pointed out positive developments in many countries and in the European region. In contrast, there has been virtually no attention to lesbian and gay issues at the U.N. Sanders called this a "serious omission" in the human rights work of the U.N. Professor Sanders' statement cited a number of positive developments, including the enactment of anti-discrimination laws, the 1989 Danish Registered Partnership Act, which applies to same-sex couples, and immigration reform in Australia and five other countries. Canada does not allow same-sex spousal sponsorship and Sanders has been separated from his partner by Canadian immigration officials, though the officials knew they were separating a "well-established couple". Professor Sanders, 54, teaches International Human Rights law at the University of British Columbia. He says it may take ten years of lobbying t the United Nations before lesbian and gay rights are fully accepted at the international level. CONTACT: Doug Sanders, Hotel Mon Repos, Geneva, Switzerland, Tel.: (022) 732-8010 - Fax: (022) 732-8595 ILGA Information Secretariat, Brussels, Belgium, Fax: + 32-2-502-2471 Mari Omland, Quaker United Nations Office, New York, Tel.: (212) 682-2745 - Fax: (212) 983-0034 ******************* Presentation: Thursday, August 6th, 1992 UNITED NATIONS Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, 44th Annual Session August 3rd to 28th, 1992, Geneva, Switzerland. Agenda Item 17: Promotion, protection, and restoration of human rights at national, regional, and international levels. STATEMENT OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF LESBIAN AND GAY PEOPLE JOINT STATEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATES AND THE INTERNATIONAL LESBIAN AND GAY ASSOCIATION Human Rights Advocates are pleased to present the following statement in collaboration with the International Lesbian and Gay Association. Lesbian and gay human rights issues have received increasing attention at the national and regional levels. To date they have received almost no attention at the international level. In our view, this represents a very serious omission in the human rights work of this and other international human rights bodies. Let me briefly give some examples of positive developments which have recently occurred at national and regional levels: First, examples of developments at the national level. -- Laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of "sexual orientation" have been enacted in many jurisdictions in the last decade. We note the renewed commitment of Canada, this June, to introduce such a provision in national legislation, adding to provisions already in place in six provinces or territories. -- In 1989 Denmark enacted a Registered Partnership law. This was a major mover towards a norm of equality between homosexual and heterosexual couples. The Danish law is likely to be copied in a number of European countries. -- In 1991 Australia established equality in its immigration laws with provisions recognizing all relationships of "emotional interdependency." In granting lesbians and gays equal rights to sponsor their partners as immigrants, Australia was following the lead of New Zealand, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. -- Homosexuals have been achieving much higher visibility in their countries. Homosexual rights organizations have existed in Western countries or many years, but new organizations have been established in the last decade in Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Today, openly homosexual individuals hold elected national office in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and in other states. Secondly, I would like to give examples of developments at the regional level. At this point we are only aware of developments in the European region. -- In 1981 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted Resolution 756 and Recommendation 924 condemning discrimination against homosexuals. -- The 1984 resolution of the European Parliament on sexual discrimination at the workplace specifically condemned discrimination against homosexuals and called on members states to report any provisions in their laws which discriminated against homosexuals. -- The European Commission funded a summer course in lesbian and gay studies in Utrecht, the Netherlands, in 1989, and in Essex, the United Kingdom, in 1991. The courses were organized by five European universities, including the Department of Gay and Lesbian Studies at the University of Utrecht. Research on gay and lesbians issues at the University of Utrecht has received financial support from the European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Human Rights Foundation. -- Lesbian and Gay issues have been discussed in two parallel conferences in the CSCE process [the Conference in Security and Co-operation in Europe]. The conferences were held in Oslo in 1991 and Helsinki in April of this year. The Helsinki meeting was an official CSCE parallel conference. It was organized by the Finnish homosexual rights organization SETA and funded by the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Unfortunately these positive advanced in national and regional practice are only part of the story. Discrimination against lesbian and gay people continues in most parts of the world. These human rights violations need to be properly monitored and brought to world attention. I will very briefly give examples: -- In one country the death penalty is applied to anyone found to have committed a homosexual act. Extrajudicial killings of lesbians and gays continue in a number of countries, including the murder, three weeks ago, of at least five homosexual activists in Mexico. The most prominent figure killed was Dr. Francisco Estrade Valle, co-founder of an AIDS education and prevention organization. -- In many states penal laws still prohibit consenting homosexual activity. Such laws continue in Ireland in conflict with the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in the cases brought by Senator Norris. -- In most states we face discrimination in civil laws dealing with inheritance, social insurance, medical insurance, housing, and immigration. Canadian immigration authorities have now separated me from my foreign partner, knowing that they were separating a well-established couple. The right to sponsor one's spouse as an immigrant is a right always available to heterosexuals, but regularly denied to homosexuals. ILGA, the International Lesbian and Gay Association, was formed in 1978 and currently has approximately 500 members in more than 50 states in all regions of the world. The goal of the Association is to ensure that lesbian and gay people can enjoy equal rights with other members of the societies within which we live. The Association has worked with the World Health Organization and contributed to the 1988 Fernand-Laurent study on sexual minorities, authorized by the ECOSOC. In spite of its useful work and very representative character, the International Lesbian and Gay Association has not yet been successful in gaining consultative status. Lesbian and gays are, at present, completely unrepresented, as such, in the organizations holding consultative status with the United Nations. To our knowledge, I am the first homosexual to speak openly in any United Nations human rights body. I make that observation to illustrate how completely we have been outside he human rights work of the United Nations. We have been outsiders, though we are large minorities in every member state of the United Nations. On behalf of Human Rights Advocates and the International Lesbian and Gay Association, may I suggest certain steps that we feel should be taken by the Sub-Commission: -- Firstly, The Sub-Commission should appoint a special rapporteur to undertake a comprehensive study on discrimination against lesbian and gay people. -- Secondly: We call on the United Nations to include the human rights of lesbian and gay people in the agenda of the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights. -- Thirdly: We call upon the United Nations t review its own employment and benefit policies to ensure that there is no discrimination against lesbian and gay people or their partners. -- Fourthly: We ask the Sub-Commission to encourage the Economic and Social Council to regard favorably the applications of lesbian and gay organizations for consultative status. We wish to be here in our own names, representing our own organizations. Thank you Mr. Chairman. ******************** JOINT NGO STATEMENT TO THE SUB-COMMISSION ON THE PREVENTION OF DISCRIMINATION AND PROTECTION OF MINORITIES Item 4: Review of further developments in fields with which the Sub-Commission has been concerned * Right to freedom of opinion and expression 25 August 1992 The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, together with the Habitat International Coalition, the International Union of Students, the World Student Christian Federation and the World Young Women's Christian Association would like to draw your attention to a human rights matter which has hardly been addressed in this forum, but which affects the human rights of a large number of individuals: the discrimination against lesbians and gay men in all parts of the world. This discrimination ranges from jokes at their expense to state-sanctioned violence, and often even death. Lesbians and gay men live in all parts of the world, in every country. The most reliable statistics suggest that they have made up, at the very least, 5-10% of the population of all cultures at all times. Their invisibility in many societies is indicative of discrimination. Many lesbians and gay men have good reason to fear that their human rights will be violated if their sexual orientation or preference is known. For example, Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states "No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile". Despite this, lesbians and gay men consistently fall victim to arbitrary arrest and detention, simply because of their sexuality, ad are often forced to leave their countries because of threats to their lives. For example, in Argentina, though homosexuality is not a crime, arrests are made on fabricated charges. In China, people are arrested and detained because they are homosexual without ever being charged. In many other countries, round-ups and arrest of patrons of gay bars and other meeting places are common. Many countries still have anti-gay laws on their books, subjecting individuals to unwarranted repression. Such acts also violate Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states "Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person". Other cases in violation of this article include those in which lesbians or gay men are assassinated because of their homosexuality. For example, on July 12 this year, the bound and strangled bodies of at least 5 gay men were found in Mexico City, including the body of Dr. Francisco Estrada Valle, a well-known AIDS activist. Though Mexican authorities have not been implicated in these crimes, they have been accused of not investigating the crimes fully because they involve gay people. Sometimes government agents are directly involved in such crimes. Such is the case in Colombia, where one Medellin-based group, Grupo de Ambiente, documented 328 murders by death squads of gays between 1986 and 1990. Many of the bodies found showed signs of torture and mutilation. Several human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have implicated the Colombian armed forces in being responsible or at least complicit with these death squad killings. Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in part "Everyone has the right to freedom of movement... Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country". Governments violate this human right when they establish discriminatory immigration laws which exclude entry of foreigners who are lesbian or gay. Or if the immigration laws allow for one family member, such as a heterosexual spouse, to sponsor the other, discriminatory immigration laws do not recognize lesbian or gay relationships and as a result, lesbians or gay men are separated from their partners when one of the partners is a foreign national. Article 14 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states "Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution". In 1989 a gay man from Cyprus applied for refuge in the UK, basing his claim on fear of persecution based on his membership in a particular social group: he was gay. The government rejected his application, saying that since sodomy is an activity in which one "could refrain from taking part," the law in Cyprus does not rise to the level of persecution. These are just a few examples of the ways in which the human rights of lesbians and gay men throughout the world are violated. We are able to provide additional information. Paragraph 185 of Special Rapporteur Danilo Turk's final report on the Realization of Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1992/16) supports the need for the UN, especially in relation to the upcoming Expert Seminar on Indicators and the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights, to begin to "devote increased attention to areas of discriminatory behavior generally ignored at the international level," including on the grounds of sexual orientation. The credibility of any organization standing up for universal rights is challenged when it fails to stand up for the rights of any group, however unpopular. Justifying the exclusion of any group is the first step in justifying the exclusion of every other group but the dominant group. We urge members of the Sub-Commission, as well as Observer Governments, Inter-Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations to include in your work the issue of abolishing violations of human rights against lesbians and gay men. Thank you.