Petrelis Files

From All Continents,
LGBTI Activists Promote March 7 UN Debate

Mahmoud Asgari and Ayaz Marhoni, Executed Gay Iranians

Priscila Brandao, Murdered Transgender Brazilian

David Kato, Murdered Ugandan Gay

Zoliswa Nkonyana (right, in red cap), Murdered South African Lesbian

Allen Schindler, Murdered Gay American

Walter Trochez, Assassinated Gay Honduran

Ahmet Yildiz, Gay Turkish "Honor Killing" Victim

[These photographs illustrate just a handful of LGBTI people murdered around the world in recent years.]

On March 7, an important milestone in global lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex human rights will occur: the United Nations Human Rights Council will discuss hate-motivated crimes against us.

We have gathered signatures from LGBTI persons from every continent in order to show solidarity within our movement, and to publicize the UN debate this week.

Please share this announcement, text of the letter and signatories with your social networks, as well as friends and family, local media and blogger contacts. Take an active role in promoting the March 7 debate. Bring important global visibility to the beatings and killings of our brothers and sisters.

Anyone wishing to add their name, occupation or name of a group they belong to, city and country of where they live, please use the comment section or send an email to: MPetrelis@aol.com.

And be sure to watch on March 7 when the UN hears testimony about some of the human rights violations LGBTI persons want addressed by the international organization.

Thanks for your support and solidarity!

Gays Without Borders
San Francisco, CA, USA

Sign-on Letter Promoting UN's March 7 LGBT Debate

Dear Friends and Allies,

We are a diverse coalition of global lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex activists coming together to promote an important United Nation Human Rights Council panel meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 7th.

In December 2011, the UN published its first report on human rights in the context of sexual orientation and gender identity, "Discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity".

The English version of the report can be read here:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/19session/A.HRC.19.41_en.pdf.

We applaud the UN for releasing this document, promising to follow up on the disturbing findings and conclusions, and calling on governments to honor their commitments under international treaties to protect the human rights of LGBTI persons.

This UN report is to be presented to the Human Rights Council on March 7 with a panel discussion to address the findings in a respectful and transparent manner, and an emphasis placed on appropriate implementation of protections for LGBTI persons everywhere. The panel represents the first time the Council offers focused attention on understanding human rights, gender identity and sexual orientation.

The UN Human Rights Council's live webcast will be available here: http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/c/un-human-rights-council.html

According to Gay Star News, the debate starts at 12pm and runs to 3pm central European time. That means it can be watched live beginning at 5am in Tegucigalpa, 6am in New York, 11am in London, 1 pm in Johannesburg and Istanbul, 8pm in Tokyo, and 10pm in Sydney. The debate will also be archived.

To confirm the precise schedule, which might evolve, keep checking the Program of Work, available here: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/19session/ .

We urge all of our friends, neighbors, social networks, families, lawmakers, non-governmental organizations, mainstream press, LGBTI bloggers and activists to spread the word about the March 7 panel and to organize "viewing parties".

As the UN Human Rights Council prepares for the historic March 7 discussion, we vow to use this important development to urge the UN to do even more: to respond with policies that decrease violence perpetrated against persons based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Signed,

Robert Biedron
Member of Parliament
Warsaw, POLAND

George Duvoisin
LGBTQI Activist and Educator
Istanbul, TURKEY

David Goncalves
President of Rainbow Labor WA
Perth, AUSTRALIA

Thomas K. Duane
New York State Senator
Manhattan, NY, USA

Amarildo Fecanji
Project Manager at PINK Embassy/LGBT Pro Albania
Tirana, ALBANIA

Clinton Fein
Chairman, First Amendment Project, Gays Without Borders
San Francisco, CA, USA

Veronika Cauley Fimbres
Transgender Advocate, License Vocational Nurse
San Francisco, CA, USA

Steed Gamero
Human Rights Photographic Documentarian
Milan, ITALY

Andrea Gilbert
Athens Pride
Athens, GREECE

Loraine Hutchins
Co-founder, BiNet USA, Educator and Writer
Washington, DC, USA

Ian Hunter MLC
Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion
Adelaide, AUSTRALIA

Taiga Ishikawa
Member of Toshima City Assembly
Toshima-Ward, Tokyo, JAPAN

Rolando Jimenez,
President Movilh, Movimiento de Integración y Liberación Homosexual
Santiago, CHILE

Jan Kauffman
Chairman, Rainbow Liberty Foundation
Copenhagen, DENMARK

Suzanne Kidman
Lesbian Senior and Community Activist
Brisbane, AUSTRALIA

James Kirchick
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Washington, DC, USA

Davis Mac-Iyalla
Nigerian Exile and Human Rights Defender
London, UK

Roberto Malini, Matteo Pegoraro, Dario Picciau
EveryOne Group, Co-Presidents
Rome, ITALY

Melanie Nathan
Lesbian Blogger and Activist
San Francisco, CA, USA

Szymon Niemiec
Reverend, Christian United Church
Warsaw, POLAND

Denis Nzioka
Founder, Identity Kenya Foundation
Nairobi, KENYA

Robyn Ochs
Bisexual and LGBT Rights Activist and Educator
Boston, MA, USA

Roselyn Odoyo
Human Rights Activist, ICJ-Kenya
Nairobi, KENYA

Nevin Oztop
Kaos Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Association
Ankara, TURKEY

Michael Petrelis
HIV/AIDS Community Organizer
San Francisco, CA, USA

Fernando Reyes
Queer Feminist Activist
Tegucigalpa, HONDURAS

Holly Richardson
Out Now
Springfield, MA, USA

Maggi Rubenstein
81-year-old Bisexual, Harvey Milk Democratic Club
San Francisco, CA, USA

Jerry Sloan
President, Project Tocsin
Sacramento, CA, USA

Slawek Starosta
Equality Parade Organizing Committee
Warsaw, POLAND

Barış Sulu
Pembe Hayat (Pink Life) LGBT Solidarity Association
Ankara, TURKEY

Wojciech Szot
Love Doesn't Exclude
Warsaw, POLAND

Jeanette Temperley
Union Official, United Voice
Brisbane, AUSTRALIA

Marco Tranchino
Campaigns Officer, Central London Humanists
London, UK

William Urich
Connecticut Pride, Vice President
Connecticut, USA

Gary Virginia
Gays Without Borders
San Francisco, CA USA

Bill Wilson
LGBT Photographic Documentarian
San Francisco, CA, USA

Azusa Yamahsita
Co-director, Gay Japan News
Tokyo and Iwate, JAPAN