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INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Action Alert - Ask the US to Sign
International Statement on Human Rights
December 12, 2008 - Next week, during the session of the
United Nations General Assembly, a joint
government statement on human rights, sexual
orientation and gender identity will be
presented from the podium. It will be the
first time that the General Assembly has
formally addressed violations based on sexual
orientation and gender identity. As of today,
55 countries spanning 4 continents have
signed on to the statement and 5 more
countries have indicated their willingness to
sign on to the statement, which calls for
greater attention to human rights violations
perpetrated because of a person's sexual
orientation and gender identity.
And, as of today, the United
States has not signed on to the
Joint Statement.
IGLHRC and the Council For Global Equality
strongly encourage the LGBT community and our
allies to send letters today to Secretary of
State Condoleeza Rice, Assistant Secretary
Brian Hook, and the US Ambassador to the UN,
Mr. Zalmay Khalilzad, asking that the United
States join its colleagues from around the
world in speaking out against the torture,
arrests, violence, discrimination and stigma
faced by so many people everywhere because of
their sexual orientation and gender identity.
Letters to Secretary Rice and Assistant
Secretary Hook can be faxed to
+1-202-736-4116 or emailed
to the US State Department by
clicking on this link: http://contact-us.state.gov/,
and then clicking on the "email a
question/comment" tab and filling
out the on-line form. Letters to Ambassador
Khalilzad can be faxed to +1 212-415-4443 or
emailed to: usa@un.int.
Sample Letter
December 12, 2008
The Honorable Condoleeza Rice
United States Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Madam Secretary:
During the current United Nations General
Assembly session, 55 member states will
present a Joint Statement on Human Rights,
Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and
another 5 have indicated that they are
willing to sign on to the statement. The
Statement reaffirms the universality of human
rights and specifically voices concern about
the treatment so consistently suffered by
those whose sexual orientation or gender
identity are the basis for torture, violence,
discrimination, stigmatization and death.
We are very troubled and mystified that
the United States has not yet joined this
non-binding call for basic human rights. We
write to ask you to sign onto the Joint
Statement and take on the leadership of
urging others to join as well.
The widespread incidents of human rights
violations against lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender people, and all sexual minorities
are indisputable. They have been documented
thoroughly by NGOs around the world and the
UN, and reported with great frequency in the
international press. The US State Department
itself reports yearly on a variety of
violations documented by Embassies around the
world. And, the United States Supreme Court
has ruled that both laws criminalizing
homosexuality and government action that
targets LGBT people for discrimination are
unconstitutional.
As you yourself so accurately stated on
the eve of the 60th anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
Declaration "transcends political and ethnic
differences and national boundaries, even as
it embraces humanity in all of its diversity."
The countries that have signed onto the
Statement include: Andorra, Armenia,
Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil,
Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde, the Central
African Republic, Chile, Cuba, Cyprus,
Ecuador, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Japan,
Liechtenstein, Mexico, Montenegro, New
Zealand, San Marino, Sao Tome et Principe,
Serbia, Switzerland, the Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Uruguay, and
Venezuela. All 27 member states of the
European Union are also signatories. And,
we are still receiving word of additional
countries that have agreed to sign on.
Shouldn't the United States join this call
for universal human rights and against the
continued mistreatment of lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender people around the
world? We eagerly await your response.
Sincerely,
Paula L. Ettelbrick
Executive Director
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission
Cc:
- His Excellency Mr. Zalmay Khalilzad,
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
- United States Mission to the United
Nations
140 East 45th St
New York, NY 10017
+1 212-415-4443
usa@un.int
-
- Assistant Secretary Brian Hook, Bureau of
International Organization Affairs
- 2201 C Street NW
Room 6323
Washington, DC 20520
+1 202-736-4116
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