Painting the Spectrum 3 - SASOD's Lesbian and Gay Film Festival- June 2007

SASOD held Painting the Spectrum 3 - Celebrating Love in all of its Diversity
June 2007, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at Sidewalk Cafe, Georgetown Guyana

The report of the festival can be downloaded here

The Celebration on Wednesday 27th featured Andrew "Kei' Miller, who was in Guyana compliments of Earl Fowlkes, President/CEO of the International Federation of Black Prides, Inc.
Kei Miller was born in Jamaica in 1978. He studied at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica and Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK . His first collection of short fiction, The Fear of Stones, was short-listed in 2007 for a Commonwealth Writers First Book Prize. He is also the author of a poetry collection, Kingdom of Empty Bellies , and editor of the anthology New Caribbean Poetry (Carcanet, 2007). The Journal of Commonwealth Literature has hailed him as "one of the finest poetic talents to have emerged from the Caribbean in recent decades." As of September Kei will join the faculty of University of Glasgow as an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing. He has also recently been selected as an International Writing Fellow at the University of Iowa. His forthcoming publications include a new collection of poetry 'There is An Anger That Moves' coming out this October, and a novel, 'The Same Earth' to be published in 2008.

Friday June 1

Fresa y Chocolate (Cuba/Spain/Mexico) Comedy/Drama
Diego, a cultivated, homosexual and skeptical young man, falls in love with a young heterosexual communist full of prejudices and doctrinary ideas. First come rejection and suspicion, but also fascination. Fresa y chocolate is the story of a great friendship, that is, a great love between two men, which overcomes incomprehension and intolerance. This film was produced in Cuba and is recognised as one which had criticisms of the Government. Winner of an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, and other awards(104 minutes) Ratings : 16+

Monday June 4
Hsi Yen - Wedding Banquet (Taiwan/USA) Comedy/Drama
Ang Lee's funny film is about Simon and Wei-Tung who are a gay couple living together in Manhattan. To defer the suspicions of Wei-Tung's parents, Simon suggests a marriage of convenience between Wei-Tung and Wei-Wei, an immigrant in need of a green card. When Wei-Tung's parents come to America for the wedding, they insist upon an elaborate banquet, resulting in several complications (106 minutes) Ratings 16+

Wednesday June 6 Fingersmith (UK) Drama

Susan Trinder (Sally Hawkins) has been brought up in a house of thieves in London. She gets sucked into a plot by a family friend. She becomes Maud Lilly's (Elain Cassidy) maid so as to get her to marry Mr Richard Rivers. They plan to put Maud in a mental asylum once she marries so they can claim access to her $40,000. The plan becomes a nuisance when Susan mistakenly falls in love with Maud. (181 minutes)

Friday June 8
Sea in The Blood (Canada) DocumentarySea In The Blood is a personal documentary from Trinidad born, Richard Fung, about living with illness, tracing the relationship of the artist to thalassemia in his sister Nan, and AIDS in his partner Tim. At the core of the piece are two trips. The first is in 1962, when Richard went from Trinidad to England with Nan to see a famous hematologist interested in her unusual case. The second is in 1977 when Richard and Tim made the counterculture pilgrimage from Europe to Asia. The relationship with Tim blossomed, but Nan died before their return. The narrative of love and loss is set against a background of colonialism in the Caribbean and the reverberations of migration and political change. (30 mins)

We are Dad (US) – donated by Director Michel Horvat
Heartfelt documentary about two gay men in Florida who are foster parents to children with HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses (68 mins)

Monday June 11
Gulabi Aina - The Pink Mirror (India)

Screening rights donated by Director Sridhar RangayanA unique film coming from India where homosexuality is still taboo, The Pink Mirror (Gulabi Aaina), is a colorful funny look into the Indian homosexual closet.
It pits two Indian drag queens against a westernized gay teenager in a battle to woo a handsome hunk. It's a clash of the east and west. Who will win? The drag queens who are expert in the art of seduction with their wit, innuendo and cunning or the young teenager who is saucy, slutty and sly? (40 minutes)


Wednesday June 13
Boys Dont Cry (USA) Drama/True StoryThe story of the life of Brandon Teena, a transgendered teen who preferred life in a male identity until it was discovered he was born biologically female.
Hilary Swank Oscar's winning performance of a girl who wanted to be a boy is a moving tribute to the people who feel trapped in bodies different from their minds (118 minutes)






Friday June 15
Some prefer cake (USA) Drama/ComedyFilmmakers Jeannie Kahaney and Heidi Arnesen created this comedy-drama starring Tara Howley and Kathleen Fontaine as a pair of San Francisco friends struggling with relationships and professional challenges. Kira is a would-be stand-up comedienne embittered over the fact that her sister, also a comic, has a flourishing career in comedy, while she is reduced to writing jokes for her sibling -- her own unfunny act failing to generate much success. A lesbian, Kira grapples with her frustrations by engaging in a series of one-night stands with other women, but her combative, acerbic nature keeps any long-term affairs at bay. Her best friend is Sydney, who's dealing with her own stunted aspirations to be a food and restaurant critic, and who deals with her lack of any heterosexual romance by choosing to eat rather than date, asserting that in any choice between chocolate cake and sex, a woman will always choose cake. (118 minutes)

Monday June 18
Mambo Italiano (Canada) Comedy
Angelo Barberini is the oddball son of Italian immigrants Gino and Maria, who inadvertently ended up in Canada rather than the States. Angelo shocks his parents by moving out on his own without getting married, and shocks them further still when he reveals that he's gay. But his boyfriend, policeman Nino Paventi isn't as ready to come out of the closet -- especially not to his busybody mother, Lina. (88 Minutes)


Wednesday June 20
Juste une question d'amour (France) Romance
Just a Question of Love follows the whirlwind romance of two young men in different stages of coming out. The film paints a heartbreaking portrait of the difficulties that befall a relationship when one man lives proudly out of the closet, while the other has created a double life to please his parents (88 minutes)

Friday June 22
Heavenly Creatures (UK/ New Zealand) Romance
Based on the true story of Juliet Hulme and Pauline Parker, two close friends who share a love of fantasy and literature, who conspire to kill Pauline's mother when she tries to end the girls' intense and obsessive relationship. (99 mins)










Monday June 25Better than Chocolate (Canada)
Two attractive young lesbians, Maggie and Kim, meet in Vancouver, develop a passionate romance, and move in together. Maggie's well-meaning but naive mother Lila gets divorced and decides to move to Vancouver and join the household. Complications ensue as the conservative Lila learns the truth about Maggie, Judy, and their diverse group of friends.(101 minutes)


Wednesday June 27 "Celebration"
A special evening of film, music, dance, poetry and reading.. we celebrate acceptance of diversity.An Intimate Evening with Nhojj (USA)
Donated by Nhojj
Nhojj started singing as a child in Guyana - the home of his parents, he sang in churches, on radio programs and eventually performed for the President. His father, a minister moved his family to Trinidad where Nhojj joined a quartet, eventually touring the country and again performing before the President. At the age of 18, he moved to New York City and would eventually graduate with honors from NYU with a BA in Economics. With education out of the way Nhojj could settle down to what he really wanted to do - music. This DVD features a musical performance by Nhojj. His second CD -someday peace love & freedom will be available for sale.. donated to SASOD.

Donated by Director Sean DrakesThe Devil's Day (Trinidad)

The dancefloor is a sacred sanctuary where we release, reaffirm and renew with dance-- and a little hot paint. Shot at J'ouvert in Trinidad (8 minutes)




Vale of Cashmere (USA)Public space.. increasingly an oxymoron, public parks taken for granted by straight folks are secret outlets for black same-gender-loving men, where , sometimes, life is the price of the ticket (12 minutes)

From a Guyanese visitor to Prospect Park "With Prospect Park..people go because it's different, not because there's a lack of gay spaces...but I know the park, nature can have a telling effect when mixed with the possibility of adventure and sex...the only thing is that it's usually cheap and empty, but I like to observe all the same."

Friday June 29

Kinky Boots (USA/UK) Comedy
Inspired by true events, Kinky Boots is a comedy which challenges prejudice and intolerance. After the death of his father, Charlie Price must find a way to save his family's failing shoe factory , or his entire town would be left out in the cold. Charlie finds help in an unlikely ally - female impersonator "Lola", and together they would hatch a plot to save the factory. (107 minutes)


Admission is FREE.


Check the reports for the 2005 and 2006 film festival.

email sasod_guyana (at) yahoo.com for any other details

Other films for Spectrum 31/2 - dates to be announced



Donated by Director Aykut Atasay
Travesti Teror - The Transvestite Terror (Turkey)
The documentary discusses the way transvestites and transsexuals are presented in the Turkish media. (19 minutes)


YÜRÜYORUZ (YÖNETMEN KURGUSU) (Turkey) - We are Marching

Gay and lesbian activists who want to make a demonstration against governorship’s will to close down their foundation were going to march and then release a press statement in Bursa; but..(50 minutes)





Rag Tag (Nigeria/UK )

Donated by Director Adaora Nwandu

Raymond (aka Ray) and Tagbo (aka Tag) have a friendship forged in childhood. Ray is from a single-parent West Indian home and Tag is the pride of middle-class Nigerian parents. The two are inseparable until Social Services discovers Rag's mother isn't around and he's taken far from his London home to Birmingham. A decade passes. Tag is finishing law school and, despite incredible grades, can't find a firm willing to hire him. Meanwhile, Rag returns to London and finds his old friend. Their lives and circumstances have changed, but their rekindled friendship is more intense than ever. Once based on bonds of an innocent camaraderie, now their feelings have grown into something far more complex and confusing. As tensions build, the two realize they both must decide how far they're willing to go to satisfy the newfound urges they can't explain. (1 hour, 50 minutes)

We welcome some dancehall singers renouncing homophobia

We welcome some dancehall singers renouncing homophobia

Saturday, June 16th 2007

Dear Editor, SASOD welcomes the move by three Jamaican dancehall singers to sign the Reggae Compassionate Act renouncing homophobia and condemning violence against lesbians and gay men. Beenie Man, Sizzla and Capleton had previously released anti-gay hate songs, including incitements to murder lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. They have now signed up to the Reggae Compassionate Act, in a deal brokered with top reggae promoters and Stop Murder Music activists. The agreement follows the three-year-long Stop Murder Music campaign, which resulted in the cancellation of hundreds of the singers' concerts and sponsorship deals, causing them income losses estimated in excess of five million US dollars. In a letter dated December 2, 2005, SASOD has requested that the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) intervene as part of its mandate to "encourage and create respect for religious, cultural and other forms of diversity in a plural society" under Article 212D paragraph (f) of the Constitution of Guyana after Beenie Man's July 29, 2005 concert at the National Park, a state-owned premises, where he urged his audience to kill and maim all gay and lesbian people. SASOD has received one inadequate response with no hearing or any form of redress. "The singers' rejection of homophobia and sexism is an important milestone. We rejoice at their new commitment to music without prejudice," said Peter Tatchell of UK-based queer human rights group, OutRage! This view is mirrored by fellow Stop Murder Music campaigner, Dennis L Carney, Vice-Chair of the Black Gay Men's Advisory Group (BGMAG) in London. Mr Carney is of Jamaican descent, and played a leading role in negotiating the Reggae Compassionate Act. In the Reggae Compas-sionate Act the three singers pledge to: "respect and uphold the rights of all individuals to live without fear of hatred and violence due to their religion, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity or gender." "there's no space in the music community for hatred and prejudice, including no place for racism, violence, sexism or homophobia." "we agree to not make statements or perform songs that incite hatred or violence against anyone from any community" In this declaration the artists promise to not sing lyrics or make public statements, in Jamaica or anywhere else in the world, that incite prejudice, hatred or violence against lesbian and gay people. The Reggae Compassion-ate Act applies worldwide. If any of the three singers break this agreement anywhere in the world, the Stop Murder Music campaign will resume against them. At least five of the murder music artists - Elephant Man, TOK, Bounty Killa, Vybz Kartel and Buju Banton - have not signed the Reggae Compassionate Act. The campaign against them continues. These singers have incited the murder of lesbians and gays. They should not be rewarded with concerts or sponsorship deals. SASOD has also condemned the violent, homophobic and sexist lyrics of TOK at the February 14, 2007, Valentine's Day launch event for Digicel in Guyana, also held at the National Park. "These unrepentant homophobic performers are the moral equivalent of neo-Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan," said Tatchell. His views are echoed by Gareth Williams, Co-Chair of the Jamaican gay human rights group, J-Flag. "This statement against homophobia and violence is a move in the right direction," he said. The Stop Murder Music campaign consists of more than 60 organisations in over a dozen countries in Europe, North America and the Caribbean. It is led by a triumvirate consisting of the Jamaican gay human rights group, J-Flag and, in the UK, the Black Gay Mens Advisory Group and queer human rights group, OutRage! The Stop Murder Music campaign won the Best Advocacy Award at the recent Black Lesbian and Gay Community Awards 2007 ceremony in London. Yours faithfully, Members of SASOD.

“I’m coming out”… The global tragedy of Homophobia

May 20, 2007 Danielle Campbelll, Kaieteur News

The sweeping tentacles of homophobia have long plagued the world as a global arena dating back as far as Sodom and Gomorrah.
Since then many men and women have admittedly “climbed out of the closet” to accept the harsh, cold insensitivities society throws their way.
This is due to the stigma attached to people choosing to deviate from what is known to be the norms of society and its rigid value system.
At the last airing of its movie night held on alternate Tuesdays, the Sidewalk Café presented a documentary film entitled, “Songs of Freedom”.
The film depicts the tragedy resulting from harbouring feelings of hatred towards persons of diverse sexual orientation.
It talks of homophobia in Jamaica which is described as an extremely homophobic island.
The Sidewalk Café teamed up with the Society against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) to air the film.
One self-proclaimed homosexual Jamaican, who graduated from a foreign university, said that the church is ambivalent on the issue of homosexuality.
He noted that there are homosexuals in the church at every level and not only in the fundamental churches, but grass-root churches as well.
“They sing in the choir, sit on the church board, they officiate as deacons, ministers…at every level,” he commented.
He added that Jamaica is exaggeratedly known as the most homophobic society that ever existed and has posited his own theory as to the reason.
“And rightly so…why do they react in such an immediate and violent way to gays?”
The homosexual man explained that this hatred springs from the role of the black man in society as dictated by slavery.
“That they thought their primary function as a man was to breed…as they recognise procreation and reproduction to be the prime indication of manhood,” he said.
According to him, the hate is understandable since homosexuality draws into question the very existence of man’s right to procreate.
The Jamaican graduate has since established a news- letter on homosexuals called the “Gaily News” which he described as the ‘voice of gays’.
Another man, who admitted to coming out of the closet, underlined that there’s hardly a dancehall song without gender bashing.
However, the graduate revealed that a sociology study on the impact of homophobic lyrics on gay people is astounding.
He related that this “gay publicity” is actually contributing to men of gay persuasions accepting their identity.
One Jamaican gay said he was pressured into judging himself based on biblical scriptures quoted ever so often by people.
“I now attend church and I thank God for my gay life. I am comfortable with who I am and realise that he has created me this way,” the gay man said.
A transvestite disclosed that he came out the closet at age 12 after meeting a homosexual at a fashion show.
The man introduced him to the vast world of homosexual entertainment and soon he began performing.
“When I started doing “drags” it helped me to love and understand myself better and to appreciate others for who they are,” the transvestite said.
He stressed that it was not about getting dressed in women’s clothing but about having the exposure and performing at best to the satisfaction of others.
“If heterosexuals can do it, why can’t we?” he questioned.
The transvestite said his most pressing fear is for his life since he has seen gay people beaten and killed.
Another young man revealed that he has kissed more than 300 men and considers it a very pleasurable experience.
One homosexual relating his experience in jail said that the treatment meted out to gays in prison is vastly different from other men.
“They give you piss (urine) to drink, drop your pants to see if you have been penetrated, melt plastic on your skin…its horrible,” he said.
The homosexual said he has discovered that people, who are the most vocal against homosexuality, often have a hidden tendency to be gay.
“I’ve met prison wardens, policemen who promote “fire bun…battie man must dead” and when you check, they turn out to be gays.”
The homosexuals said they are aggrieved that gay people are killed everyday by hate, violence, discrimination, neglect and HIV/AIDS.
Because of the prevalence of violence against gays, one Jamaican said many people often pretend to be “straight” in public.
A young man in his chronicle tells how he was “turned out” by two close friends during a sleep over after a church crusade.
According to him, he fell asleep, but later felt the “warm lips of his friend” kissing him.
He revealed that because they were so close he allowed the friend to continue and that was the turning point for him.
One confessed lesbian revealed how she has derived more pleasure from her explorations with female partners than her sexual experience with men.
At age 16, she tells how she converted her lifestyle to that of a full-fledged Jamaican lesbian.
She talks about meeting and developing a lasting relationship with a young girl who was perceivably “straight” at first.
The woman said the girl was with her parents in a public place when she walked over and asked to speak with her.
The lesbian explained to the girl that she wanted her contact number since she had an important revelation but the stranger was dumbfounded.
She said the girl asked for her number instead and promised to call.
At work, she was surprised to receive the call and as she puts it literally “dropped the bomb” that she was attracted to her.
She noted that the girl rebuffed her advances but offered to be a friend instead.
They later met and while on the phone with another friend, the lesbian said her new love became jealous.
She divulged that it was the beginning of a lasting friendship between them.
“As a Jamaican lesbian I would like to say to the public in general to stop the hatred. Give us a break, its nothing so wrong. Concentrate your energy on other issues like homeless children, people killing people. How can you hate someone who loves someone else? They don’t hate the people who hate each other like they hate us. What we have is love and we are sharing it,” she said.
Homosexuals in Guyana have faced similar fates but luckily many have not tasted a share of such violence.
During an interactive session, a participant said she is comfortable with friends who may have a sexual preference contrary to hers.
However, she noted that they are entitled to their lifestyle choices and are answerable only to God.
There are ongoing debates about the morality of the issue and anti-homosexual advocates have labelled the phenomenon “utter lawlessness”.
They argue that God had destroyed an entire city because of homosexuality.
Some countries have even legalized gay marriages and are sanctioning on whether the couple should be allowed to raise children.
There are even gay cathedral and churches opening up across the world.
SASOD has revealed that there are people who were granted refugee status on the grounds of homophobic stigmatization.
However, the burning question is, are gays really trapped in a man’s body or can they help themselves?

SASOD Statement for International Day against Homophobia 2007

May 17, is the anniversary of the decision when the World Health Organisation removed ’homosexuality’ as a mental disorder marking a formal end to medical homophobia. Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) joins with organisations around the world in commemorating this day as International Day Against Homophobia.

The recent incidents of mob violence in our sister Caribbean territory, Jamaica, against people perceived to be homosexual have placed emphasis on the need of Caribbean societies to battle homophobia as one of the prejudices which retard the development of society. Police were forced to use teargas to dispel a mob threatening three men at a pharmacy in Half-Way-Three on Valentine’s Day. On Palm Sunday at Montego Bay’s Carnival Nite Out, performers and merchants along fashionable Gloucester Avenue had to scamper for their lives as a group of men were chased by an angry mob with one beaten into critical condition with a manhole cover and cutlass. Church windows were smashed with bottles and stones when mourners presumed to be gay attended an Easter Sunday funeral in Mandeville. On April 27, mobs of citizens viciously attacked a cross-dresser who was apparently waiting for transportation in downtown Falmouth.

The prevalence of homophobic lyrics in Caribbean music continues to highlight a kind of cultural and political acceptance of homophobia - singers who have no problem calling for the killing of homosexuals are encouraged rather than condemned by private sector and Caribbean Governments. While at the same time, many Caribbean citizens have protested homophobic music. For instance, Gary Steckles, cultural critic of Jamaican roots, calls on Caribbean citizens to say “No to Hate” in the November/December 2006 edition of the Caribbean Beat magazine.

Homophobic violence in the Caribbean is rarely reported. In this light, SASOD has partnered with the Caribbean Anti Violence Project (CAVP) – a regional, web-based initiative at HIV-AIDS Education Unit, University of the West Indies (UWI) - to document incidents of prejudice-fueled violence on the basis of homophobia, gender and HIV-related stigma (see www.CaribbeanAVP.org). Many times male and transgender sex workers are targets for violence by the army and police while in other places, the justice system does not seem to want to deal with people who have no problem openly attacking people perceived to be homosexual. As part of our collaboration with the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC), SASOD has endorsed the call of civil society groups and activists, human rights lawyers, national AIDS programme coordinators and researchers in the field of sexual and reproductive health rights across the Caribbean region to decriminalize all aspects of sex work. Particularly, more acute difficulties are posed for male and transgender sex workers who are especially vulnerable to human rights abuses and HIV-AIDS due to homophobia, and more specifically, trans-phobia.

Caribbean-born Professor Linden Lewis states in his paper “Man Talk, Masculinity and a Changing Social Environment” available from the Caribbean Review of Gender Studies (http://sta.uwi.edu/crgs/journals/Linden_Lewis_pm_07.pdf) that: "Moreover, violence directed at homosexual men is not even considered really problematic. Both men and women, on religious grounds, by appeals to nature, or in accordance with social convention, often rationalize or excuse violence against homosexuals in the Caribbean. The region cannot afford to condone violence against people who may not share the heterosexual norm while condemning acts of violence when directed against women. People need to be more vocal in their condemnation of the physical and verbal abuse of all, irrespective of gender or sexual orientation. Failure to criticize all forms of violence is to be less than sincere..."

Globally, homophobia is being recognised as a neglected violation of human rights. Guyana and the Caribbean cannot ignore the global progress towards just societies. Earlier this year on March 26, SASOD joined human rights organizations across the globe in launching the Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (http://yogyakartaprinciples.org/). The Yogyakarta Principles affirm binding legal standards which put new pressure on governments: end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, end criminalisation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people’s lives, make the promise of equality real.

This statement was published in Guyana Chronicle and Stabroek News

SASOD challenges Ministry of Health Debate in accordance with the Yogykarta Principles

Dear Editor

The Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity will be launched on Monday, March 26, 2007 by a group of 29 international human rights experts . They put new pressure on governments: end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, end criminalisation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's lives, make the promise of equality real.

The Principles affirm binding legal standards which are in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.. They were adopted by a group of distinguished experts in international law following a meeting in Yogyakarta , Indonesia . Among the group of experts are a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights - Mary Robinson, UN independent experts , current and former members of human rights treaty bodies, judges , academics and human rights defenders such as Asma Jahangir from Pakistan, Justice Sanji Mmasenono Monageng from Botswana, Justice Lawrence Mute from Kenya, Alice Miller from Columbia University and others.

The Yogyakarta Principles call for action from the UN human rights system, national human rights institutions, non-governmental organisations, and others. They will be launched at events coinciding with the UN Human Rights Council's session in Geneva , where last year 54 states called for the Council to act against egregious violations of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.

The Yogyakarta Principles address a broad range of human rights standards. Each principle is accompanied by detailed recommendations to governments on how to end discrimination and abuse. The principles also call for action from the UN's human rights system, national human rights institutions, the media, non-governmental organisations, and others.

In Guyana , the Ministry of Health, the National AIDS Programme Secretariat and the Guyana Teachers’ Union have convened a debate on the topic "Teachers who are homosexual/lesbian should not be allowed to teach." The fact that such a topic is even considered debatable by the Government and by the Teachers’ Union which is entrusted with protecting the rights of those employed to teach is indicative of the ambivalence given towards the rights of gay and lesbian people who are employed by the State. Neither agency would have considered debating the suitability for employment based on any other status.

SASOD calls on the Government of Guyana and the Guyana Teachers Union to implement the Yogyakarta Principles, including Principle 12 - The Right to Work which states: “Everyone has the right to decent and productive work, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment, without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Principle 12 is accompanied by two recommendations to the State. “States shall:
a) Take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to eliminate and prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in public and private employment, including in relation to vocational training, recruitment, promotion, dismissal, conditions of employment and remuneration;
b) Eliminate any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity to ensure equal employment and advancement opportunities in all areas of public service, including all levels of government service and employment in public functions, including serving in the police and military, and provide appropriate training and awareness-raising programmes to counter discriminatory attitudes.”

We also call on the Guyana Teachers Union to follow specifically the Additional Recommendation of the Yogyakarta Princples listed as (m) which urges that professional organisations, including those in the educational sectors, “review their practices and guidelines to ensure that they vigorously promote the implementation of these Principles.”

The Yogyakarta Principles were developed in conjunction by the International Commission of Jurists and the International Service for Human Rights. Guyanese legal luminary, Sir Shridath Ramphal, is an honorary member of the International Commission of Jurists. The full text of the "Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity" is available at http://yogyakartaprinciples.org/

SASOD Members call on Digicel to apologise for TOK performance

Dear Editor
The T.O.K. performance at the Digicel Experience
concert held on Wednesday 14 February, 2007 at the
National Park left much to be desired.
Most of the lyrics by the Jamaican group were riddled
with references glorifying crime and violence. Phrases
such as 'trigger finger', 'gun finger', 'shotta' and
'gangsta', among others, were used in ways which only
seemed to promote violence as a means of settling
conflicts. Although the T.O.K performance ended with
two songs with calls for "peace and love", this
message was lost and was inconsistent in their
performance in which there was a constant bombardment
of language which gleefully promoted violent
behaviour, especially gun crimes.
In the same vein, T.O.K also had no problems using the
Digicel event to express their homophobia. There were
at least two detectable homophobic references in heavy
Jamaican patois 'no fassie cyan dis Guyana crew' and
in their performance of 'keep it blazin' in which
homosexual men come in as targets for 'fi a'(fire).
The performance reached its lowest point when one of
the T.O.K. group members had no problem making
sexually inappropriate remarks to a girl who was
visibly underage, and then proceeded to dance in the
most sexually provocative manner with her. It was also
shocking that the mass crowd did not seem to find this
unacceptable. Even DJ Benny D, who accompanied Akon,
commented that unlike some other men there (obviously
alluding to the T.O.K band member) , he does not want
any eleven year old girl to 'feel him up'.
Digicel's Experience has been demeaned by the negative
aspects of popular culture which seem to promote
violence, homophobia and pedophilia. We call on
Digicel to issue a public apology for this regrettable
experience.

Yours faithfully

Alana Thorne
Devon Ambrose
and other members of SASOD

My Funny Valentine Sat 17th Feb

Tickets Available from Oasis Cafe in Carmichael Street, Sidewalk Cafe in Middle Street
Sea Breeze Hotel, Oasis Too in South Road and Rayons House of Fashion in Robb Street

Digicel and Homophobia in Guyana

he Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination
calls on Digicel to ensure that the homophobia of
Jamaican group T.O.K is not part of the Digicel
Experience concert in Guyana scheduled for Wednesday
14 Feb, 2007.

T.O.K is one of the set of dancehall singers who have
explicitly called for the killing of gay and lesbian
people and whose performances have been cancelled
worldwide after protests by Human Rights groups. The
Human Rights Watch Report Homophobia, Violence, and
Jamaica’s HIV/AIDS Epidemic" available at
(http://hrw.org/reports/2004/jamaica1104/ ) details
the impact of homophobia in Jamaican society, and the
relation between the violence of the music of T.O.K.
and the continued persecution of gay and lesbian
people in Jamaica. In July of 2006, LifeBeat, the US
Industry music arm's HIV fundraiser cancelled a
concert involving T.O.K after the protests at the
homophobia of these artistes.

The participation of T.O.K. in any marketing or
promotion event undermines the efforts of
those Guyanese who are trying to build a socially
cohesive society in which violence is not used to
resolve conflicts or express any differences.

SASOD calls on the Government of Guyana and the
Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport specifically to
ensure that entertainment events such as concerts in
Guyana are free from homophobia and any calls to
violence against any section of Guyanese society,
including the homosexual population.

SASOD further calls on Digicel and T.O.K to publicly
reject homophobia. Digicel should set a responsible
standard for their participation in Guyana's economy
by not condoning calls for the murder of any persons.

SASOD joins with other organisations to call for a REFORM of the TAX SYTEM & RE-INTRODUCE VAT

REFORM THE TAX SYSTEM AND RE-INTRODUCE THE VALUE ADDED TAX (VAT)



The organizations listed below have developed this statement on VAT over the past three weeks. While we acknowledge that the government has heeded requests for relief, we urge the establishing of a broad-based mechanism to begin the comprehensive review of our taxation system which VAT has rendered more urgent. We are convinced that a truly enabling financial environment can offer great hope to our people and facilitate sustainable development, rather than a piecemeal approach by way of changing VAT legislation. Other Caribbean countries, notably Grenada and Belize, when their original versions of VAT were found to be defective fundamentally revised their tax systems.



One of numerous illustrations of the need for systemic reform is the issue of VAT being ‘revenue neutral’, i.e. that the amount of revenue collected by VAT would equal that collected under previous arrangements. Expansion of zero-rated items requires, therefore, that the revenue foregone be collected from excise taxes referred to in the companion excise and income legislation.



A central pillar of a democratic society is the social contract between citizens and government, which requires citizens to pay taxes in order to provide government with the funds to implement programmes to improve their standard of living and the quality of their lives. Taxation, therefore, is at the heart of the democratic process. In requiring all citizens to accept a fair share of the tax burden the tax system aims to off-set the negative effects of the unequal distribution of wealth and opportunities.



Unlike taxes which relate to income, VAT focuses on value-added on goods and services at each stage of the production cycle to the final consumer, created by both private and corporate citizens. Thus, introducing VAT without making comprehensive adjustments to the tax system, taking into account specifically that private and corporate citizens also pay income taxes, is bound to result in hardship, particularly for the poorer sections of the population and weaker businesses. In essence tax reform is a social, economic, political, and accounting process.



It is widely believed that the value-added system of taxation could be made a fair and efficient means of mobilizing revenue needed by Government to carry out its work on behalf of all citizens. This position seems to have been endorsed by the approximately 140 countries where the VAT system operates. Acceptable principles of fairness and equity must be constantly used to assess the effectiveness of the taxation system. It should be noted that Guyana is exceptional in that a wide swathe of external businesses are given legal “tax holidays” especially where our natural resources sector is concerned. The principal issue therefore is an assessment as to whether the conditions for the application of the principles of fairness and equity in the tax system exist. Such an assessment requires responding to the following questions:





Ø Do we have a fair and efficient tax administration system?

Ø Do we have an overall tax burden that does not discourage effort or encourage evasion?

Ø Do we have an established culture of paying taxes and of businesses keeping books?

Ø Are the incomes of a substantial majority of citizens above the poverty line?

Ø Does a parallel economy flourish and is the smuggling of goods significant?

Ø Do citizens have a clear vision on the best way of developing Guyana’s resources?

Ø Is the rule of law effective?

Ø Does a sufficiently stable and inclusive political system exist?

Ø Does the Guyana Revenue Authority have the capacity to handle its expanded responsibilities against the background of uncertainty that prevails and the cross-country effects of the VAT, including in rural and interior areas?



Most citizens have answers to these fundamental questions. Moreover, the manner in which VAT was introduced has produced ongoing hardship, namely by failure to consider adjustment of the overall tax system; failure to take into account expert advice; failure to assess the impact on poorer families; failure to avert the compounding effect of a high income tax rate and a high VAT rate; and finally, by deciding on an extremely high uniform rate that has generated widespread indignation. Long before the VAT was introduced, representations to the Parliamentary Select Committee by such bodies such as the Private Sector Commission, the University of Guyana’s Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and others raised these issues, suggesting more caution and more deliberation on this matter. All of these matters must now be re-visited to assess what can be done to make VAT work equitably and efficiently.



January 30, 2007





Amerindian Peoples Association (APA) Jean La Rose

African Cultural Development Association (ACDA) Eric Phillips

Church Women United Patricia Thomas

Guyana Citizens Initiative Bert Carter

Guyana Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities Julie Lewis

Guyana Council of Churches Rev. Alphonso Porter

Guyana Trades Union Congress Lincoln Lewis

General Workers Union (GWU) Norris Witter

Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) Michael McCormack

Institute of Development Studies (IDS) Clive Thomas

National Association of Agricultural, Commercial & Industrial Employees (NAACIE) Kenneth Joseph

Red Thread Andaiye

Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) Joel Simpson

SASOD embarks on Spectrum Net

SASOD has signed an agreement with the Minsitry of Health in Guyana to embark on a project of educational outreach to men who have sex with men.
The Spectrum Healthnet project with the Ministry of health has the following objectives :-
- To provide information on HIV/AIDS/STI prevention,care, treatment and support for the MSM population through online fora and other internet-based interventions targeting supporters and constituents of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in Guyana by project end.

-To promote awareness and prevention of HIV/AIDS and
STDs among the MSM population using web-based
interventions and brochures by project end.

-To increase awareness of safe sex practices in the
MSM population by project end

The project duration is for 12 months.
This project is being implemented through the Health Sector Development Unit of the Ministry of Health.

The activities include :-
a) Development of a website
b) Design and Production of brochures
c) Monthly review meetings and focus groups
d) Supporting costs, including the purchase of a
laptop



From the Guyana Chronicle of 25 January, 2007
Groups get $82.5M for HIV/AIDS fight

By Neil Marks

AN ORGANISATION fighting discrimination against men
who have sex with men, and a church providing hot
meals and remedial training to orphans and vulnerable
children, were among 16 community and faith-based
groups which yesterday received funding totalling
G$82.5M to fight against HIV/AIDS.


The funding comes from the civil society component of
the Guyana HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Project
(GAPCP) which the government signed with the World
Bank in May 2004 for US$11M.


This is the third year such organisations are
receiving funding, and according to Health Minister,
Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, it now adds up to G$203M.


The projects being funded target a wide cross section
of the population, in particular those groups
classified as vulnerable and high risk. These include
in and out of school youths, mining and indigenous
communities, farming communities, sport fraternities,
persons living with and affected by HIV/AIDS
(including orphans and vulnerable children), the
military, workplaces and persons in different
faith-based settings.


The new projects receiving funding are:


** Art of Living – This organisation would provide
yoga and counselling for people living with HIV/AIDS
to focus on developing self control and improving
their physiological well being.


** Dance Alive – This project is modelled after an
analogue of “Love Life”, the South African national
HIV/AIDS youth band which has been adopted by the
Parliament of the country and is strongly supported by
the private sector and civil society in that country.


** Project BX – This comprehensive prevention and care
programme would be implemented in the Buxton/Foulis
area, East Coast Demerara.


** Guyana Labour Union – Some 29 workplaces would be
sensitised on issues of stigma and discrimination and
HIV/AIDS, working towards the development of workplace
policies.


** Ruimveldt Children’s Home – This organisation would
provide care and support to children living with
HIV/AIDS.


** The Youth Mentorship Endeavour – This project aims
at creating role models to mentor smaller groups of
young people towards adopting responsible behaviours.


** Sunshine Women and Youth Organisation – This group
plans to work with youths in Regions One and Three to
develop vocational skills while providing HIV/AIDS
education.


** Information for Life – This would be a regular
television programme to provide counselling, support
and information on how to access services.


** Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association – This
programme will provide HIV/STI education, counselling
and medical testing to in and out of school youths in
Regions Three, Four, Five and Ten.


** Monique’s Caring Hands – In this project, women
would be involved in a peer education programme
modelled after a programme designed for
African-American women. Orphans and vulnerable
children will also be supported in this project.


** U & Me Organisation – This project aims at working
with youths in Old England, Coomacka and other areas
in Linden to address HIV/AIDS and other social issues,
such as drug and alcohol abuse and teenage pregnancy.


** Lifeline Counselling Services – Through this grant,
Lifeline would provide care and support to orphans and
vulnerable children in Region Four, such as hot meals,
school supplies, tutoring, and computer classes.
Lifeline also plans to do skills training and provide
nutritional support to people living with HIV/AIDS.


** Roadside Baptist Church – The church plans to give
care and support to orphans and vulnerable children in
Region Six by providing hot meals, skills training and
remedial learning. In addition, it would hold
sensitisation sessions with parents and teachers and
hold an abstinence rally.


** Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination –
SASOD has been given funding to create a website to
provide health information and HIV/AIDS education for
men who have sex with men. In addition, they plan to
develop a closely-monitored heath discussion forum.


** Family Planning Association of Guyana – This
organisation will provide education for youths in the
lower Pomeroon area and for youth groups in Region
Three.


Ramsammy said he was pleased that the funding this
year would reach groups in all the 10 administrative
regions of Guyana and called on the organisations that
have been given funding to be accountable.


He said a national conference with all the NGO’s would
be held this year, so instead of competing with each
other, they could work together “to reach everyone in
Guyana.”


From Stabroek News of the 25 January, 2007

Ministry pumping $85.5M more into NGOs for HIV/AIDS projects
Thursday, January 25th 2007


Within the next two years the Ministry of Health through its Guyana HIV/AIDS Prevention & Control Project (GAPCP) will spend an additional $85.5M to fund sixteen HIV/AIDS-related programmes.

The ministry yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Non-Governmental Organisations which are going to execute sub-projects in various areas across the country, including Buxton/Foulis, Linden, Mabaruma, Berbice and Georgetown. Previously MOUs were signed with seventeen NGOs.

To date 44 projects have been funded by GAPCP, and of the programmes being funded three had been previously assisted. Included in the three are Lifeline Counselling's Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) programme which offers support to OVCs, hot meals to persons living with HIV/AIDS and skills training among other things.

Among NGOs putting up new proposals that were favoured are the Society against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD), Spectrum Health Net programme and the Art of Living with its innovative yoga and self-control programme geared towards HIV/AIDS patients.

Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy remarked yesterday that not every project funded in the past had lived up to expectations but there were success stories for some.

"We do not expect that everyone would have the same success but we are hoping everyone will work towards the goals outlined in their proposals. It is not as though we expect to be happy all the time but at least most of the time," Ramsammy said.

He urged the NGOs to execute their projects in a timely manner and expressed hope that the efforts at the community level will be well organised.

The NGOs to receive funding are Lifeline Counselling Services; Roadside Baptist Church; Operation Restoration; Monique's Caring Hands; U and Me Organisation; Sunshine Women & Youth Organisation; Information for Life; The Youth Mentorship Endeavour; Dance Alive, the Guyana Labour Union; Project BX; SASOD; the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association; Rumiveldt Children's Home & Care Centre; Art of Living and the Family Planning Association of Guyana.

SASOD through its pilot project is aiming to promote awareness and prevention of HIV/AIDS and STDs among the men who have sex with men (MSM) population using web-based interventions and brochures. They are hoping to achieve this within the next few months.

Joel Simpson, chairperson of SASOD, told Stabroek News they are hoping to target at least 1,000 MSM by September. He said the project does not require physical visibility and offers an online forum where necessary information will be provided. In addition, he said, there will be interactive discussions that will be controlled, moderated and contextual.

According to Simpson, SASOD decided to get involved in the project because of the homophobic climate in the society. He said homophobia increases the vulnerability of MSM who are a high-risk group.

"They are invisible to many HIV/AIDS programmes but that is going to change with the introduction of Spectrum Health Net because we are catering for the sensitive issues but utilising a different strategy," Simpson said.

The Art of Living project aims to strengthen the defence systems of persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) to combat the virus while building their confidence and spirit to live life fully and meaningfully. Additionally, it aims to sensitise youths and adults on the HIV/AIDS virus and reinforce human values such as caring and sharing.

This will be done via 8-day workshops for PLWHA and 5-day sensitisation workshops for youths and adults with regular weekly follow-ups for all categories.

Rolinda Kirton of Art of Living said the course uses gentle yoga, intensive breathing techniques and profound knowledge to build physical and mental strength while infusing the spirit to fight back. It also engenders a sense of belonging so that all participants see the uniqueness of each individual. (Iana Seales)

A teenager speaks about sexuality and relationships

In a series of interviews about life in a time of
HIV/AIDS, this is a story from a 17 year old male
student from a senior secondary school.


Who am I?

I am a regular guy, I like girls, school, music , singing, making dance moves, movies, athletics ( I do well in the high jump and long jump,and relays), and most other sports. I am into computers and electronics. I like the Harry Potter books. My role models are Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump and Asafa Powell. I also admire other students in school who are disciplined, especially the religious ones; and the ones who have great athletic skill who could handle
themselves in situations. I am inclined towards Christianity, but I like the discipline which some Muslims seem to have. I do not understand the Hindu religion enough, the variety of Gods seems confusing. I am talkative, sometimes disrepectful towards people. I love Guyana.

About School

I really like my school, I think that the students there are really intelligent but there is a problem with discipline and I think that there should be better teachers and facilities to aid in the educating of the students. I sometimes get involved to solve the problems of discipline. I think things would improve if there is better teacher student relationships. I would like to see a student council set up.

About friends

I look for honesty, intelligence and that they must be fun to be with. My friends and I talk about sex,,music, movies and sports. We don't talk about HIV/AIDs. We talk about girls, the positions we would have sex in and so on. We don't talk about abstinence, because most of us want to lose our virginity. I used to want to wait until marriage, but then I compromised and a situation came up and I had sex, so I am like my friends. I don't discriminate against anybody.

About sex and relationships

I have had about four sexual partners, maybe one or two others. Two guys and two girls. I used condoms with both girls. With the guys, I felt guilty afterwards, though with my best friend, I did not feel guilty or regrets. When I was young, I was molested by a guy who worked with us. Nothing happened. A cousin and I messed around, and I feel that it was enjoyable, but that it was wrong and maybe I should do something about it. I did not use condoms with the guys, because
one of them was his first time, and the other one said he only had one partner. I realise that I should take an HIV test to make sure that I am okay. I really do not like the homosexual feelings and wish I could be like a normal guy. One of the girls who I really like,I enjoyed being with her. She is a lot of fun, we have been friends for a long time. She has another boyfriend, but maybe I will win her over. The idea of secondary virginity, is a good one, to say to my friends that let us try something different, see if we could master ourselves and say no, how long could we abstain if we wanted to. I don't know how they will view it, but maybe it is something we should think about. It would be difficult, guys like to feel that they could have a lot of sex. I think the messages have to be persistent to get over, some of us hear, we change for a while, and then go back to old ways.

What are the plans for the future?

I would like to get rid of my homosexual feelings. I am working on that, not sure where that will go though. I realise they are a normal part of me, but guilt is always there. At the same time, I have some assignments to complete. And to study for exams next year. I need to work harder at preparing for them. I want to pursue studies in computer science and electronics, and go abroad to study. I feel I could do anything I would like to do. I already make some money with computer repairs. The important things in my life are my family, education and God.

A teenager speaks about sexuality and relationships

In a series of interviews about life in a time of
HIV/AIDS, this is a story from a 17 year old male
student from a senior secondary school.


Who am I?

I am a regular guy, I like girls, school, music , singing, making dance moves, movies, athletics ( I do well in the high jump and long jump,and relays), and most other sports. I am into computers and electronics. I like the Harry Potter books. My role models are Oprah Winfrey, Donald Trump and Asafa Powell. I also admire other students in school who are disciplined, especially the religious ones; and the ones who have great athletic skill who could handle
themselves in situations. I am inclined towards Christianity, but I like the discipline which some Muslims seem to have. I do not understand the Hindu religion enough, the variety of Gods seems confusing. I am talkative, sometimes disrepectful towards people. I love Guyana.

About School

I really like my school, I think that the students there are really intelligent but there is a problem with discipline and I think that there should be better teachers and facilities to aid in the educating of the students. I sometimes get involved to solve the problems of discipline. I think things would improve if there is better teacher student relationships. I would like to see a student council set up.

About friends

I look for honesty, intelligence and that they must be fun to be with. My friends and I talk about sex,,music, movies and sports. We don't talk about HIV/AIDs. We talk about girls, the positions we would have sex in and so on. We don't talk about abstinence, because most of us want to lose our virginity. I used to want to wait until marriage, but then I compromised and a situation came up and I had sex, so I am like my friends. I don't discriminate against anybody.

About sex and relationships

I have had about four sexual partners, maybe one or two others. Two guys and two girls. I used condoms with both girls. With the guys, I felt guilty afterwards, though with my best friend, I did not feel guilty or regrets. When I was young, I was molested by a guy who worked with us. Nothing happened. A cousin and I messed around, and I feel that it was enjoyable, but that it was wrong and maybe I should do something about it. I did not use condoms with the guys, because
one of them was his first time, and the other one said he only had one partner. I realise that I should take an HIV test to make sure that I am okay. I really do not like the homosexual feelings and wish I could be like a normal guy. One of the girls who I really like,I enjoyed being with her. She is a lot of fun, we have been friends for a long time. She has another boyfriend, but maybe I will win her over. The idea of secondary virginity, is a good one, to say to my friends that let us try something different, see if we could master ourselves and say no, how long could we abstain if we wanted to. I don't know how they will view it, but maybe it is something we should think about. It would be difficult, guys like to feel that they could have a lot of sex. I think the messages have to be persistent to get over, some of us hear, we change for a while, and then go back to old ways.

What are the plans for the future?

I would like to get rid of my homosexual feelings. I am working on that, not sure where that will go though. I realise they are a normal part of me, but guilt is always there. At the same time, I have some assignments to complete. And to study for exams next year. I need to work harder at preparing for them. I want to pursue studies in computer science and electronics, and go abroad to study. I feel I could do anything I would like to do. I already make some money with computer repairs. The important things in my life are my family, education and God.

SASOD message 2007

SASOD believes this story of male bonding across differences is inspiring in a world of hate. It is an old story.

NAIROBI (AFP) - A baby hippopotamus that survived the tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast has formed a strong bond with a giant male century-old tortoise, in an animal facility in the port city of Mombassa, officials said.

The hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen and weighing about 300 kilograms (650 pounds), was swept down Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean, then forced back to shore when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on December 26, 2004 before wildlife rangers rescued him.



"It is incredible. A-less-than-a-year-old hippo has adopted a male tortoise, about a century old, and the tortoise seems to be very happy with being a 'mother'," ecologist Paula Kahumbu, who is in charge of Lafarge Park, told AFP.



"After it was swept and lost its mother, the hippo was traumatized. It had to look for something to be a surrogate mother. Fortunately, it landed on the tortoise and established a strong bond. They swim, eat and sleep together," the ecologist added. "The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it follows its mother. If somebody approaches the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive, as if protecting its biological mother," Kahumbu added.


This is a real story that shows that our differences don't matter much when we need the comfort of another. We could all learn a lesson from these two creatures of God. Look beyond the differences and find a way to walk the path together.







For updates, including the addition of Cleo, check check out their blog

SASOD Statement for International Human Rights Day - 2006

On Sunday, December 10, 2006, we will observe International Human Rights Day under the theme “Fighting poverty: a matter of obligation, not charity.” Poverty and human rights are inextricably linked. People whose rights are denied -- victims of discrimination or persecution, for example -- are more likely to be poor. And poverty is often characterized by factors like discrimination and social and cultural stigmatization. These factors are the epitome of the denial of human rights and human dignity, especially for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons.

Notwithstanding that these human rights violations against LGBT persons persist, even more so if they are poor, Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) welcomes the landmark statement on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, delivered on Friday, December 1, 2006 at the United Nations Human Rights Council by Norway on behalf of 54 states as the dawning of a new era in human rights for LGBT persons. (see http://sasod.blogspot.com/2006/12/norway-unhrc-statement.html) More than 460 NGOs, including SASOD, from 69 countries, had joined together to commend Norway for its leadership and to support the statement.

The statement condemns human rights violations directed against people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, commends the work of the UN mechanisms and civil society in this area, calls on UN Special Procedures and treaty bodies to address these issues, and urges the Human Rights Council to pay due attention to human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity, including consideration at an upcoming session.

Earlier this year, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour in a keynote speech to an International Conference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights noted that “violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons is frequently unreported, undocumented and goes ultimately unpunished. … This shameful silence is the ultimate rejection of the fundamental principle of universality of rights. … Excluding LGBT individuals from these protections clearly violates international human rights law as well as the common standards of humanity that define us all.”

Similarly, Secretary General Kofi Annan has acknowledged that “discrimination on the basis of … sexual orientation … is all too common” and, speaking at a gathering of lesbian and gay UN employees, affirmed that “the United Nations cannot condone any persecution of, or discrimination against, people on any grounds.”

At a time when the Human Rights Council is seeking to enhance cooperation across regions and UN mechanisms on matters of basic human rights, it is encouraging that increasingly states, Special Procedures, treaty bodies, civil society, the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights are joining together to ensure that human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity receive the international scrutiny and condemnation they require.

Meanwhile, in Guyana, the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), the only established rights-based, constitutional body, with a mandate to “encourage and create respect for religious, cultural and other forms of diversity in a plural society” under Article 212D paragraph (f) of the Constitution, has recently declined, after almost a year, a request to intervene in the propagation at state-owned venues of musical lyrics which incite hatred and violence against homosexuals. What is most alarming about the ERC’s refusal is that it has reached a decision in writing without a hearing on the request that based on “legal advice” that it is to deal with issues specifically on ethnicity. One would have thought the ERC’s attorney would advise that the persons making the request have a right to be heard as to why sexuality is one of the “…other forms if diversity in a plural society” under Article 212D paragraph (f) and therefore within its mandate. SASOD is seriously concerned at the ERC’s blatant prejudice and intends to seek higher redress for this wanton disregard for natural justice and flagrant violation of human rights.

NGO Support for Norway Statement

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL

3rd Session

1 December, 2006

NGO JOINT STATEMENT ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION,

GENDER IDENTITY & HUMAN RIGHTS
NGO JOINT STATEMENT ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION,
GENDER IDENTITY & HUMAN RIGHTS

Action Canada for Population and Development; Amnesty International; Association for the Prevention of Torture; Association for Women’s Rights in Development; Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network; Center for Women's Global Leadership; Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (New Rights Section); Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN); Fédération Internationale des Droits de l'Homme; Global Rights; Human Rights Watch; International Commission of Jurists; International Planned Parenthood Federation; International Service for Human Rights; International Trade Union Confederation; OMCT - World Organisation Against Torture ; Public Services International; Women for Women's Human Rights - NEW WAYS; World Population Foundation

I am pleased to speak to issues of sexual orientation, gender identity and human rights, on behalf of 19 ECOSOC-accredited NGOs. This statement is also supported by more than 460 additional NGOs from 69 countries (see attached list).

We welcome the statement on human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity, delivered by Norway on behalf of a broad grouping of 54 States from Western, Central and Eastern Europe, in North, Central and South America, in Asia, and in the Pacific. We acknowledge also the support of many African States for the inclusion of sexual orientation in UN resolutions condemning extrajudicial executions.

We commend Norway for its leadership, building on similar initiatives by Brazil, New Zealand and others, and we are particularly encouraged by the measurable increase in cross-regional support for these issues in recent years.

It is hard to imagine that any State committed to human rights could disagree with the principle that no person should face death, torture or violence because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. We look forward to further dialogue with, and support from, those States which did not yet feel able to join the statement, but which share the concern of the international community at these systemic human rights abuses.

Numerous Special Procedures have documented violations of the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, including use of the death penalty, torture, criminal sanctions, police harassment, violence, rape, beatings, disappearances, denials of freedom of expression, raids and closures of NGOs, and discrimination in education, employment, health and housing.1 We urge all Special Procedures to integrate these important issues of human rights concern into their relevant mandates.

Too often in the past, these human rights abuses have passed in silence. As UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour stated earlier this year:2

“[V]iolence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons is frequently unreported, undocumented and goes ultimately unpunished. … This shameful silence is the ultimate rejection of the fundamental principle of universality of rights. … Excluding LGBT individuals from these protections clearly violates international human rights law as well as the common standards of humanity that define us all.”

… 2


Similarly, Secretary General Kofi Annan has acknowledged that “discrimination on the basis of … sexual orientation … is all too common” and, speaking at a gathering of lesbian and gay UN employees, affirmed that “the United Nations cannot condone any persecution of, or discrimination against, people on any grounds.”3

At a time when this Human Rights Council is seeking to enhance cooperation across regions and UN mechanisms on matters of basic human rights, it is encouraging that increasingly States, Special Procedures, treaty bodies, civil society, the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights are joining together to ensure that human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity receive the international scrutiny and condemnation they require.

This issue will not go away. We look forward to future discussion within this Council, with a view to safeguarding the principle of universality, and ensuring that all persons are treated as free and equal in dignity and rights, including on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition to the 19 ECOSOC-accredited NGOs listed, this statement is supported by NGOs from the following 69 countries:

Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Iran, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, France, Georgia, Germany, Guatemala, Guyana, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Latvia, Macedonia, Malawi, Malta, Mexico, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

These more than 460 NGOs include:

ABCDS
ABDS- Associação Afro-Brasileira de Desenvolvimento Social
ABGLT - Associação Brasileira de Gays, Lésbicas e Transgeneros
ABRAT – GLS – Associação Brasileira de Turismo GLS
Accept Association
Ações Cidadãs em Orientação Sexual
Adé Fidan
ADEH-Nostro Mundo
African-rapport networks
ALEGRI - Advocating for Lesbian and Gay Rights Internationally
ALGA ( Associação Lagartense de Gays, Lésbicas, Bissexuais e Transgêneros)
ALITT Asociacion de Luxha por la Identidad Travesti Transexual
Alliance of LGBT people and their Friends
Alliance Rights, Nigeria
Alternatives-Cameroun
AMOLP
Amores
APHRODITTE – Organização Trans
APOLO - Grupo Pela Livre Orientação Sexual
APRENDA- Associação Paulista de Redutores de Danos
APROSVI- Associação dos Profissionais do sexo do Vale do Itajaí
APTA – Associação para Prevençaõ e Tratamento de Aids
ARC International
Arci Lesbica
Area Queer Tucuman
Armazem Social - Monitoramento, Avaliação e Construção de Tecnologias Sociais
Articulação Brasileira de Lésbicas - ABL
Articulação e Movimento Homossexual de Recife - AMHOR
Articulação Nacional das Travestis e Transexuais - ANTRA
Asociación Hombres y Mujeres Nuevos de Panamá (AHMNP)
Asociación Líderes en Acción
Asociación para la Salud Integral y Ciudadanía en América Latina y Caribe
Asociación Salvadoreña de Derechos Humanos "Entre Amigos"
Assistência Filantrópica a Aids de Araruana – AFADA
Associação Amazonense GLT
Associação Brasileira Interdisciplinar de AIDS-ABIA
Associação Civil Anima
Associação da Parada do Orgulho GLBT de São Paulo
Associação das Prostitutas do Ceará
Associação das Travestis da Paraíba - ASTRAPA
Associação das Travestis de Salvador – ATRÁS
Associação das Travestis do Amazonas - ATRAAM
Associação das Travestis do Espírito Santo – ASTRAES
Associação das Travestis do Mato Grosso - ASTRAMT
Associação das Travestis do Mato Grosso do Sul
Associação das Travestis do Rio Grande do Norte - ASTRARN
Associação de Defesa Homossexual de Sergipe - ADHONS
Associação de Gays e Amigos de Nova Iguaçu – AGANI
Associação de Gays, Lésbicas e Transgêneros da Região Águas Quentes - AGLST-RAQ
Associação de Gays, Lésbicas, Bissexuais e Transgêneros de Santa Catarina
Associação de Gays, Transgêneros e Lésbicas de Anápolis
Associação de Homossexuais de Complexo Benedito Bentes - AHCBB
Associação de Homossexuais do Acre
Associação de Incentivo à Educação e à Saúde de São Paulo - AIESSP
Associação de Lésbicas de Minas - ALEM
Associação de Luta pela Vida
Associação de Negros do Estado de Goiás
Associação de Pessoas GLSBT – Ser Humano
Associação de Prevenção e Tratamento à Aids – APTA
Associação de Travestis de Belo Horizonte - ASSTRAV
Associação de Travestis do Ceará - ATRAC
Associação Desportiva de Gays, Lésbicas, Travestis e Transgêneros de Goiás
Associação dos Juízes do Rio Grande do Sul - AJURIS
Associação dos Moradores do Pontal - AMOP
Associação Enfrentar
Associação Gabrielense de Apoio à Homossexualidade – AGAH
Associação Gay de Imperatriz e Região
Associação Gay de Minas
Associação GLS- Vida Ativa
Associação Goiana de Gays, Lésbicas e Transgêneros - AGLT
Associação Homossexual do Estado do Amazonas
Associação ILGA Portugal
Associação Ipê Amarelo de Conscientização e Luta pela Livre Orientação Sexual – GIAMA
Associação Irmãos da Solidariedade
Associação Jataiense de Direitos Humanos - Nova Mente
Associação Lagartense de Gays, Lésbicas e Transgêneros - ALGA
Associação LIBLES
Associação Paranaense da Parada da Diversidade - APPAD
Associação Roraimense Pela Diversidade Sexual
Associação Viver
Association of Gay and Lesbian Armenians of France
Assuntos de Diversidade Sexual
ASTRA – Direitos Humanos e Cidadania GLTB
Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice
ASTRAL
ASTRAL-GO
Atitude – São José dos Campos
Atividade E’Natividade
ATOBÁ- Movimento de Afirmação Homossexual
Atos de Cidadania
Australian Bisexual Network
Australian Reproductive Health Alliance
Balance Promoción para el Desarrollo y Juventud A.C.
Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples Forum
Behind the Mask
Beijing Aizhixing Institute
Blue Diamond Society
Bulgarian Gay Organisation 'Gemini'
Cabo Free
Campaign for an Inter-American Convention on Sexual and Reproductive Rights
Campaign For Change
Campanha Nacional pelo Fim da Exploração, violência e turismo sexual contra crianças e adolescentes
Canadian Rainbow Health Coalition
CARITIG
CASVI
CECON Joana D'Arc
Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria
Centre for the Development of People
Centre LGBT Paris IDF
Centro "Doña Luisa Gutierrez"
Centro Anti-aids de Feira de Santana
Centro Baiano Anti-Aids
Centro de Apoyo al Trabajador A.C.
Centro de Cidadania Sexual do GAPA-BA
Centro de Convivência Joanna D´arc
Centro de Estudios de Género y Diversidad Sexual
Centro de la Mujer Peruana Flora Tristán
Centro de Luta pela Livre Orientação Sexual - CELLOS
Centro de Luta pela Livre Orientação Sexual de Minas Gerais (CELLOS/MG)
Centro de Protagonismo Juvenil
Centro de Valorização da Mulher
Centro Para la Educación y Prevención del SIDA
Centro Paranaense de Cidadania – CEPAC
CFL - Coletivo de Feministas Lésbicas
Changing Attitude Nigeria
CHARLATHS
Chinese Society for the Study of Sexual Minorities
Chingusai - Korean Gay Men's Human Rights Group
Cidadania Gay
Cidadania, Orgulho e Respeito - COR
CIEI-SU (Centro de Investigación y Estudios Interdisciplinarios en Sexualidad del Uruguay)
CIMA (Interamerican Concertation of Human Rights's Activists)
CIPAC
Clube Rainbow de Serviços
Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Ontario (CLGRO)
Coalition of African Lesbians
COC Netherlands
Colectiva de Activistas Trans de Nicaragua
Coletivo Feminista de Lésbicas - CFL
Commission LGBT des Verts
Common Language
Comunidad Homosexual Argentina (CHA)
Comunidade Asha
CORSA - Cidadania, Orgulho, Respeito, Solidariedade e Amor
CREA
Dialogai
DIDH - Diversidad Interculturalidad y Derechos Humanos
Dom da Terra
E – Jovem
Edições GLS
El Closet de Sor Juana
Empowerment Lifestyle Services
Encuentros Instituto para la Promoción de la Diversidad y la Cultura
Engender
English-speaking gay group
Equal Ground
Equal Ground Pasifik
Equality for Gays And Lesbians In The European Institutions (EGALITE)
Equality Now! Development Group
Eros – Grupo de Apoio e Luta pela Livre Orientação Sexual do Sul da Bahia
Estruturação - Grupo LGBT de Brasília
European Forum of Lesbian and Gay Christian Groups
European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA)
European Women's Lobby
Evangelical Fellowship for Lesbian and Gay Christians
FAPA- Frente de Apoio e Prevenção da Aids
Farol
Fazendo a Diferença – Grupo Gay de Blumenau
FEDAEPS / LGBT South-South Dialogue
Federación Argentina de Lesbianas Gays Bisexuales y Trans
Federación Estatal de Lesbianas, Gays, Transexuales y Bisexuales (FELGT)
Fédération Française des Centres LGBT
Federation of Swedish LGBT Student Organizations
Filhos do Axé
Flor do Asfalto – Organização Trans
Foro de VIH Mujeres y Familia
Fórum das Transexuais de Goiás
Freedom and Roam Uganda (FARUG)
French Green Party
FTM Network
Fundación Arcoiris
Fundacion Henry Ardila
Fundación Reflejos de Venezuela
Fundación Triangulo
GAAC- Grupo Anti-aids de Camaçari
GAIVP – Grupo de Apoio e Incentivo à Vida Positiva
GAPA SJC – Grupo de Apoio à prevenção à Aids- São José dos Campos
GAPA-PA - Grupo de Apoio à prevenção à Aids do Pará
GASA- Grupo Ap. Sol. Paciente com AIDS
Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, DC
Gay Youth Commonwealth (GAYSER)
GAYa NUSANTARA
Gayrreiros do Vale do Paraíba - GVP
Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ)
Gays Without Borders
GCC- Grupo de Convivência Cristã
Gender Action Group
Gender DynamiX
Gender Education & Advocacy, Inc
Gender Identity Research and Education Society (GIRES)
Gender Matters
GLEN ~ Gay and Lesbian Equality Network
Global Alliance for LGBT Education
GOS - Grupo de Orientação ao Soropositivo HIV+
GPH – Grupo de Pais de Homossexuais
GPI
GPV/RJ
GRIS-Québec
Groupe de Défense des Droits des Homosexuelles du Togo
Grupo 28 de Junho- pela Cidadania Homossexual
Grupo 7 Cores
Grupo Afinidade
Grupo Afinidades – GLSTAL
Grupo Afro-descendente de Livre Orientação Sexual - GRADELOS
Grupo Água Vida de Prevenção à Aids
Grupo Amor e Vida
Grupo Arco-Íris de Conscientização Homossexual
Grupo Assistencial Experiência e Vida Ivandro Reis de Matos – GAE-Vida
Grupo Beija Flor
Grupo de Ação e Interação Homossexual – GAIH/Vida
Grupo de Amparo ao Doente de Aids - GADA
Grupo de Apoio Amor à Vida
Grupo de Apoio, Luta e Defesa dos Interesses das Minorias - GALDIUM
Grupo de Livre Orientação Sexual – GLOS
Grupo de Mujeres de la Argentina
Grupo de Mulheres Felipa de Sousa
Grupo de Resistência Asa Branca - GRAB
Grupo de Resistência Flor de Mandacaru
Grupo Dignidade
Grupo Dignidade - Pela Cidadania de Gays, Lésbicas e Trans
Grupo Diversidade de Sergipe
Grupo Diversidade Niterói
Grupo E-jovem de Adolescentes Gays, Lésbicas e Aliados
Grupo Eles por Eles
Grupo Esperança
Grupo Expressões
Grupo Gay da Bahia
Grupo Gay de Alagoas
Grupo Gay de Camaçari
Grupo Gay de Canavieiras
Grupo Gay de Dias D’Ávila
Grupo Gay de Guarujá
Grupo Gay de Lauro de Freitas
Grupo Gay de Pernambuco
Grupo Gay de Rondônia
Grupo Gayvota
Grupo Ghatta
Grupo Habeas Corpus Potiguar
Grupo Homossexual da Periferia
Grupo Homossexual do Cabo
Grupo Homossexual do Pará
Grupo Iguais
Grupo Lésbico da Bahia
Grupo Lésbico de Goiás
Grupo Liberdade, Igualdade e Cidadania Homossexual – GLICH
Grupo Licoria Ilione
Grupo Livre-Mente
Grupo Matizes
Grupo Orgulho, Liberdade e Dignidade - GOLD
Grupo Oxumaré- Direitos Humanos Negritude e Homossexualidade
Grupo Palavra de Mulher
Grupo Pela Vidda Niterói
Grupo Pela Vidda/ RJ
Grupo Renascer
Grupo Rosa Vermelha
Grupo Safos
Grupo Semente da Vida
Grupo Tartaruga Gay
Grupo União pela Vida
Grupo Unificado de Apoio à Diversidade Sexual de Parnaíba – O GUARÁ
GRUVCAP- Grupo de Voluntário de Cajueiro da Praia
Guayí
Hapu (homosexuales ayuda puno)
Háttér Társaság a Melegekért (Háttér Support Society for LGBT People in Hungary)
Homosexualités Et Socialisme
Homosexuelle Initiative (HOSI) Wien
Humanus
IDAHO Committee
Identidade
Identidade de Campinas
IEC "Women's Network"
IGLYO (International Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Youth and Student Organisation)
Igualdade
ILGA Europe
ILGA Women's Secretariat
Immigration Equality
INCAT – Instituto Catarinense pela Cidadania e Diversidade Humana
Inclusive Foundation
INCRESE
Information Clearinghouse for Chinese Gays and Lesbians
INOVA - Associação Brasileira de Famílias GLTTB
INPAR - Instituto Paranaense 28 de Junho
Instituto Arco-Íris
Instituto de Estudios de la Mujer "Norma Virginia Guirola de Herrera" Cemujer
Instituto de Formación Sexológica Integral SEXUR
Instituto Edson Néris
Instituto Runa de Desarrollo y Estudios sobre Género
Instituto Ser Humano
Integrity/Integrated Fellowship Uganda
Interassociative LGBT
Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights in the European Parliament
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)
International Initiative for Visibility of Queer Muslims
International Lesbian & Gay Cultural Organization
International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA)
International Lesbian and Gay Law Association (ILGLAW)
Intersex Society of South Africa
Ipas
Ipê Rosa
Iranian Queer Organization
Iskorak - Sexual and gender minorities center
Iwag Dabaw
Kirovograd organization of All-Ukrainian Network for people living with AIDS
Korean Sexual-Minority Culture and Rights Center
La Colectiva Mujer y Salud de República Dominicana
La Fundación Ecuatoriana Equidad
Labrystheia, Network of lesbian theologians
Lambdaistanbul LGBTT Association
Las Amantes de la Luna
L'Autre Cercle
LBL (Danish National Organisation for Gays and Lesbians)
Les Verts
Lesbenorganisation Schweiz LOS
Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany (LSVD)
Lesbian and Gay Legislative Advocacy Network Philippines (LAGABLAB-Pilipinas)
Lesbian and Gay Pride
Lesbian Organization Rijeka (LORI)
Lésbicas Gaúchas - LEGAU
Lesbiradas
LGBT History Month
LGBT Human Rights Project GayRussia.Ru
Libertos Comunicação
Liga Mexicana por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos (LIMEDDH)
Liverpool VCT, Care & Treatment
Macedonian Association for Free Sexual Orientation (MASSO)
Malta Gay Rights Movement
Mateando
Minas de Cor
MOLECA – Movimento Lesbico de Campinas
Movimento Acorda Cabuçu
Movimento Arco-Iris da Sociedade Horizontina - MAISH
Movimento D´ELLAS
Movimento de Articulação Homossexual de Paulo Afonso
Movimento de Emancipação Sexual, Cidadania, Liberdade e Ativismo do Mato Grosso do Sul – MESCLA
Movimento do Espírito Lilás - MEL
Movimento Gay das Gerais
Movimento Gay de Divinópolis
Movimento Gay de Minas (MGM)
Movimento Gay do Sul de Minas do Vale do Aço
Movimento Gay e Alfenas e Região Sul de Minas
Movimento Gay Leões do Norte
Movimento Homossexual de Belém
Movimento Livre
Movimiento de Integración y Liberación (Movilh)
Mulabi - Espacio Latinoamericano de Sexualidades y Derechos
Nash Mir (Our World) Gay and Lesbian Center
NEPS – Nucleo de Estudos e Pesquisa em Sexualidade
Nikolaev Association of gays, lesbians and bisexuals "LiGA"
Non-patriarchal Inter-faith Organisation Logos
Nordic Rainbow Council
Nordic Rainbow Humanists
Núcleo de Ação Solidária à Aids - NASA
Opus Gay
Organização dos Direito e Cidadania de Homossexuais do Estado do Maranhão
Organización de Transexuales Por la Dignidad de la Diversidad
Organization Q
OUT LGBT Well-being
Outra Visão – Grupo GLTB
OutRage!
Parma
Pink Cross
PMB Gay & Lesbian Network
Press for Change
ProGay Philippines
Programa Integrado de Marginalidade - PIM
Projeto Solidariedade do Fórum Goiano de Luta Contra a AIDS
Provida – Associação Nacional Provida
Quimbanda Dudu
Raíz Diversidad Sexual
Red Democracia y Sexualidad Puebla
Red LGBT de Venezuela
Red Nacional de Diversidad Sexual y VIH y sida
Rede de Informação Um Outro Olhar
Rede Sol
Rede Solidariedade Positiva
REDUC - Brazilian Harm Reduction association
RFSL
Rights Australia
RNP + SOL – Rede Nacional de Solidariedade (Aids)
RNP+ Curitiba e Região Metropolitana
RNP+ Núcleo RJ
ROHS Homosexuella socialister
Rosa Vermelha
San Antonio Gender Association
Sangini (India) Trust
SANGYA
Sans Contrefaçon
Satyricon- Grupo de Apoio e Defesa da Orientação Sexual
Sayoni
Schools OUT
Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG)
Sexuality Policy Watch
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
Shakti Samuha
Shama
SHUDO – Associação de Articulação de Defesa e Promoção dos Direitos Humanos
Siberian Human Rights Network "Rights Society"
Sociedad Mexicana de Sexologia Humanista A.C.
Sociedade Oásis
Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination
Society of Transsexual Women of the Philippines (STRAP)
Sohmos Gays, Lésbicas, Bissexuais e Transgêneros de Arapiraca
Solidarité Internationale LGBT
Solidarity and Action Against The HIV Infection in India (SAATHII)
SOMOS - Comunicação, Saúde e Sexualidade
Spectrum Uganda Initiatives INC
STV Brasil
Swedish Association for Sexuality Education (RFSU)
Swedish Youth Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights
Talking About Reproductive and Sexual Health Issues (TARSHI)
TEMA
The Center for Justice and Accountability
The Norwegian National Association of Lesbian and Gay Liberation (LLH)
The Rainbow Project
The St.Petersburg LGBT Human Rights "Krilija" ("Wings") Centre
Transfêmea
TransGender Europe (TGEU)
Transgrupo Marcela Prado
TransX - Austrian TransGender Association
Tucuxi - Núcleo de Promoção da Livre Orientação Sexual
Tupilak (Nordic rainbow cultural workers)
Turma OK
UK Lesbian & Gay Immigration Group
Unidas de Travestis
UNISON
Unity Center Masal-NCP
Via a Diversidade
Voz pela Vida
Wake Up!
We for Civil Equality
Womyn's Agneda for Change
xclusivevibes
Youth Coalition for Sexual and Reproductive Rights



1 International Commission of Jurists: http://www.icj.org/IMG/UN_references_on_SOGI.pdf.

2 Keynote Speech by High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour to International Conference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights, Montreal, 26 July 2006:

http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/B91AE52651D33F0DC12571BE002F172C?opendocument

3 Speech by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the Global Compact Event held in conjunction with the WCAR, 1 September, 2001; Statement of Spokesman for the Secretary-General on the rights of gays and lesbians, 5 August, 2003, http://www.un.org:80/apps/sg/sgstats.asp?nid=441.