[Viva] Fwd: Action Alert: UN to vote on sexual orientation / gender identity resolution this Friday!

Tue Jun 14 18:35:35 PDT 2011

       *Urgent Action Alert: UN to vote on Sexual Orientation / Gender
Identity Resolution this Friday!*

Dear Members,

An important opportunity is unfolding this week at the United Nations Human
Rights Council in Geneva.  For the first time, a resolution (not a joint
statement) is being proposed to examine human rights violations based on
sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI).  This is potentially a big
step forward for human rights and SOGI issues at the UN, and your government
needs to hear from you!

Please read the information below provided by ARC International to find out
more about the process, to read the draft resolution, and to find out how
you can take action before the vote this Friday June 17, 2011.

Thank you very much!

Regards,

The Secretariat

***

*URGENT ACTION** ALERT!*

*UN RESOLUTION ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION & GENDER IDENTITY:*
*CONTACT YOUR GOVERNMENT TODAY TO PROTECT HUMAN RIGHTS!*

*(Please feel free to forward this Action Alert to others)*

*What’s up?*

   - This Friday, *17 June2011* – in just a few days – member States of the
   Human Rights Council will vote on a *resolution onhuman rights violations
   based on sexual orientation and gender identity* at the *United Nations
   Human Rights Council *in Geneva.

   - This historic resolution, presented by *South Africa*, affirms the
   universality of human rights, and notes concern about acts of violence and
   discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. It *requests
   the High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a study* on violence
   and discrimination on these grounds, and calls for a *panel
discussion*to be held at the Human Rights Council to
   *discuss the findings of the study in a constructive and transparent
   manner, and to consider appropriate follow-up. *A copy of the text of the
   resolution is attached.

   - *We need your help today*to ensure this resolution is adopted! If
   passed, this will be the *first UN resolution ever* to bring specific
   focus to human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender
   identity.

   - Let’s *work together to send a clear message* that killings, violence,
   rape and criminal sanctions directed against those who are lesbian, gay,
   bisexual, transgender or intersex are not acceptable – ever.

*What can I do?*

*Please take action today*to urge your government to support the resolution.
Only Members of the Council (listed below) may vote, although non-Member
States can still “cosponsor” the resolution to demonstrate their support.

Send your Foreign Ministry *a copy of the attached Backgrounder* we have
prepared to help provide governments with more information.  We are also
attaching an overview of human rights violations based on sexual orientation
and gender identity, drawn from reports to this session of the Council.

In particular:

   - If you think your country might be *supportive*, it is important to
   confirm that they will vote in favour, and/or *co-sponsor* the
   resolution. Encourage them to approach other States who may be supportive.

   - If your State is *neutral*, or has abstained on sexual orientation or
   gender identity issues in the past, urge them to vote in favour too. If they
   make it clear they will not support the resolution, encourage them to
   reconsider, or at least abstain so as not to block attention to these
   important human rights concerns.

   - If you know your government will be *unsupportive* or hostile to the
   resolution, please encourage them to abstain, rather than voting against and
   thus preventing dialogue on issues of violence and discrimination.

*Who should I approach? How did my government vote on these issues in the
past?*

Only Human Rights Council Members will be able to vote on the resolution.
There are currently 46 voting Members of the Human Rights Council. It is
their votes which will determine whether the resolution is adopted or
rejected. Below is an overview of priority Member States to approach in each
region.

*Latin America/Caribbean:*

The 8 Council Member States in the Latin America/Caribbean region have
supported previous SOGI initiatives, and are expected to vote in favor:

·      *Argentina*, *Brazil*, *Chile*, *Cuba*, *Ecuador*, *Guatemala*, *
Mexico*, *Uruguay*

(It would be useful to confirm this with Cuba, and encourage all States from
the region to approach other Council Members who may be supportive)

*Western Group:*

The 7 Council Member States in the Western Group have supported previous
SOGI initiatives, and are expected to vote in favour:

·      *Belgium*, *France*, *Norway*, *Spain*, *Switzerland*, *United* *
Kingdom*, *USA*

(It would be useful to encourage these States to approach other Council
Members who may be supportive)

*Africa:*

·      *Angola*, *Gabon* and *Mauritius* have supported previous sexual
orientation and gender identity initiatives and should be encouraged to
support the resolution.

·      Amongst other African States, the fact that South Africa is leading
the resolution may help persuade some Council Members, such as *Ghana*, *
Senegal* and *Zambia*, to abstain or not vote, rather than opposing the
initiative.

·      *Burkina**Faso*, *Cameroon*, *Djibouti*, *Mauritania*, *Nigeria* and
*Uganda* have opposed SOGI initiatives in the past. Although they are not
expected to support the initiative, some may consider not opposing South
Africa’s leadership in this area.

*Asia:*

·      *Japan*, *Thailand* and *South* *Korea* have supported previous
sexual orientation and gender identity initiatives. It is important that
they be encouraged to support the resolution.

·      *Kyrgyzstan*and the *Maldives* have abstained on SOGI initiatives in
the past, and may be encouraged to support (or at least not oppose) the
resolution.

·      *Bahrain*, *Bangladesh*, *China*, *Jordan*, *Malaysia*, *Pakistan*, *
Qatar* and *Saudi* *Arabia* have opposed SOGI initiatives in the past.

*Eastern Europe:*

·      *Hungary*, *Poland* and *Slovakia* have supported previous SOGI
initiatives at the UN.
·      *Ukraine* has also supported previous SOGI initiatives and should be
encouraged to do so again.
·      *Moldova* supported the inclusion of “sexual orientation” in a recent
resolution on extrajudicial killings, but has not supported other SOGI
initiatives at the UN, and should be urged to support the resolution.
·      *Russia* has opposed previous SOGI initiatives at the UN, but should
be urged to support CoE standards, or at least abstain, rather than opposing
the resolution.

*What if my country is not a Member of the Human Rights Council? How can
they support the resolution?*

If your State is not a voting Member of the Human Rights Council, they may
still cosponsor the resolution. “Cosponsorship” means they may endorse the
resolution to demonstrate their support, even though they cannot vote.  The
more cross-regional cosponsors the resolution has, the more it will
encourage voting Members to also demonstrate their support.  This is
particularly important in underrepresented regions, such as Africa and Asia.

For example, within Africa, the following non-Member States have supported
SOGI initiatives in the past, and may be encouraged to cosponsor the
resolution:

·      Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Guinea-Bissau, Rwanda, Sao Tome
and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone

Within Asia and the Pacific Islands, the following non-Member States have
supported SOGI initiatives in the past, and may be encouraged to cosponsor
the resolution:

·      Fiji, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nauru, Nepal, Palau,
Samoa, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.

Non-Member States from all regions who may be supportive also have an
important role to play in approaching voting Member States with whom they
have good relations, to encourage them to support the resolution.

*How do I contact my government?*

   - The most important contact is your government’s *Foreign Ministry* in
   your capital.  Contact details for the Foreign Ministry of each country can
   be found at:

*http://www.ediplomat.com/dc/foreign_ministries.htm*<http://msmgf.us1.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=1efcb45b2d3a4abde06876054&id=a42f898b16&e=9424bb6e35>

   - It is also useful to copy any message to your country’s *Ambassador in
   Geneva*.  Contact details for the Geneva missions of each State can be
   found at:

*http://tinyurl.com/t2cwt*<http://msmgf.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1efcb45b2d3a4abde06876054&id=a6e9c9c166&e=9424bb6e35>

*What do I tell them?*

   - Thank them for any *past support* they have demonstrated for sexual
   orientation and gender identity issues, or for principles of human rights
   more generally, and emphasize that this is a very straightforward resolution
   recognising that *all human beings are entitled to be protected from
   serious human rights violations *like killings, violence, criminal
   sanctions and torture, and requesting further *information and
   transparent dialogue* on these issues.

   - Underline that the resolution creates *no new rights*, but simply seeks
   the *application of existing international standards* to those who face
   human rights violations because of their sexual orientation or gender
   identity.

   - Encourage them to support the resolution, and *ask for a specific
   response to your request*. You may also wish to request a meeting to
   discuss the matter further.

   - You know your own country best.  Feel free tailor this information to
   the context of your country or region, while maintaining a constructive
   approach.

*Questions or further information?*

   - Please *keep us informed of your country’s response*.  A coalition of
   NGOs is closely monitoring this initiative, and may be reached at:

*hrc17 at arc-international.net*

*Please act today! Currently, the vote on the resolution is too close to
call, and our actions over the next 72 hours could make the difference
between this crucial resolution passing or failing.*

*Thank you for your work to oppose human rights violations based on sexual
orientation and gender identity.*

*Attachments:*
*1. Current text of the
resolution<http://msmgf.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1efcb45b2d3a4abde06876054&id=04d838065e&e=9424bb6e35>(doc);
*
*2. One-page Backgrounder<http://msmgf.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1efcb45b2d3a4abde06876054&id=61298351f4&e=9424bb6e35>(doc);
*
*3. Overview of human rights violations based on sexual orientation and
gender identity<http://msmgf.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=1efcb45b2d3a4abde06876054&id=4c0beedc93&e=9424bb6e35>(doc).
*

**

-- 
Meegwetch/Thank you/Merci
*Tami M. Starlight*
Vancouver, Canada
tamistarlight at gmail.com
tami.cosmic (facebook)
tami_starlight (twitter)
604-200-2445home
604-790-9943cell
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