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CLICK ON THE STICKER to learn more about the YOGYAKARTA PRINCIPLES and sexual orientation and gender identity human rights
Welcome to the LGBT Human Rights Program of the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office. The Arcus Foundation has awarded a generous grant for the establishment of a formal LGBT Human Rights Program at the UU-UNO. The Arcus Foundation is a leading supporter of organizations working to advance Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) & Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) rights. Our program plays a unique role in the faith-based community at the UN: organizing support for and raising awareness about LGBT & SOGI human rights. As with all of our efforts at the UN, our work depends on the support of UU-UNO members and the greater UU community. We do educational outreach, training, and organizing among Unitarian Universalists in the US and Canada.
Please invite us to visit your congregation to talk about these human rights issues.
Join our first ever WRITE-A-THON
When: NOW until January 31, 2010
Where: In YOUR community
PLEASE REGISTER to let us know that you will be participating:
http://tinyurl.com/iraqwriteathon
Support our 2009 Action of immediate Witness "Oppose Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity-Targeted Violence in Iraq" by participating in our first ever Write-A-Thon!
We will be calling attention to the human rights emergency in Iraq in which men who are suspected of being gay or deemed to be too effeminate are tortured and murdered by organized militias. See the recent Human Rights Watch report on this issue, available for free online, for more details.
We are taking our concerns about human rights violations in Iraq based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression to the United Nations! If Iraqi authorities cannot or will not stop this campaign of terror, then the UN must prioritize help for victims of this human rights disaster in their work to resettle Iraqi refugees.
All you need to do to participate in the Write-A-Thon is pick a date between now and January 31, 2010 when you can gather members of your UU (or other) community to write and sign letters to the targets we identify. Then register your event online with us: http://tinyurl.com/iraqwriteathon
It only takes a minute! You may use the sample letter below or you can write your own. If you would like our office to mail your signed letters, please send them to us at:
Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office
777 United Nations Plaza
Suite 7G
New York, NY 10017
You can gather for a couple of hours at your congregation or church, at your home, at a local cafe or school, anywhere! In the weeks following our write-a-thons, our targets will be DELUGED with letters from across the US and Canada demanding action be paid to this issue.
SAMPLE LETTER:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Madam Secretary,
On behalf of over 1050 congregations nationwide that make up the Unitarian Universalist Association, I write to request your action in response to the egregious human rights violations occurring primarily against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) persons in Iraq. No other U.S. Secretary of State has gone so far to prioritize worldwide human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity and we are deeply grateful. Unitarian Universalists have long been concerned about human rights violations. In fact, our office at the United Nations has a full-time program dedicated to promoting LGBTQ human rights.
Sadly, the U.S invasion has created a climate in which untold numbers of Iraqis have been tortured and murdered because of their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Men who are known or rumored to be gay are targeted alongside men wearing cologne or pants deemed to be too tight. Thousands more are seeking refuge outside of Iraq due to the daily threat of violence against themselves and their family members. We are not witnessing isolated incidents of violence, but rather a widespread and systematic campaign of torture and murder. These crimes are perpetrated according to the ‘morality’ of militia death squads in an accountability vacuum. As the mutilated bodies pile-up in Baghdad and across Iraq, a report by Human Rights Watch released this month documents the intense escalation of this horrifying violence since early 2009 (“They Want Us Exterminated: Murder, Torture, Sexual Orientation and Gender in Iraq”, Human Rights Watch, 2009). We believe this situation clearly constitutes a human rights emergency in need of immediate action.
Based on our firm belief that every person has inherent worth and dignity, the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations has a long tradition of advocating for human rights. In June 2009, the Association’s General Assembly—our highest policy-making body—approved a statement calling on the United States to take a leadership role in ending the kind of brutal identity-based crimes that are happening in Iraq right now.
As a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, and a supporter of the General Assembly Joint Statement on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Human Rights, the United States is obligated to do everything in its power to end this violence and protect those who have already been victimized. We believe the United States bears substantial responsibility for ending this pattern of violence because of its role in creating the problem of instability and impunity in Iraq. Specifically, we call upon you to:
· Acknowledge the role the 2003 US-led invasion played in creating systemic violence against Iraqis due to their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity;
· Insist that religious freedom cannot be used to justify violations of the human rights of Iraqis because of their real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity or expression;
· Cooperate with the international community at the United Nations to find means to eliminate sexual orientation and gender expression-targeted violence; and
· Ensure that Iraqi refugees fleeing threats based on their real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity or expression are prioritized for protection and resettlement through US government or United Nations channels.
Please take action immediately to stop this horrific violence against LGBTQ persons in Iraq.
Sincerely,
UU-UNO LGBT & SOGI Resources Online:
News
Actions
Resources
Videos
Events
Blog
Listserv Sign-Up
Contact Us:
UU-UNO - LGBT
777 UN Plaza
New York, NY 10017
lgbt@uu-uno.org
-
2009 Iraq AIW
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Join our first ever WRITE-A-THON
When: NOW until January 31, 2010
Where: In YOUR community
Support our 2009 Action of immediate Witness "Oppose Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity-Targeted Violence in Iraq" by participating in our first ever Write-A-Thon!**PLEASE REGISTER to let us know that you will be participating:
http://tinyurl.com/iraqwriteathon
We will be calling attention to the human rights emergency in Iraq in which men who are suspected of being gay or deemed to be too effeminate are tortured and murdered by organized militias. See the recent Human Rights Watch report on this issue, available for free online, for more details.
We are taking our concerns about human rights violations in Iraq based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression to the United Nations! If Iraqi authorities cannot or will not stop this campaign of terror, then the UN must prioritize help for victims of this human rights disaster in their work to resettle Iraqi refugees.All you need to do to participate in the Write-A-Thon is pick a date between now and January 31, 2010 when you can gather members of your UU (or other) community to write and sign letters to the targets we identify. Then register your event online with us: http://tinyurl.com/iraqwriteathon
It only takes a minute! You may use the sample letter below or you can write your own. If you would like our office to mail your signed letters, please send them to us at:
Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office
777 United Nations Plaza
Suite 7G
New York, NY 10017
You can gather for a couple of hours at your congregation or church, at your home, at a local cafe or school, anywhere! In the weeks following our write-a-thons, our targets will be DELUGED with letters from across the US and Canada demanding action be paid to this issue.
SAMPLE LETTER:
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Madam Secretary,
On behalf of over 1050 congregations nationwide that make up the Unitarian Universalist Association, I write to request your action in response to the egregious human rights violations occurring primarily against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) persons in Iraq. No other U.S. Secretary of State has gone so far to prioritize worldwide human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity and we are deeply grateful. Unitarian Universalists have long been concerned about human rights violations. In fact, our office at the United Nations has a full-time program dedicated to promoting LGBTQ human rights.
Sadly, the U.S invasion has created a climate in which untold numbers of Iraqis have been tortured and murdered because of their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. Men who are known or rumored to be gay are targeted alongside men wearing cologne or pants deemed to be too tight. Thousands more are seeking refuge outside of Iraq due to the daily threat of violence against themselves and their family members. We are not witnessing isolated incidents of violence, but rather a widespread and systematic campaign of torture and murder. These crimes are perpetrated according to the ‘morality’ of militia death squads in an accountability vacuum. As the mutilated bodies pile-up in Baghdad and across Iraq, a report by Human Rights Watch released this month documents the intense escalation of this horrifying violence since early 2009 (“They Want Us Exterminated: Murder, Torture, Sexual Orientation and Gender in Iraq”, Human Rights Watch, 2009). We believe this situation clearly constitutes a human rights emergency in need of immediate action.
Based on our firm belief that every person has inherent worth and dignity, the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations has a long tradition of advocating for human rights. In June 2009, the Association’s General Assembly—our highest policy-making body—approved a statement calling on the United States to take a leadership role in ending the kind of brutal identity-based crimes that are happening in Iraq right now.
As a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, and a supporter of the General Assembly Joint Statement on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Human Rights, the United States is obligated to do everything in its power to end this violence and protect those who have already been victimized. We believe the United States bears substantial responsibility for ending this pattern of violence because of its role in creating the problem of instability and impunity in Iraq. Specifically, we call upon you to:
-Acknowledge the role the 2003 US-led invasion played in creating systemic violence against Iraqis due to their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity;
-Insist that religious freedom cannot be used to justify violations of the human rights of Iraqis because of their real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity or expression;
-Cooperate with the international community at the United Nations to find means to eliminate sexual orientation and gender expression-targeted violence; and
-Ensure that Iraqi refugees fleeing threats based on their real or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity or expression are prioritized for protection and resettlement through US government or United Nations channels.
Please take action immediately to stop this horrific violence against LGBTQ persons in Iraq.
Sincerely, -
LGBT Human Rights Resources
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**This page is under construction** - Public Religion Research, LLC, with the support of Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, has released its Mainline Protestant Clergy Views on Theology and Gay and Lesbian Issues: Findings from the 2008 Clergy Voices Survey. The survey shows support from important group of Christian leaders surpasses general public. The Clergy Voices Survey (CVS) is the only broad survey of Mainline clergy in seven years, and the most comprehensive ever in scope. Findings on broad social and political attitudes and behavior during the 2008 election cycle were released earlier this spring; the report analyzes the answers to more than 60 in-depthquestions about attitudes toward sexuality and the role of LGBT people in the church and broader society.
-The Human Rights Campaign has produced a new curriculum guide called Gender Identity and our Faith Communities: a congregational guide for transgender advocacy. A PDF of the guide as well as supplementary resources such as audio files are all available for FREE online! The curriculum guide has been piloted across the US in seminars led by transgender and gender nonconforming ministers. If you would like to link-up with transgender Unitarian Universalist ministers, please contact TRUUsT (Transgender Religious professional Unitarian Universalists Together). Please use this fantastic new resource to build a stronger knowledge base around gender identity in your congregation!
-ARC International has created a valuable timeline of LGBT/SOGI human rights at the UN going back to 1975! Use this handy resource in creative ways for your outreach and advocacy.
-The International Lesbian & Gay Association produces a map of LGBT&I rights each year showing positive and negative developments worldwide. There have been some exciting and disappointing developments since then, so be sure to check back for the new 2009 map when it is available.