UN Women to co-sponsor Human Rights Day event against homophobia
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On International Human Rights Day (10 December), the LGBT Core Group at the United Nations in New York will organize the event “Sport Comes out against Homophobia”.
This annual event, each year honouring a different theme, will highlight the role of prominent sportsmen and women in challenging stigma and promoting respect for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, athletes including tennis legend Martina Navratilova and NBA basketball star Jason Collins, as well as several human rights activists from South Africa, USA and the Russian Federation will participate. MSNBC news anchor Thomas Roberts will act as moderator.
LGBT Core Group members include Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, El Salvador, France, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and the USA, together with the European Union, the UN human rights office (OHCHR), Human Rights Watch, and International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission. This year, UN Women and the NGOs United for Equality in Sports and Entertainment and Global Action Initiatives will join the Core Group in supporting the 10 December initiative.
An event on LGBT rights has been organized at the UN Headquarters every December for the past five years. Last year’s highly successful event, celebrating the theme of music, included UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, popstar Ricky Martin and musician Yvonne Chaka Chaka.
This year’s Human Rights Day LGBT event will take place three months after the LGBT Ministerial Event of the 68th General Assembly in September, at which ministers from Core Group Member States declared their commitment to advancing the role of LGBT issues in the United Nations.
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