LGBT rights and diversity - internationally

Promoting diversity and LGBT rights internationally

Sunil Pant, Nepal's only gay MP

Kaleidoscope launches its new Leadership Forum

Many thousands of individuals and groups on every continent are working in their own ways to end unlawful discrimination and promote diversity. Where they want our support they deserve to get it. No two countries are the same. Progress varies from place to place but the goal is always the same.

In upholding human rights around the world we will always be guided by local needs and the help we are asked to give. Capacity Building is a key part of The Kaleidoscope Trust strategy.

In many countries the media present a very distorted image of what it means to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Those who promote discrimination and hatred find it much easier to get their message across than those who argue for understanding and mutual respect. The Kaleidoscope Trust works to ensure that the case against homophobia is heard wherever possible.

Photo: Danielle Burger

Fighting prejudice and ignorance requires well-presented arguments based on reliable evidence. We wil commission and promote research to analyse the cultural, religious and historical background to homophobia to help inform the debate and create greater awareness of the impact.

Countries and societies, especially those that have a common cultural history, can learn from one another. Kaleidoscope supports exchanges and networks between those who wish to share experience and advice. There are still 78 countries where homosexal acts are illegal. In five of them, the death penalty is still applied.

The Kaleidoscope Trust brings together people with wide experience of politics, advocacy and diplomacy to make the case for human rights for all with governments, international organisations and those with the power to make change a reality. The UN Declaration of Human Rights states that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. This is not a case of special rights for minorities, but access to human rights for all.

We engage with companies and corporations to promote a global business environment that supports LGBT employees and their partners. We explore pathways out of poverty for gay men and lesbians forced to the margins of society by stigma and discrimination.

The Kaleidoscope Trust welcomes the report of the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights in December 2011. CLICK HERE to read what it said.

“The application of international human rights law is guided by the principles of universality and non-discrimination enshrined in article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”. All people, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons, are entitled to enjoy the protections provided for by international human rights law, including in respect of rights to life, security of person and privacy, the right to be free from torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, the right to be free from discrimination and the right to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action confirms that, “while the significance of national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind, it is the duty of States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms.”