December 10 marks the 62nd anniversary of the signing of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which laid out an international standard of rights to which all humans are entitled. This year, Philadelphia will examine that document — and the ensuing human-rights revolution it represented — through an LGBT lens.
From 4:30-7:30 p.m. Dec. 10, the United Nations Association of Greater Philadelphia will host its annual Human Rights Day observance at the National Liberty Museum, 321 Chestnut St., this year focusing on LGBT rights.
Christiaan Morssink, president of the local association, said the organization has hosted Human Rights Day events for a number of years, each centering on a different issue: However, this marks the first time LGBT issues are spotlighted.
Marietta Tanner, a member of the Unitarian Society of Germantown and the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office (UU-UNO) envoy, first raised the idea about the topic to the association.
“I thought it was about time this was talked about,” Tanner said, noting she was especially motivated to raise awareness about LGBT discrimination among black communities of faith. “Personally, I’ve been very concerned about the way black churches, like the Baptist or Pentecostal churches, feel about gays and lesbians. A lot of these churches have a denial going on about gays. And I think this topic needs to be pushed to the front because it is a human-rights issue.”
Morssink said the association was eager to provide a forum for a broad conversation on the human-rights challenges the LGBT community faces.
“We are completely of the opinion that the lesbian and gay community is very much neglected, ignored and even sometimes abused in many parts of the world,” Morssink said. “We thought it was worthwhile opening the discussion here in Philadelphia, and then hopefully other chapters throughout the country will also begin the same type of discussions.”
The event will feature a keynote address by Bruce Knotts, the openly gay chair of the UN’s Human Rights Committee, who pressed for the inclusion of LGBT topics at the UN’s Human Rights Conference in 2008 and, as executive director of the UU-UNO, launched a faith-based LGBT-advocacy program within the agency.
The evening will also include the screening of a documentary on LGBT persecution in Uganda and a panel discussion on international LGBT issues, featuring panelists Dr. Marla Gold, dean of the Drexel University School of Public Health; filmmaker Peter Lien and University of Pennsylvania psychologist Jeanne Stanley, moderated by Jessica Lee.
Morssink said he anticipates that his agency will continue to address LGBT-rights issues beyond this week’s event.
He said the organization previously met with a contingent of human-rights representatives from Egypt, and is planning a follow-up session with the group to discuss human-rights issues for LGBTs in the Middle East. The group also hopes to work with organizations like the Human Rights Campaign on this and other future programming.
“We intend this to not just be a one-time event but we’re going to make this part of our list of topics that we need to keep talking about and that can’t be ignored,” he said.
The Human Rights Day event is free, and wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served. To RSVP, e-mail [email protected].
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].