Date: Tue, 6 Aug 1996 05:17:09 -0700 From: crosswix@ix.netcom.com (camille) Subject: The Magnus Hirschfeld Centre for Human Rights THE MAGNUS HIRSCHFELD CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS William A. Courson, Executive Director Crosswicks House Post Office Box 1974 Bloomfield, New Jersey, U.S.A. 07003-1974 Telephone: 201-746-9516 Facsimile: 201-746-3147 E-Mail: crosswix@ix.netcom.com August 1, 1996 What is the MAGNUS HIRSCHFELD CENTRE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ? A Non-Profit, Non-Governmental Organization Engaged in the Promotion of the Human Rights of Gay and Lesbian Persons Under International Law BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS ARE NOT CHARITY EXTENDED TO CITIZENS BY GOVERNMENTS: THEY ARE BINDING LEGAL OBLIGATIONS UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW, FOR WHOSE BREACH GOVERNMENTS ARE ANSWERABLE ..... Most of the nation-states of our world have signed and become voluntarily subject tothe provisions of international treaties that define the obligations owed by governments to their citizens. Among these obligations are the right to equal treatment irrspective of race, class, gender, language, ethnicity, religious aith or "other status." Some fo these treaties (such as the UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS and the INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL & POLITICAL RIGHTS) fall under the aegis of the United Nations. Others are administered by regional intergovernmental bodies, such as the Council of Europe (whicj administers the EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS & FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS), the Organization of African Unity (which administers the AFRICAN CHARTER ON HUMAN & PEOPLE'S RIGHTS) and the Organization of American States (responsible for the administration of the AMERICAN DECLARATION ON HUMAN RIGHTS and the INTER-AMERICAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS). All of these bodies have created commissions and courts whose work it is to interpret and apply the terms of such human rights treaties. When governments fail to treat their citizens in accordance with international law, such courts and commissions can impel or even compel governments to alter their behavior toward individual citizens or even entire categories of their populations. In order to make use of the procedures afforded by these bodies, vicitms of human rights abuses must have made use or attempted to make use of all of the legal remedies afforded them by local law. Alternately, victims seeking to make use of an international forum must prove that local law is ineffective, does not provide an appropriate remedy or is unavailable to her/him for practical purposes. In the latter cases, a victim can approach an international forum directly, bypassing the legal system of his or her native land. For many victims of government human rights abuses, such international bodies are the only impartial tribunals in existence. EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO LIFE, TO PRIVACY, TO SECURITY OF THE PERSON, TO RESPECT FOR ONE'S HONOR AND REPUTATION AND TO EQUAL TREATMENY BY THE LAW ..... The mandate of the Magnus Hirschfeld Centre for Human Rights is the representation of such persons or groups of persons before the various international tribunals that now exist; its mandate places a very special emphasis on lending such aid to persons persecuted on account of their sexual orientation or membership in a sexual minority community - they have been subject to a deprivation of fundamental human rights on account of their being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or HIV-positive. In some instances governments tolerate such deprivations of rights based on prevailing cultural, social or religious strictures; in many others cases, such a denial of fair treatment is a matter of law or of government policy. In any and all such instnances however, governments can be held answerable internationally to the global community for abuses at home. What has the CENTRE accomplished? Through its use of the foregoing procedures, the Centre has involved itself in and enjoyed varying degrees of success in ameliorating or correcting individual and systematic human rights abuses in the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Peru, Argentina, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Equatorial Guinea, Moldova, Macedonia, Greece, the United Kingdom, Bermuda, Somalia, Germany, Myanmar (Burma) and many other locales. How does the CENTRE perform its important work? Working with very limited resources, the Centre cooperates with other organizations in the gathering of data and collecting of information on human rights abuses - such organizations include the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, the International Lesbian & Gay Association, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Center for Justice under International Law, among many others. Using the data collected through its own and others' efforts, research is conducted by the Centre into the international legal aspects of cases coming to its attention; interventions are made in appropriate cases before such bodies as the United Nations Human Rights Committee, the UN Commission on Human Rights and its Subcommission (the Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities), the UN Committee on Torture, the International Labor Organization, the UNESCO Committee on Conventions & Recommendations, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the African Commission on Human & Peoples' Rights and the European Commission on Human Rights, among others. Detailed information in the form of periodic reports and requests for assistance are disseminated to individuals and organizations involved in the subject communities and to our colleagues in the human rights advocacy movement: non-governmental organizations, individual activists, and governmental and inter-governmental bodies concerned with human rights and equality. YOUR ASSISTANCE IS URGENTLY NEEDED TO HELP UTILIZE THE WEIGHT OF INTERNATIONAL LAW IN FIGHTING OPPRESSION AND DISCRIMINATION: ASSISTANCE IN THE FORM OF TIME, SKILLS AND FUNDS TO CONTINUE OUR EFFORTS ..... ------------------------------------------------------------------------ VOLUNTEER/FINANCIAL SUPPORT APPLICATION * I wish to join with the Centre's work by becoming a Centre Associate, and will make a donation to the Magnus Hirschfeld Centre for Human Rights in the amount of: $ 10.00 ___ $ 15.00 ___ $20.00 ___ $25.00 ___ Other Amount ($_____) * I have skills I wish to volunteer in the area(s) of: ____ International Human Rights Law ____ On-Site Data Collection ____ Legal Research/Writing ____ Area Studies ____ Writing & Publicity ____ Fundraising/Grant-writing ____ Other: __________________ Your Name: ________________________________________ Your Address: ________________________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________ Telephone: _____________________ Facsimile: ___________________ E-Mail Address: _____________________ Please make checks/bank drafts payable to the Magnus Hirschfeld Centre for Human Rights and send to: William A. Courson, Executive Director The Magnus Hirschfeld Centre for Human Rights Crosswicks House Post Office Box 1974 Bloomfield, New Jersey USA 07003-1974 Our new homepage is: http://www.angelfire.com/nj/hirschfeldcentre/index.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Note: The Magnus Hirschfeld Centre for Human Rights is a New Jersey Non-Profit Corporation, and an applicant for Federal recognition of Tax-Exempt Status under IRS Code Section 501(c)(3)