A crowd of around 50 attended a presentation at the University of Sydney in March, named The State of Human Rights for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender People Around the World. The main speaker was Boris Dittrich, Advocacy Director for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Program at Human Rights Watch.
Dittrich spoke firstly of his own coming out, and how San Francisco's Harvey Milk was a key figure in encouraging him to face up to his true sexuality, with Dittrich being in denial and having a girlfriend at that point. Dittrich continued his presentation by describing how after becoming a politician he was a central figure in the Dutch government's decision to be the first country in the world to introduce same-sex marriage. He related how some politicians were afraid of international embarrassment over the then unusual idea, and of how a political contract of the time meant that objections to the policy carried no power.
Dittrich also provided insight on his work at the United Nations and on LGBT rights in Africa and the Pacific Islands. He described how homosexuality there is often described as an unwanted western import, and of the need to support local advocacy groups rather than raise opposition due to perceived attempts at cultural imperialism. He spoke of reticent attendees of GLBT conferences in countries where homosexuality is illegal, and of a case where some faced gaol time when their attendance was used in evidence against them.
The presentation concluded with questions from the very attentive audience, who appeared to be largely of average student age. Dittrich's next stop was Canberra, to talk to Australian politicians about same-sex marriage.
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