Gay equality organisation AllOut.org are spreading the word of
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon - after the mainstream media
largely ignored a pro-gay speech he gave to delegates, earlier this
month.
The 67 year-old specifically addressed the issue of homophobia and
transphobia in a keynote speech to country representatives in
Geneva, but it was overshadowed by the high number of delegates who
walked out in protest.
Now, AllOut.org have remixed the content of the message to try and
re-focus the attention on his message.
In the two days since it went live, it has amassed almost 40,000
views and more than 1,000 likes on YouTube.
It has also attracted a range of supportive comments from viewers,
with one person simply saying about Ki-moon: "What a dude. That is
all."
A statement on the AllOut.org website introduces the video with:
"It's not every day that a major world figure speaks out forcefully
in defense of equality. But earlier this month, U.N. Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon did just that when he made an incredibly
powerful speech at the U.N. in Geneva. But most people didn't even
hear about it.
"Why? After the speech, the media focused on a handful of
delegates who stormed out of meeting in protest. Their story - that
gay people should be denied human rights - is one that dominated
the day's news. But with your help we're going to change
that.
"Our friends at the U.N. let us remix Ban Ki-Moon, so we took his
speech and created this video. We hope you like it! After you
watch, please share with your friends and family, helping this
inspiring message reach the audience it deserves."
It is not the first time Ki-moon has defended the LGBT community.
In January, he urged Africa's leaders to respect gay rights and
equality.
Speaking at an African Union summit in Ethiopia, he declared:
"One form of discrimination ignored or even sanctioned by many
states for too long has been discrimination based on sexual
orientation or gender identity.
"It prompted governments to treat people as second-class
citizens or even criminals."
Ki-moon, a former career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of
Foreign affairs, added:
"Confronting these discriminations is a challenge, but we must
not give up on the ideas of the universal declaration of human
rights."
Watch the video here:
