St. Petersburg – “American Human Rights Policy Should Stress LGBT Issues” is the topic of one of 17 seminars scheduled to be presented in the second annual “St. Petersburg in the World” conference to be held at the University of South Florida (USF) in St. Petersburg Feb. 13-15.
The seminar dealing with LGBT issues in slated for Friday, Feb, 14 at 3:15 p.m. Other seminars deal with issues as far-reaching as our relationship with China to the issues brought up by the Snowden case. All seminars are free and open to the public. All sessions will be held in the Student Union and USF has agreed to offer free parking in their parking garage for the event.
“The United States has been taking more of a leadership role in promoting LGBT rights around the world as part of our emphasis on human rights,” said Doug Mcelhaney, a retired U.S. diplomat and one of the founders of the conference. “The Obama administration has made LGBT issues an integral part of its position on human rights, but the question is whether that focus will continue on in other administrations.”
While it is unlikely that a Republican president would put as much emphasis on LGBT human right issues as this president has, Mcelhaney believes Hilary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, made LGBT issues an import priority during her tenure as secretary of state.
“She encouraged a number of embassies to produce gay Pride events and even invited local LGBT activists to attend,” said Mcelhaney. “I’m hopeful that if she were elected president that this commitment would continue.”
But it’s not all good news for LGBTs in the world, unfortunately.
“I’m going to focus on the overall state of LGBT affairs around the globe,” said Michael Smith, a professor of political and social thought at the University of Virginia. He is one of four presenters at the seminar.
“Unfortunately things aren’t so rosy for gay people in many parts of the world and in places like Uganda and even India, the progress has been backward, not forward,” Smith said. “Uganda laws now include the death penalty for homosexuality and in India they recently have turned back the clock to colonial era policies.”
Other presenters include Equality Florida Executive Director Nadine Smith, ACLU of Florida Attorney Daniel Tilley, and Adela Bejtovic, Head of The President’s Cabinet of the Municipal Court in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“The first step in making any kind of difference either locally or global on LGBT rights is to educate yourself on the issues,” said Tilley. “This conference is a great platform for getting that kind of education from a variety of perspectives.”
Some would say that the United States can be hypocritical on LGBT issues globally when we don’t have our house entirely in order here.
“Sure you can find human rights violation on LGBT issues right in Miami or Tampa; and while we continue to make progress on these affairs here in the U.S., completely putting our own house is order is a big deal,” said Tilley.
“But that shouldn’t stop us from trying to pursue what we know is right and addressing much more significant human rights issues in other countries.”
Smith agrees.
“There are many parts of the world where being LGBT can be very difficult or even dangerous,” he said. “The U.S. can play a vitally important role in helping to change that if we lead by example.”
The St. Petersburg Conference on World Affairs is a cooperative venture of a group of civic-minded St. Petersburg residents and the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.
The panels are made of diplomats, military, media, and academic experts discussing critical international issues of the day at each annual conference. The public, including students of USF St. Petersburg and other area universities, are invited to attend the annual conferences for free. Seating is on a first come, first seated basis.
According to Mcelhaney, the launch of the St. Petersburg Conference on World Affairs has been a resounding success. Several hundred local residents and students attended each of the panels in 2013 and Mcelhaney is hoping for even greater attendance this year. Participants showed their support through both financial contributions as well as their overwhelmingly positive comments on the presentations.
For more information visit StPetersburgInTheWorld.com.
