From one continent to another and one country to another, the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community vary greatly. How many countries that are parties to the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), or the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), are really implementing policies true to the documents they signed?

In many countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, certain essential rights that are now taken for granted in Canada, the United States, Western Europe, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand simply do not exist, or are frequently violated. These "essential rights" are:

• the right to protection against violence, inflicted by the state or by private individuals
• freedom of expression, assembly and association
• freedom to engage in same-sex sexual activity

The Conference will emphasise the rights of the majority of the world's LGBT individuals, those living in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe, where issues include the relevance of "Western" or "Northern" LGBT identities, and the need for social and economic as well as civil and political rights.

The international movement for LGBT human rights must integrate into larger movements, such as the struggle for global social and economic rights or for disadvantaged countries' development. It is important to recognise that, in the majority of developing countries, social and economic rights lag far behind those in icher countries.

The question of health, particularly HIV, remains a critical one and has become a global issue. LGBT rights must be supported and defended within all international organisations, particularly the United Nations. How can they be persuaded to take these issues seriously?

As we claim our rights as LGBT individuals to be different on the road to equality, we must also have the courage and ambition to question our own behaviour and how it affects others in our community, whether they be women, transgender or bisexual individuals, people of colour or faith or with disabilities, or younger or older people.

Our community’s diversity is one of its greatest assets. We cannot allow discrimination within our own ranks, or any other barriers to equality, to jeopardise the rich and varied fabric of our community. We must strive to act in accordance with our own principles.

We would all like to be recognised as the multifaceted human beings we truly are. LGBT individuals are present and active in all areas of life: sports, education, media, the workplace, family, religion, culture, politics and lawmaking, law enforcement and justice, and so on. In all these aspects of their daily lives, LGBT individuals face discrimination. Many changes are needed to permit them to participate equally in society.

Numerous trade unions’ commitment to the battle for LGBT human rights is not new: in Canada and particularly in Québec, the major labour organisations have been actively involved in this issue for many years. It is a simple fact that the presence of unions favours the development and affirmation of LGBT human rights in the workplace, compared with work environments in which there is no form of institutional support. Therefore, thanks to the unwavering support of the unions participating in the Montréal Conference, we will identify the driving principles behind the establishment of these rights, as well as develop realistic action plans to improve the situations of LGBT individuals in the workplace.

The last quarter century has seen the emergence of many different non-traditional family models: single-parent families, blended families, community families, families with gay or lesbian parents, and so on.
People in non-traditional families have to struggle for acceptance. They are faced with resistance from many secular and religious institutions, which may react to their lifestyle choices with fear and outrage. And, as with all significant social evolutions, individualism inevitably comes into conflict with the laws, both written and unwritten, that touch the fabric of daily life. The evolution of civil liberties in a great number of countries has also resulted in the birth of numerous LGBT groups committed to constitutional and legal changes to family law, so that rights reflect realities. These changes include granting equal rights to LGBT individuals who are or wish to become parents, and to same-sex couples (including equal access to civil marriage). They also include expanding the range of relationship recognition options for all couples.

In some parts of the world, oppression is a fact of daily life for LGBT individuals. What can we do collectively to find ways to eradicate this oppression? How can we build the capacity of the global LGBT movement?

Workers Out! : Making the Difference, is being organised by labour organisations in Canada and Québec: they are the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), the Centrale des syndicats du Québec
(CSQ), the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC/CTC) and the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ). Workers Out! concentrates on developing an international strategic plan to help our unions worldwide in taking up the struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in the workplace and in the broader society.

The proposed workshops build towards the development of understanding issues faced around the world; of an analysis of methods of organising used to advance LGBT issues; of an appreciation of the international structures and a series of goals and strategies to further the international movement’s work to end discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Following the discussions in Amsterdam and Sydney, the Workers Out! organising committee is committed to developing and circulating a Draft Plan of Action for comment and for discussion, with a view to its final adoption during the Conference.

Already an important partner in the 1st World Outgames and actively working with the Montréal 2006 Organising Committee since the project’s inception, the Québec Gay Chamber of Commerce (CCGQ) was given the mandate, within the framework of the Conference, to develop a section targeted specifically at chambers of commerce, professionals and business associations in the international LGBT community.

Developing its international network, which already had a solid base in Canada, the United States and in Europe, the CCGQ has formed a Steering Committee composed of representatives from eleven organisations in six countries.

Out for Business! will definitely be a not-to-be-missed occasion where more than 300 professionals and business people will discuss important issues for the LGBT community worldwide. Hope to see you there!

It is only natural to include a series of workshops dedicated to the realm of sport in the inaugural conference of the 1st World Outgames in Montréal on the human rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.

The goal of this series of workshops is twofold:

• First, it will provide an overview of the current state of LGBT sport after nearly 25 years of existence.
• Second, it will examine the sport movement as an indicator of social change and the prospects for social transformation.