New York:
The United Nations' human rights office is launching its first global outreach campaign to promote more tolerance and greater equality for lesbians, gays, transgender people and bisexuals.
Called "Free & Equal," it's an unprecedented effort by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to change public attitudes around the world on issues that have bitterly divided the UN's own member states.
The multi-pronged campaign was announced on Friday at a news conference in Cape Town, South Africa, the home country of human rights commissioner Navi Pillay.
It will include videos and public-service announcements distributed through social media, a new website, a series of fact sheets, and engagement by celebrities well-known in different regions of the world.