Last week, more than 160 world leaders -- and thousands of political aides, activists and journalists -- descended on United Nations Headquarters in New York City for the opening of the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly.
This year, the UN Human Rights Office, together with diplomats from a dozen countries and human rights activists, set up a photo booth near the entrance to the iconic General Assembly Hall. Visitors were invited to stop by and have their photo taken while holding up a sign affirming their support for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people around the world.
Watch this uplifting video to find out what happened next:
The Free & Equal photo booth was supported by the UN Core Group on LGBT Rights, whose members comprise Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, El Salvador, France, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Uruguay, the United Kingdom and the United States, together with the European Union, the UN Human Rights Office, and the NGOs Human Rights Watch and International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.
The photo booth is a part of the United Nations' Free & Equal campaign -- a global public education campaign aimed at raising awareness of homophobic and transphobic rights abuses and mobilizing global support for the protection of LGBT rights. To learn more about Free & Equal, visit www.unfe.org, or join the conversation on Facebook (facebook.com/free.equal) and Twitter (@free_equal).