While preparing to leave for the conference, Richard was in a dilemma. He had been acting in the musical, Fiddler on the Roof, playing the part of Tevye. He had grown a shaggy beard for the production, and even though BYU's dress code mandates that no beards are to be worn by faculty or students, he had been given permission to grow one for the play. Thus far that summer, he had become quite tan (except for where his beard was) and he felt if he shaved it off before leaving for the conference, he would look like a raccoon, so he decided to neatly trim it instead. As it turned out - the beard was a blessing. Because he was in an Islamic country and was conversing with many Islamic leaders, he is convinced that his beard gave him CREDIBILITY with people who otherwise wouldn't have listened to this white-shirted, clean-shaven American.

At the end of the first week, things did NOT look bright for the NGOs in favor of the traditional family. The opponents of families were powerful and were still getting the upper hand. Then a series of events began unfolding. For the first time EVER, the UN implemented a plan to choose 10 NGO voices to address the ACTUAL DELEGATES WHO WERE DRAFTING THE FINAL HABITAT DOCUMENT. The process whereby the 10 NGO voices would be chosen was as follows: Nominees from among the NGOs would be invited to "try out" for the opportunity of being selected as one of the lucky 10. Those lucky 10 speakers would be privileged to present their viewpoint to the men and women (Habitat delegates) who were drafting the final document. It was a rare and unheard of opportunity for NGOs.

A man named Johnson N. Mwaura, from Nairobi, was a member of that UN Selection Committee. He came to the booth where Richard Wilkins and the other NGO delegates from Utah were camped, told them what was up,and suggested they nominate one of their group to "TRY-OUT" for this honor of being one of the ten. Richard was not there, but in his absence someone at the booth nominated him, and Mwaura rushed to submit his name...only moments before the deadline. Wilkins said, "No-one in our group even knew about the opportunity before Johnson Mwaura appeared. Non-governmental representatives had NEVER addressed an official UN body before." But Richard admitted that when he heard he had been nominated, he KNEW he would be selected to speak. He also sensed in the next few days opposition would mount, and his life would become very difficult.

Richard immediately went to work, preparing his "two-minute" "try out" speech for the selection committee. He had decided to speak about "The Impact of UN Declarations on the Disintegration of the Family." He arrived at 10AM with the other nominees, prepared to present his speech. He says, "The panel of judges had barely begun their work when a representative of the women's caucus appeared, first declaring that the selection process was invalid, then demanding that 8 of the 10 speakers would be from their Women's Caucus. Thereupon ensued one of the most bitter and irrational battles I have ever witnessed.

For three hours the women's caucus continued the battle, saying such things as, "No man has the right to evaluate what a woman has to say, and "rules should never get in the way of justice." When other NGOs protested that their viewpoint should also be considered, the woman retorted, "those objections were irrelevant because the caucus's outlook was more important than other possible opinions."

After three long hours, Wilkins had had enough. Grabbing the attention of the raucous group he said, "I have been a law professor for 12 years,and never have I heard arguments that have such little appeal to either the rule of law or a sense of justice. There are limited speaking slots available, and the procedures to select a broad range of speakers have been in place and approved for some time. Now the Women's Caucus appears and claims that, because of its size and power, it is entitled to disregard those rules. This is quite like a litigant coming into a courtroom and declaring that, because of her wealth and prestige, she is entitled to her own brand of justice. Law and justice should treat everyone equally and fairly. It is time to get on with the established selection process."

After a bit more shouting, the irate women's caucus representative left the room, and finally the tryouts continued late into the evening. Arriving at his hotel room at midnight, he received a message that he had been chosen as one of the ten, and that his presentation should be 10 minutes long. He would be given time the following morning to use one of the conference computers to prepare his 10 minute speech.