UN Group Passes Gay Rights Resolution

UN Group Passes Gay Rights Resolution

The headline of this article is a bit misleading. Here is what the UN Human Rights Commission website says about the resolution:

Action on Resolution on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

In a resolution (A/HRC/17/L.9/Rev.1) regarding human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, adopted by a vote of 23 in favour, 19 against, and 3 abstentions, the Council requests the High Commissioner to commission a study to be finalised by December 2011 to document discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, in all regions of the world, and how international human rights law can be used to end violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity; decides to convene a panel discussion during the nineteenth session of the Human Rights Council, informed by the facts contained in the study commissioned by the High Commissioner and to have constructive, informed and transparent dialogue on the issue of discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity; and decides also that the panel will also discuss the appropriate follow-up to the recommendations of the study commissioned by the High Commissioner.

So, this resolution is to document, discuss, and study. It does nothing (yet) about violence and discrimination against LGBT people.

What is interesting is that the following 19 countries voted against even studying this issue:

Angola, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Djibouti, Gabon, Ghana, Jordan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Uganda

Not surprisingly, most of these countries are in Africa and the middle east. Their excuses: respect for religious sensibilities, respect for "democracy", lack of precedent in current international law. One idiot actually claimed that being gay is a matter of "choice", so it is not a human rights issue.

There were three countries that "abstained": Burkina Faso (africa), Zambia (africa), China

The countries that voted for the resolution (23):Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Hungary, Japan, Mauritius, Mexico, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay

It is interesting how CNN did not specify which countries voted which way...

I found this information on the following page:

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=11167&LangID=E