PHA-Exch> UN: General Assembly Statement Affirms Rights for All

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Vern Weitzel <vern.weitzel at gmail.com>
crossposted from: "[gender-cedaw-vn discussion group]" <
gender-cedaw-vn at cairo.anu.edu.au>,



*UN: General Assembly Statement Affirms Rights for All *

*66 States Condemn Violations Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender
Identity** *

/(New York, December 19, 2008)/ - In a powerful victory for the
principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 66 nations at
the UN General Assembly yesterday supported a groundbreaking statement
confirming that international human rights protections include sexual
orientation and gender identity. It is the first time that a statement
condemning rights abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
people has been presented in the General Assembly.

The statement drew unprecedented support from five continents, including
six African nations. Argentina read the statement before the General
Assembly. A cross-regional group of states coordinated the drafting of
the statement, also including Brazil, Croatia, France, Gabon, Japan, the
Netherlands, and Norway.

The 66 countries reaffirmed "the principle of non-discrimination, which
requires that human rights apply equally to every human being regardless
of sexual orientation or gender identity." They stated they are "deeply
concerned by violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms based
on sexual orientation or gender identity," and said that "violence,
harassment, discrimination, exclusion, stigmatization and prejudice are
directed against persons in all countries in the world because of sexual
orientation or gender identity."

You can download a high
resolution version of the image from IGLHRC's website.
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http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001op2cFOzvrm0YO0r5vKTjzbBhkOOEO0KpthOrUzOGgXzp0rboYTBehibtJBi70cUlJmOUtW1HpUFC5_FYIl7p7bACvaktu80OAFdaZI7-dsxqfgcyPjb3fElro4zJBleVJZ8EAw-jx4PnQemGzlcZpwdZcp0SvSLSLVTzWAc-6rXDFavNfKuIRK1OhiY6EqIU>


The statement condemned killings, torture, arbitrary arrest, and
"deprivation of economic, social and cultural rights, including the
right to health." The participating countries urged all nations to
"promote and protect human rights of all persons, regardless of sexual
orientation and gender identity," and to end all criminal penalties
against people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

According to calculations by ILGA (the International Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Association) and other organizations,
more than six dozen countries still have laws against consensual sex
between adults of the same sex. The majority of these laws were left
behind by colonial rulers
(http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2008/12/17/alien-legacy-0
<
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001op2cFOzvrm3jE7o_vG5E0n_qYDXRWRNjZK_T1H_sujOPkMcAPQG6_6epjUhIZdlPEPlaJm0I72DosD-NZh8fNk_RUImdqyDp9w5UYO7_kF37UPDfHzfgJl85pxBsVtLAoZs5hEdrQ3_HwfY98FI5Vip83l2d_ct8V09TVIgqxgk=>

 ). The UN Human Rights Committee, which interprets the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), a core UN treaty, held
in a historic 1994 decision that such laws are rights violations - and
that human rights law forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity
happen regularly around the world. For example:

   * In the *United States*, Amnesty International has documented
     serious patterns of police abuse against lesbian, gay, bisexual,
     and transgender people, including incidents amounting to torture
     and ill-treatment. The United States refused to sign the General
     Assembly statement.
   * In *Egypt*, Human Rights Watch documented a massive crackdown on
     men suspected of homosexual conduct between 2001-2004, in which
     hundreds or thousands of men were arrested and tortured. Egypt
     actively opposed the General Assembly statement.
   * The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)
     has documented how, in many *African countries*, sodomy laws and
     prejudice deny rights protections to Africans engaged in same-sex
     practices amid the HIV/AIDS pandemic - and can actually
     criminalize outreach to affected groups.

The signatories overcame intense opposition from a group of governments
that regularly try to block UN attention to violations based on sexual
orientation and gender identity. Only 57 states signed an alternative
text promoted by the Organization of the Islamic Conference. While
affirming the "principles of non-discrimination and equality," they
claimed that universal human rights did not include "the attempt to
focus on the rights of certain persons."

At first, the Holy See had voiced strong opposition to the General
Assembly statement. Its opposition sparked severe criticism by human
rights defenders worldwide. In a significant reversal, however, the Holy
See indicated to the General Assembly today that it called for repeal of
criminal penalties for homosexual conduct.

This year is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR), and the General Assembly statement reaffirms the reach
and breadth of UDHR principles. The statement is non-binding, but
restates what UN human rights bodies have repeatedly said: that no one
should face rights violations because of their sexual orientation and
gender identity.

Since the Human Rights Committee's landmark decision in 1994, United
Nations experts have repeatedly acted against abuses that target
lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, including killings,
torture, rape, violence, disappearances, and discrimination in many
areas of life. UN treaty bodies have called on states to end
discrimination in law and policy.

Other international bodies have also opposed violence and discrimination
based on sexual orientation and gender identity, including the Council
of Europe and the European Union. In 2008, all 34 member countries of
the Organization of American States unanimously approved a declaration
affirming that human rights protections extend to sexual orientation and
gender identity.

Earlier in the day, the General Assembly also adopted a resolution
condemning extrajudicial executions, which contained a reference
opposing killings based on sexual orientation. Uganda moved to delete
that reference, but the General Assembly rejected this by 78-60.


     The signatories to the General Assembly statement are:

Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium,
Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cape Verde,
Central African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia,
Germany, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel,
Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta,
Mauritius, Mexico, Montenegro, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand,
Nicaragua, Norway, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Sao
Tome and Principe, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste,
United Kingdom, Uruguay, and Venezuela.


     The Full Text of the French Statement and the Webcast of the UN
     Session

The French, who initiated the statement, have created a website
(http://www.droitslgbt2008.fr/
<
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001op2cFOzvrm1JCFaYzymnOwXOXCDMdueSxD_Q1x6X6FLA9T0u1MPu9y833HwwvRkTJ80UuImDpn1I8LorwaOLceNBZg4n_R7gkilutnqqBix4w3DQ-Sc8Ci3kxdyszZ8S>)

about it with an attached document (PDF format, which can be downloaded
from http://www.droitslgbt2008.fr/documents/?mode=download&id=2
<
http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?e=001op2cFOzvrm3IJOEboAZLRbydj4hj-_RD9S8arwV45zPOvy0hGX8_gfKpo4C5lKMT_wEDrn0tgw17ZPoOElPLfSAEueqG1B9BvzvX9uRxfLAFf84H5tMVV8RM7y2XqUntF6QWpW35ajWRhY-ruC8yAbmD_GjJ7rDkKSdIRJFisE8=>)

that contains the statement in French (pages 1-2), Spanish (pages (3-4)
and English (pages 5-6).
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