Last week, Queer Liberaction in Dallas joined human rights activists around the world in protesting the Catholic Church’s opposition to a proposed U.N. resolution that would call for countries around the world to stop imprisoning and executing gay people just for being gay, and for the human rights of LGBT people to be respected.
The church said it worried the resolution would result in same-sex marriage being legalized everywhere.
I just got an e-mail from Human Rights Watch saying that 66 nations in the U.N. supported the resolution. Let’s just hope the Catholic Church was right, and we can all start getting legally married soon.
Read the HRW press release after the jump:
In a powerful victory for the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 66 nations at the UN General Assembly today 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.â€
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.â€
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.
Thanks again to Dignity Dallas for coming out to say that the Church is not some sort of monolithic organization that is against GLBT de-criminalization, but that difference of opinion exists within the Church itself.
Bravo to all 66 countries that supported this declaration. Shamefully the land of the free and home of the brave stood with countries such as Iran where Lesbians and Gays are executed because of their sexuality.
The introduction of this declaration carries huge symbolic weight. It would be that much more potent if the US’s doctrine of freedom and equality were actually backed by some sort of action instead of being used to kick up war time fervor.
If anyone needed a reason for why grassroots organizations like Queer Liberaction need to be encouraged in their efforts, this disappointing news out of the United Nations is it. Not only did the Vatican balk at signing the declaration, but the U.S. did as well. Ours was the only major Western nation to refuse to sign the statement that would decriminalize homosexuality. The U.S. should lead the way in making sure other governments are granting more freedoms for their people, not less. More than 50 countries opposed the declaration, including members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, which said that protecting sexual orientation could lead to “the social normalization and possibly the legalization of deplorable acts” such as pedophilia and incest. We stood with these Muslim nations and against all 27 European Union members, Japan, Australia, Mexico and three dozen other countries. I suggest that we forget about demonstrating outside Catholic churches and instead take our protest all the way to Washington, D.C.!
HELL YEAH!!!