Anti-LGBTI push at U.N. falls short

[DonViejo]

Posted on November 21, 2016 by COLIN STEWART

Electronic display shows the U.N. General Assembly vote Nov. 21 on an LGBTI rights expert. The voting was on an amendment to defang an anti-LGBTI proposal, so a vote in favor was a vote for keeping the special rapporteur on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The U.N. General Assembly today rejected a plan to undo the U.N. Human Rights Council’s June decision to hire a watchdog to investigate violations of LGBTI rights.

Among the countries supporting the LGBTI rapporteur were South Africa, which had earlier indicated support for the anti-LGBTI proposal; Sri Lanka and Kiribati, two countries that still have anti-homosexuality laws; and Belize, which had such a law until it was overturned in court earlier this year.

Six countries with anti-homosexuality laws abstained: Barbados, India, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Somalia, and Trinidad and Tobago. Several countries said after the 84-77 vote that they would not recognize or cooperate with the new special U.N. rapporteur on sexual orientation and gender identity, Voice of America said.

African states, led by Botswana, retroactively sought to block the work of Vitit Muntarbhorn, whose mandate came into effect on November 1 as the first U.N. Independent Expert on the Protection against Violence and Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI). The position was created by the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council last June.

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https://76crimes.com/2016/11/21/anti-lgbti-push-at-u-n-falls-short/

[Behind the Aegis]

1. kick...this is IMPORTANT

[bdamomma]

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