Gay rights campaigners hope the UN's landmark discussion on LGBT rights will send a 'strong signal' to anti-gay governments.
Activists around the world are excited about a UN debate on LGBT rights, calling the event a ‘historic development’.
Tomorrow’s panel discussion in Geneva, Switzerland, on discrimination and violence against LGBT people marks the first time the UN Human Rights Council has focused on gender identity and sexual orientation.
Campaigners have applauded the event, which includes panelists from the US, Europe, Brazil and Pakistan.
UN human rights monitors Arc International say the panel represents an important step on the path towards equality.
‘The upcoming panel is a historic development,’ Arc co-director John Fisher told Gay Star News.
‘Human rights defenders from all regions will be engaging in the discussion to urge states to fulfill their responsibilities under international law.’
Global gay rights group Kaleidoscope shares LGBT activists’ excitement about the event.
A spokesman for the group told GSN: ‘If the UN Human Rights Council reaffirms its commitment tomorrow to fighting discrimination and persecution of LGBT people it will send a strong signal to countries still criminalizing homosexuality or planning to introduce similar legislation which aims to limit the freedom of expression and association for LGBT people.’
However, last week, a leaked letter from Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN Zamir Akram, representing the 56 Islamic states in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), revealed opposition to the panel and the concept of gay rights at all.
Nevertheless, Kaleidoscope says it is optimistic that the debate tomorrow will highlight the message that LGBT rights are human rights.
The spokesman said: ‘We believe it is important to remind those opposing the debate that it is the council's mandate to promote universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction.
‘LGBT people deserve the same respect, dignity, rights and protection as everyone else.’
Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has called Akram’s attempt to block discussion of gay rights as ‘shameful’ and ‘bigoted’.
‘He is living in the dark ages, ignoring scientific understanding and humanitarian ethics,’ he said.
‘His homophobic views are an insult to the estimated nine million lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Pakistanis. They have human rights too.’
Despite Commonwealth general secretary Kamalesh Sharma condemning homophobia, his message has fallen on deaf ears in many member states in Africa, with countries such as Uganda and Gambia persisting with homophobic laws which see gay men and women imprisoned for their sexuality.
Homosexuality is illegal in 38 African countries, with Mauritania, Sudan, and northern Nigeria allowing for the death penalty.
UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon last month called on African nations to respect LGBT rights and Kaleidoscope’s Africa representative, Adebisi Alimi, hopes the panel discussion will help further gay rights in the continent.
‘We do not expect a celebration from some African countries who will be having this conversation,’ he told GSN.
‘There will be opposition and I am sure groups from African and Islamic states are working on presentations, but at the same time we are expecting pro-gay LGBT human rights groups to also put forward a very strong case.
‘There is progress happening in some countries because we having this discussion at the UN level. The discussion was not there five years ago and was not there probably four years ago. It’s now 2012 and we are moving forward.’
The debate can be watched live tomorrow (7 March), midday to 3pm central European time, here.
Πηγή: www.gaystarnews.com
Τρίτη 6 Μαρτίου 2012
London 2012 Olympic bosses celebrate with diversity day.
LOCOG Olympic organizers praised by equality minister Lynne Featherstone for gay sport support.
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) has held a ‘Diversity Day’ today (6 March) to back it’s social credentials.
LOCOG bosses were joined for the day by Britain’s equality minister, Lynne Featherstone MP, and members of the LOCOG diversity board, including gay former-NBA star John Amaechi.
Featherstone said: ‘With the eyes of the world on the UK as we host the Olympic Games this summer it’s more important than ever that we ensure sport is open and welcoming to participants and spectators alike.
‘I applaud LOCOG for their work to ensure the games are as diverse and inclusive as possible. They were one of the first bodies to sign the government’s Sport Charter to tackle abuse and discrimination in sport, particularly that faced by LGB&T people, when it launched last year. The message is the London 2012 Games are for everyone to enjoy.’
Stephen Frost, a former public affairs director for Stonewall, Britain’s leading lesbian, gay and bisexual campaign group is now head of diversity and inclusion at LOCOG.
He told Gay Star News: ‘We’ve deliberately targeted the LGBTI community through outreach in three key areas: Sport; Workforce and Volunteers; and Business.
‘We’re committed to ensuring that there are no barriers to LGBTI people participating in all aspects of the London Olympics – this needs to be business as usual for us.’
Janice Lawton from London was one person for whom sexuality was no barrier when she jumped at the chance to volunteer during the games.
She told GSN: ‘I really wanted to be part of the Olympics. I love the Olympics, both summer and winter games, and did not want to miss this opportunity to be part of it. I’m looking forward to being an ambassador of London – putting on my uniform, doing my job and helping people along the way.’
LOCOG’s selection process for volunteers included detailed requirements for the disclosure of personal information, but this didn’t pose a problem for Lawton:
She said: ‘I did disclose my ethnicity, gender and sexuality in the monitoring section of the application form and felt quite comfortable with this. It is important to disclose this information as it helps with statistics and to see the true diversity of the volunteers.’
Frost said the Olympics presents a unique moment and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for London’s LGBTI community: ‘Everyone can be involved in the Olympics, there’s a million ways. The games represents a step-change for London and we need everyone to get behind it.’
However it is not clear if there will be any more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people actually competing in this year’s Olympics. At the last games, in Beijing in 2008, statistics suggest only 0.1% of sportsmen and women were openly lesbian and gay.
The diversity day particularly highlighted the organizers efforts to involve black and minority ethnic communities and to bring in disabled people and ensure good disabled access to Olympic facilities and to other facilities in London which will be used during the games, including public transport.
Πηγή:www.gaystarnews.com
LOCOG bosses were joined for the day by Britain’s equality minister, Lynne Featherstone MP, and members of the LOCOG diversity board, including gay former-NBA star John Amaechi.
Featherstone said: ‘With the eyes of the world on the UK as we host the Olympic Games this summer it’s more important than ever that we ensure sport is open and welcoming to participants and spectators alike.
‘I applaud LOCOG for their work to ensure the games are as diverse and inclusive as possible. They were one of the first bodies to sign the government’s Sport Charter to tackle abuse and discrimination in sport, particularly that faced by LGB&T people, when it launched last year. The message is the London 2012 Games are for everyone to enjoy.’
Stephen Frost, a former public affairs director for Stonewall, Britain’s leading lesbian, gay and bisexual campaign group is now head of diversity and inclusion at LOCOG.
He told Gay Star News: ‘We’ve deliberately targeted the LGBTI community through outreach in three key areas: Sport; Workforce and Volunteers; and Business.
‘We’re committed to ensuring that there are no barriers to LGBTI people participating in all aspects of the London Olympics – this needs to be business as usual for us.’
Janice Lawton from London was one person for whom sexuality was no barrier when she jumped at the chance to volunteer during the games.
She told GSN: ‘I really wanted to be part of the Olympics. I love the Olympics, both summer and winter games, and did not want to miss this opportunity to be part of it. I’m looking forward to being an ambassador of London – putting on my uniform, doing my job and helping people along the way.’
LOCOG’s selection process for volunteers included detailed requirements for the disclosure of personal information, but this didn’t pose a problem for Lawton:
She said: ‘I did disclose my ethnicity, gender and sexuality in the monitoring section of the application form and felt quite comfortable with this. It is important to disclose this information as it helps with statistics and to see the true diversity of the volunteers.’
Frost said the Olympics presents a unique moment and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for London’s LGBTI community: ‘Everyone can be involved in the Olympics, there’s a million ways. The games represents a step-change for London and we need everyone to get behind it.’
However it is not clear if there will be any more lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people actually competing in this year’s Olympics. At the last games, in Beijing in 2008, statistics suggest only 0.1% of sportsmen and women were openly lesbian and gay.
The diversity day particularly highlighted the organizers efforts to involve black and minority ethnic communities and to bring in disabled people and ensure good disabled access to Olympic facilities and to other facilities in London which will be used during the games, including public transport.
Πηγή:www.gaystarnews.com
Lesbian couple can both be mother, Israel court rules.
Israel court rules in favor of lesbian couple in unprecedented move for worldwide motherhood debate.
Photo by Andrew Ratto.
An Israeli lesbian couple have both been recognized as the mothers of a baby boy by the court, in an unprecedented move for the country.
The lesbian couple underwent a medical procedure with the permission of the government six years ago, in which the egg of one woman was fertilized with the sperm of an anonymous donor and implanted in the womb of her partner.
Their son was born in 2007, but Israel’s Interior Ministry said the woman who donated the egg would have to apply for adoption.
The state claimed it would not be possible to recognize both women as mothers of the child, and emphasised this was told to the couple prior to the insemination.
But Judge Alyssa Miller, of Ramat Gan Family Court, overruled the ministry and criticized the state's requirements of the egg donor, known as 'T', to adopt the boy.
She said: ‘In the case before us, T and the minor are blood relatives. The minor is T's flesh and blood.
‘Therefore, there is no clear reason why T could adopt him, a possibility that contradicts common sense and healthy logic.’
The couple’s lawyer said: ‘This is a great achievement. This is a precedent not only on a national level, but on a worldwide level.’
In the USA, the Florida courts are currently debating the case of a lesbian couple, a biological and birth mother who have separated leading to a custody battle over their eight-year-old girl.
Israel is one of the most progressive countries in the region for gay rights, being the first country in Asia where homosexuals were protected by anti-discrimination laws.
Πηγή:www.gaystarnews.com
President of Belarus would rather be ‘a dictator than gay’.
The president of Belarus has responded to German criticisms of his government’s human rights record and accusations of a dictatorship in the land-locked European state by saying it is ‘better to be a dictator than gay’.
Alexander Lukashenko has been described as the “last dictator in Europe” before but his latest comment comes after Germany’s gay Foreign Minister criticised his eighteen-year rule and recalled the German ambassador from Minsk.
Guido Westerwelle is Germany’s first openly gay foreign minister and was the country’s Vice Chancellor from 2009 to 2011.
After criticising Lukashenko’s human rights record, the Belarusian leader hit back at his sexuality, telling local news agency Belta: “At the forefront there are two types of politicians [...] one lives in Warsaw, another in Berlin.”
“Whoever was shouting about dictatorship there [...] when I heard that, I thought: it’s better to be a dictator than gay.”
Under Lukashenko’s direction, Belarus has revoked term limits for its presidents. He won 80% of the vote in the widely criticised 2010 elections.
Homosexuality was decriminalised in 1994 but there are little protections for gays in terms of partnerships and discrimination law or hate crimes.
Lukashenko said last year he did not “like gays”.
Πηγή:www.pinknews.co.uk
Alexander Lukashenko has been described as the “last dictator in Europe” before but his latest comment comes after Germany’s gay Foreign Minister criticised his eighteen-year rule and recalled the German ambassador from Minsk.
Guido Westerwelle is Germany’s first openly gay foreign minister and was the country’s Vice Chancellor from 2009 to 2011.
After criticising Lukashenko’s human rights record, the Belarusian leader hit back at his sexuality, telling local news agency Belta: “At the forefront there are two types of politicians [...] one lives in Warsaw, another in Berlin.”
“Whoever was shouting about dictatorship there [...] when I heard that, I thought: it’s better to be a dictator than gay.”
Under Lukashenko’s direction, Belarus has revoked term limits for its presidents. He won 80% of the vote in the widely criticised 2010 elections.
Homosexuality was decriminalised in 1994 but there are little protections for gays in terms of partnerships and discrimination law or hate crimes.
Lukashenko said last year he did not “like gays”.
Πηγή:www.pinknews.co.uk
Σάββατο 3 Μαρτίου 2012
Video: Call to boycott St Petersburg over anti-gay law.
International protest against St Petersburg’s new law banning the promotion of “sodomy, lesbianism, bisexualism and transgenderism” have continued with a video highlighting the law’s effect.
The would punish the promotion of homosexuality with a fine of 5,000 roubles, £107 or up to 50,000 roubles, £1,070 for holders of public posts. The fines are increased tenfold again for legal entities.
Set to the finale of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, the video shows a young woman with a notebook demonstrating how the law would affect the city’s community and visitors.
The pages say: “Did you know that St Petersburg, Russia just voted on a bill that will make it a crime to read, write, speak, meet or discuss anything ‘gay’. The goal? ‘Gay’ = invisible.”
It continues: “The Governor of St. Petersburg wants his city to be Russia’s #1 tourist destination? If they pass this law, we won’t go there, our friends won’t go there, and our colleagues won’t go there. Millions won’t go.
“Governor, think twice. And enjoy this song, written by the famous Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky. A musical virtuoso who was also gay. Oops.”
AllOut.org has been urging people to sign a petition to Governor Poltavchenko pledging not to travel to St Petersburg. So far, 78,000 people have signed.
Polina Savchenko, director of Coming Out, an LGBT organization based in St. Petersburg said: “This radical law undermines the great legacy of our city’s past and future.
“If it passes, it would be illegal to mention that famed Russian composer of the 1812 Overture, St. Petersburg native Tchaikovksy, was gay.
“This law installs a culture of censorship in what was once Russia’s most cosmopolitan city and is a huge blow to the freedom of expression in Russia. At a time when people all over the world are opening up and coming out, this law puts Russia back in the closet.”
Πηγή:www.pinknews.co.uk
The would punish the promotion of homosexuality with a fine of 5,000 roubles, £107 or up to 50,000 roubles, £1,070 for holders of public posts. The fines are increased tenfold again for legal entities.
Set to the finale of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, the video shows a young woman with a notebook demonstrating how the law would affect the city’s community and visitors.
The pages say: “Did you know that St Petersburg, Russia just voted on a bill that will make it a crime to read, write, speak, meet or discuss anything ‘gay’. The goal? ‘Gay’ = invisible.”
It continues: “The Governor of St. Petersburg wants his city to be Russia’s #1 tourist destination? If they pass this law, we won’t go there, our friends won’t go there, and our colleagues won’t go there. Millions won’t go.
“Governor, think twice. And enjoy this song, written by the famous Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky. A musical virtuoso who was also gay. Oops.”
AllOut.org has been urging people to sign a petition to Governor Poltavchenko pledging not to travel to St Petersburg. So far, 78,000 people have signed.
Polina Savchenko, director of Coming Out, an LGBT organization based in St. Petersburg said: “This radical law undermines the great legacy of our city’s past and future.
“If it passes, it would be illegal to mention that famed Russian composer of the 1812 Overture, St. Petersburg native Tchaikovksy, was gay.
“This law installs a culture of censorship in what was once Russia’s most cosmopolitan city and is a huge blow to the freedom of expression in Russia. At a time when people all over the world are opening up and coming out, this law puts Russia back in the closet.”
Πηγή:www.pinknews.co.uk
Gay online encyclopaedia debuts.
WikiQueer, a gay, bi and trans online encyclopaedia has launched publicly this week.
The wiki site began collating content after its soft-launch last year and has now gone live.
Unlike Wikipedia, WikiQueer says it will allow dynamic content from existing online LGBT and wiki projects, content geared towards activism around issues, and in-depth information on the LGBT communities which may not presently meet Wikipedia’s notability standards.
WikiQueer founder and lead administrator, Gregory Varnum said: “I felt drawn to the concept of presenting LGBT information via wikis for years.
“Helping with dozens of pages and projects on Wikipedia and assisting with the development of specialized LGBT wiki projects fulfilled some of that. However, I consistently came back to the need for a truly comprehensive wiki by and for the LGBT communities, free of any community politics.”
WikiQueer is backed by The Aequalitas Project, a nonprofit organization “serving as an incubator for new progressive programs”.
Founder of POZ Magazine and inaugural member of WikiQueer’s global advisory board Sean Strub said: “WikiQueer enables a wealth of information about the LGBT community to be shared.
“It’s a far cry from the time–not so many years ago–when looking up “homosexual” in the card catalog at a high school library was so often the first step to finding ourselves and each other. I’m looking forward to the creative ways the growing WikiQueer community will develop and utilize the information we share and collectively own.”
Πηγή:www.pinknews.co.uk
The wiki site began collating content after its soft-launch last year and has now gone live.
Unlike Wikipedia, WikiQueer says it will allow dynamic content from existing online LGBT and wiki projects, content geared towards activism around issues, and in-depth information on the LGBT communities which may not presently meet Wikipedia’s notability standards.
WikiQueer founder and lead administrator, Gregory Varnum said: “I felt drawn to the concept of presenting LGBT information via wikis for years.
“Helping with dozens of pages and projects on Wikipedia and assisting with the development of specialized LGBT wiki projects fulfilled some of that. However, I consistently came back to the need for a truly comprehensive wiki by and for the LGBT communities, free of any community politics.”
WikiQueer is backed by The Aequalitas Project, a nonprofit organization “serving as an incubator for new progressive programs”.
Founder of POZ Magazine and inaugural member of WikiQueer’s global advisory board Sean Strub said: “WikiQueer enables a wealth of information about the LGBT community to be shared.
“It’s a far cry from the time–not so many years ago–when looking up “homosexual” in the card catalog at a high school library was so often the first step to finding ourselves and each other. I’m looking forward to the creative ways the growing WikiQueer community will develop and utilize the information we share and collectively own.”
Πηγή:www.pinknews.co.uk
St Petersburg passes ‘gay propaganda’ law.
St Petersburg has joined three other Russian cities in passing a law that bans the promotion of gay and trans identities among minors, according to reports from Russia this morning.
It is feared the ‘gay propaganda’ law will be used to silence the gay community’s public voice by punishing the promotion of homosexuality and trangenderism alongside the promotion of paedophilia.
Local news sources say 29 city legislators voted for the bill, five voted against and one abstained.
The redrafted bill now imposes fines of up to 5,000 rubles (£107) on individuals and up to 500,000 (£10,700) on businesses for the promotion of homosexual, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender practices among minors.
270,000 people signed a petition against the law.
The European Parliament condemned the draft law and the others already passed in Ryazanm, Kostroma and Arkhangelsk in a resolution on Russia’s presidential elections.
AllOut.org has begun a new petition targeting St Petersburg as a tourist destination.
The Don’t Go There letter has amassed 65,000 signatories and will be delivered to Governor Poltavchenko.
The letter says: “As the top custodian of Saint Petersburg, city of Tchaikovsky and Russia’s “window to the west,” we call on you to veto this draconian bill that could silence the speech of ALL Russians.
“Russia is a strong, independent country – but we all live in a globalized world. If this bill is signed in to law, I will not and cannot travel to Saint Petersburg, and will urge all of my friends and acquaintances to follow suit.”
It is feared the ‘gay propaganda’ law will be used to silence the gay community’s public voice by punishing the promotion of homosexuality and trangenderism alongside the promotion of paedophilia.
Local news sources say 29 city legislators voted for the bill, five voted against and one abstained.
The redrafted bill now imposes fines of up to 5,000 rubles (£107) on individuals and up to 500,000 (£10,700) on businesses for the promotion of homosexual, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender practices among minors.
270,000 people signed a petition against the law.
The European Parliament condemned the draft law and the others already passed in Ryazanm, Kostroma and Arkhangelsk in a resolution on Russia’s presidential elections.
AllOut.org has begun a new petition targeting St Petersburg as a tourist destination.
The Don’t Go There letter has amassed 65,000 signatories and will be delivered to Governor Poltavchenko.
The letter says: “As the top custodian of Saint Petersburg, city of Tchaikovsky and Russia’s “window to the west,” we call on you to veto this draconian bill that could silence the speech of ALL Russians.
“Russia is a strong, independent country – but we all live in a globalized world. If this bill is signed in to law, I will not and cannot travel to Saint Petersburg, and will urge all of my friends and acquaintances to follow suit.”
Πηγή:www.pinknews.co.uk
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