In a follow-up to a story we covered last month, the United Nations last week voted to restore a reference to killings due to sexual orientation that had been deleted from a resolution condemning unjustified executions.
The United States led a successful effort on Tuesday to return LGBT people to the list of those whose extrajudicial executions the U.N. condemns.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. reintroduced the language to send an unequivocal message that “No one should be killed for who they are.”
In November, the United Nations General Assembly Human Rights Committee approved a proposal by several Arab and African nations to remove “sexual orientation” from a resolution condemning extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions.
In addition to slayings over sexual orientation, the resolution specifies many other types of violence — killings for racial, national, ethnic, religious or linguistic reasons and killings of refugees, indigenous people and other groups.
The UN’s main assembly normally passes similar resolutions every two years, and the most recent resolution in 2008 declaration had contained an specific reference to LGBT killings.
“The United Nations General Assembly has sent a clear and resounding message that justice and human rights apply to all individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation,” said Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the U.N.
The U.S.-backed amendment passed with 93 countries voting yes, 55 voting no and 27 abstaining.
President Obama said the vote “marks an important moment in the struggle for civil and human rights,” and that the “time has come for all nations to redouble our efforts to end discrimination and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.”
Related articles:
Filed under: National Headlines
Linda Harvey: Gay news sites trick kids into becoming gay
Florida teen fighting criminal charges related to same-sex relationship
Wash. florist who refused flowers for gay couple’s wedding files suit against state
Texas judge enforces ‘morality clause’ to split up lesbian couple
Catholic school: Transgender student must wear girl’s graduation gown
Another Ore. bakery refuses to provide wedding cake for same-sex couple
Graham threatens to pull support from immigration bill if gays are included
Matt Barber tweets homophobic cartoon of gay man tricking Boy Scout into sex
Russian police confirm man was tortured to death because he was gay
Parents sue S.C. hospital over child’s gender assignment surgery
Scottish cardinal to atone for sexual misconduct with younger clergy
BREAKING: Minn. governor signs marriage equality bill — ‘Love is the law’
BREAKING: French president signs marriage equality bill into law
Everything is bigger in Texas – even the homophobia
Pa. school still refuses to announce transgender grad by his chosen name
Damn decent of them, I say again.
But transgender people are still not human beings enough to be entitled to human rights
What were they thinking that it was removed in the first place?!
That’s more like it. ut I think it’s stupid they actually put that as a vote.
just because of peoples sexual orientation doesnt mean we shouldnt get equal rights. everyone is human and we are all different
And transgender people?
@Deb – they usually get the short end of the stick, sorry.
so, when they say homosexual do they lump bisexual individuals into that category as well? like DADT, you cant be gay, but what if you are bi?? always wondered that.