War Number Three

"No ground troops." But there will be sanctions and probably within days, cruise missiles and drone attacks. Because two wars are not enough.

United Nations Restores Resolution Condemning Executions Of Gays

Last month a coalition of Arabic and African nations succeeded in removing a reference to sexual orientation in a United Nations resolution condemning the unjustified executions of minority groups. Today at the urging of the United States, that reference was restored by a vote of 93-55, with 27 abstentions.

Boris Dittrich, director of the gay rights program at Human Rights Watch, said he was "relieved" by the vote. "The resolution does justice to gays, lesbians and transgender people in countries where they are targeted for assaults and killings," Dittrich said. "Hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity must be countered just like hate crimes on the basis of race or religion." Mark Bromley, of the Washington-based Council for Global Equality, called the vote "an important victory." Rights groups worked ahead of the vote to lobby countries that had abstained earlier in hopes of getting them to approve a U.S.-sponsored amendment to restore the words "sexual orientation." Colombia and South Africa were among the countries they persuaded to approve the amendment.

I find it curious that South Africa, a country with legalized same-sex marriage, was one of the holdouts in the first vote.

U.S. To Attempt To Restore United Nations Resolution Against Gay Executions

Last month a coalition of African and Arabic nations forced the deletion of "sexual orientation" from a United Nations resolution condemning the "extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions" of certain classes of people. Next week the United States will attempt to have that phrase restored.

Speaking at a panel on Human Rights Day, US ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said she was “incensed” at the vote. “We are going to fight to restore the reference to sexual orientation,” she said. “We’re going to stand firm on this basic principle. And we intend to win.” The vote on this resolution is expected to come up in the General Assembly on 20 December 2010. The resolution, which the UN votes on every two years, has contained a reference to lesbian and gay people since 1999. It condemns extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions and other killings. It still includes references to a variety of other groups, such as human rights defenders, religious and ethnic minorities and street children.

UNITED NATIONS: Arab And African Countries Block Resolution Condemning Executions Of Homosexuals

A coalition of Arab and African nations have succeeded in deleting a reference to sexual orientation in a United Nations resolution condemning "extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions." An amendment calling for the deletion was introduced by Morocco and Mali and passed narrowly by a vote of 79-70.

The U.S. delegation voted against the deletion but abstained from the vote on the final resolution. Diplomats said the U.S. delegation also voiced disappointment at the decision to remove the reference to sexual orientation. The resolution, which is expected to be formally adopted by the General Assembly in December, specifies many other types of violence, including killings for racial, national, ethnic, religious or linguistic reasons and killings of refugees, indigenous people and other groups. "It's a step backwards and it's extremely disappointing that some countries felt the need to remove the reference to sexual orientation, when sexual orientation is the very reason why so many people around the world have been subjected to violence," said Philippe Bolopion of Human Rights Watch.

The resolution, which is presented every two years in the General Assembly, passed with 165-0, with ten abstentions, including the United States.

PhoboQuotable - Matt Barber

"This once again just highlights the fact that President Obama is fully in the tank of the radical homosexual activist lobby. In keeping with his commitment to ram through his radical agenda, the president has once again circumvented the proper protocol and procedure in order to push a very unpopular policy. Obama has thumbed his nose at all of the nations around the world that embrace sexual morality -- and the president, in the name of the United States of America, has once again publicly embraced sexual immorality." - Liberty Counsel douchebag Matt Barber, whining about the United Nations' official recognition of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission.

IGLHRC Wins UN Recognition

Over the foaming-mouthed objections of American evangelicals and some members of the GOP, today the United Nations granted official consulting status to the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission.

"Today's decision is an affirmation that the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people have a place at the United Nations as part of a vital civil society community," said Cary Alan Johnson, IGLHRC Executive Director. "The clear message here is that these voices should not be silenced and that human rights cannot be denied on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity." The resolution passed with 23 in favor, 13 against, and 13 abstentions and 5 absences. This victory is particularly significant, coming as it does after a prolonged 3-year application process in the sub-committee that makes initial recommendations on status. Despite full compliance with all procedures IGLHRC faced deferrals, homophobic questioning, and procedural roadblocks in the ECOSOC NGO Committee.

Voting yes was much of the EU and South America, as well as Japan and South Korea. Voting no: Bangladesh, China, Comoros, Egypt, Malaysia, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Zambia.

NJ GOP Rep. Chris Smith Works To Block LGBT Rights Group At United Nations

The International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has long been attempting to gain recognition as a consulting group with the United Nations, a status which would grant them access and the ability to comment officially on critical LGBT issues such as the murder and imprisonment of LGBT people around the world. In June, IGLHRC's recognition was blocked by Egypt "on behalf of all African nations."

After the U.S. delegation promised to pressure the UN on IGLHRC's behalf, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) vowed to stop them. Smith, who voted against the Matthew Shepard Act and other LGBT rights laws, says IGLHRC plans to muzzle anybody who preaches that homosexuality is immoral. He wrote the UN a lengthy letter demanding that they again decline IGLHRC's application.

Backing up Rep. Smith is the Christianist outfit Family Watch International, who has launched a petition campaign to the United Nations.

The IGLHRC is already pressuring a number of UN member states to change their laws to advance sexual rights. When the application was put on hold, the U.S. reacted very aggressively and announced that it was planning to take an unprecedented move to bypass the UN Committee on NGOs and go directly to the full ECOSOC body to try to ram the approval through. This has never been done before, and it has caused quite a stir among the UN delegations of many of the developing nations around the world. So we have a situation where the Obama administration is again putting support for the radical homosexual agenda above virtually all other considerations. In light of what this administration is doing domestically, we should not be surprised, but in this case, the United States government’s almost obsessive quest to advance sexual rights has been exposed to the whole world, and this should concern every American.

Once again, the American Christianist right is actively working to enable the murder, abuse, and imprisonment of LGBT people outside the United States.

VIDEO: Below is a history of the work IGLHRC has done for the last 20 years.

UNITED NATIONS: Egypt Blocks LGBT Rights Group From Accreditation

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission's request for accreditation as a consulting group to the United Nations has been blocked by Egypt.

The group, which had applied for "consultative status" at the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) three years ago, is an international NGO and advocacy group focusing on protecting the rights of homosexuals and lesbians worldwide. Diplomats from Western nations that support gay rights complained that Egypt and other developing states that have been criticized by rights groups for discriminating against gays and lesbians prevented the committee from voting on whether to accredit the group, thereby leaving it in limbo. "IGLHRC is disappointed by the vote of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations to block action on our application," Cary Alan Johnson, head of the New York-based group, said in a statement to Reuters.

The U.N. NGO committee has 19 members, among them the United States and Britain, as well as Egypt, Sudan, Qatar, Pakistan and China. Johnson said it was a "clear case of discrimination against an organization because it defends the human rights of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bi- and transsexual) people around the world." The U.S. delegation defended the work of IGLHRC. "This NGO is committed to combating discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity," the U.S. statement said. "It has contributed to valuable research on HIV/AIDs and its work is well known to this committee."

According to the British delegation, Egypt blocked IGLHRC "on behalf of African countries."

UNITED NATIONS: Turkey Demands Sanctions Against Israel Over Ship Raid

Calling it "banditry, piracy, and murder," today Turkey's UN ambassador demanded sanctions against Israel for this weekend's raid against a flotilla of ships who were reportedly bringing humanitarian supplies to Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. The attack has generated worldwide outrage. The United Nations Security Council has released the following statement.

The Security Council deeply regrets the loss of life and injuries resulting from the use of force during the Israeli military operation in international waters against the convoy sailing to Gaza. The Council, in this context, condemns those acts which resulted in the loss of at least ten civilians and many wounded, and expresses its condolences to their families. The Security Council requests the immediate release of the ships as well as the civilians held by Israel. The Council urges Israel to permit full consular access, to allow the countries concerned to retrieve their deceased and wounded immediately, and to ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance from the convoy to its destination. The Security Council takes note of the statement of the UN Secretary-General on the need to have a full investigation into the matter and it calls for a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards.

UPDATE: Thousands protested against Israel in Times Square yesterday afternoon.

SATURDAY: Protest At United Nations Over Imprisoned Malawi Gay Couple

This Saturday in NYC there will be a demonstration at the Malawian consulate near the United Nations in protest of the imprisonment of the Malawi gay couple who last week were sentenced to 14 years at hard labor merely for holding an engagement ceremony.

Date: Saturday, May 29, 2010
Time: 2:00pm - 3:30pm
Location: Malawian Consulate, 866 United Nations Plaza, NY, NY
Street: 1st Ave, btwn 48th and 49th Street, The closest subway is the #6 train to 51st street.
City/Town: New York, NY

The organizers note on their Facebook page:

This is the official NYC chapter of the international effort to show support to Malawians Tiwonge Chimbalanga and Steven Monjeza. The couple were sentenced to 14 years hard labour on the 20th of this month; their crime - being in love. Amnesty International adopted the couple as prisoners of conscience and has repeatedly called for their immediate and unconditional release, stating, “This sentence sends a strong and unacceptable message that discrimination is legally justified in the Malawi justice system.” The global outrage has sparked simultaneous protests planned in Berlin, San Francisco, San Diego and New York with more expected to follow as worldwide condemnation of the news spreads.

I will attend and post photos and video immediately afterwards.