United Nations: U.S. Aligned With Iran in Anti-Gay Vote

[kpete]

United Nations: U.S. Aligned With Iran in Anti-Gay Vote
Rice Must Explain Repressive UN Ban on LGBT Rights Groups

(Washington, D.C., January 25, 2006) -

In a reversal of policy, the United States on Monday backed an Iranian initiative to deny United Nations consultative status to organizations working to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. In a letter to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, a coalition of 39 organizations, led by the Human Rights Campaign, Human Rights Watch, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, called for an explanation of the vote which aligned the United States with governments that have long repressed the rights of sexual minorities.

“This vote is an aggressive assault by the U.S. government on the right of sexual minorities to be heard,” said Scott Long, director of the LGBT rights program at Human Rights Watch. “It is astonishing that the Bush administration would align itself with Sudan, China, Iran and Zimbabwe in a coalition of the homophobic.”

In May 2005, the International Lesbian and Gay Association, which is based in Brussels, and the Danish gay rights group Landsforeningen for Bøsser og Lesbiske (LBL) applied for consultative status with the UN Economic and Social Council. Consultative status is the only official means by which non-governmental organizations (NGOs) around the world can influence and participate in discussions among member states at the United Nations. Nearly 3,000 groups enjoy this status.

States opposed to the two groups’ applications moved to have them summarily dismissed, an almost unprecedented move at the UN, where organizations are ordinarily allowed to state their cases. The U.S. abstained on a vote which would have allowed the debate to continue and the groups to be heard. It then voted to reject the applications.

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/01/25/iran12535_txt.htm

[BushOut06]

1. Isn't it great when enemies can find common ground?

How long before these Muslim fundamentalists realize that they aren't so different from the Religous Right in this country? Maybe Bin Laden and Bush can go picket in front of some theater showing "Brokeback Mountain" together ;)

[ewoden]

2. Ah bedfellows make for some strange politics :-)

[Democrats_win]

3. Advocate Magazine has pic of Iran executing 2 young gay boys.

Picture shows the two boys hanging from their necks.

Truly Bush is a hideous wretch.

[tocqueville]

4. hey now you talk about REAL issues...

nukes, oil, terrorism... WTF.... but GAYS !!!!
that's the real enemy
:sarcasm: