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Posted on Advocate.com December 21, 2010
Story Updated : December 22, 2010 10:00:00 AM

Gay Victory in U.N. Resolution Vote

By Julie Bolcer

Following weeks of intense lobbying by gay activists and the United States, member states of the United Nations voted Tuesday evening to restore "sexual orientation" to a resolution that condemns extrajudicial killings.

The assembly voted 93 in favor of the United States' proposal to restore the previous language, with 55 countries against and 27 abstaining. The assembly then approved the amended resolution with 122 in favor, zero votes against, and 59 abstentions, including the United States, which withheld support for reasons unrelated to the sexual orientation reference it worked to restore.

"Today, 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 E. Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, in a statement following the vote.  

The reference to sexual orientation has been included in the biennial resolution on extrajudicial, summary, and arbitrary killings since 1999. Last month, following the introduction of an amendment from Benin on behalf of the African countries at a meeting of the Third Committee, which deals with human rights issues, the language was deleted and replaced with a more general reference to “discriminatory reasons on any basis.” The committee, which includes all 192 member states of the United Nations, approved the amendment by a vote of 79-70, with 17 abstentions, and the resolution without specific reference to sexual orientation passed by a vote of 165-0, with 10 abstentions, including the United States. 

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued the following statement after the vote on Tuesday.

"I am pleased by the UN General Assembly’s action today to include sexual orientation in a resolution condemning extrajudicial and summary executions. The United States introduced this language to send an unequivocal message in concert with our many international partners: No one should be killed for who they are.

"Sadly, many people around the world continue to be targeted and killed because of their sexual orientation. These heinous crimes must be condemned and investigated wherever they occur. We look forward to continuing our work with others around the world to protect the human rights of those facing threats or discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation."

In the days leading up to the final vote, advocates urged member states to approve an amendment introduced by the United States to restore the reference to sexual orientation.

"This, of course, could not have happened without the concerted and passionate efforts of several governments," said Cary Alan Johnson, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) in a statement. "But what this victory also demonstrates is the power of civil society at the UN and working across countries and regions to demand that their own governments vote to protect LGBT lives. The outpouring of support from the international community sent the strong message to our representatives at the UN that it is unacceptable to make invisible the deadly violence LGBT people face because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation."

In a speech on Human Rights Day less than two weeks ago, Ambassador Rice said she was “incensed” about the vote in the Third Committee and vowed that the U.S. would work to restore the reference to sexual orientation in the resolution. Her remarks followed a speech by U.N. secretary-general Ban Ki-moon in which he spoke forcefully against the criminalization of homosexuality.

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• BACK TO TOPPOST A COMMENTREPORT ABUSE
  Name: Janelle
  Date posted: 12/23/2010 4:05:43 AM
  Hometown: Chesapeake, Virginia 
  
  Comment:
  Haha. U.S. Is kinda friendly. Mostly the west and the north are the most accepting. The east is ok. But the south are so racist and homophoebic. Going to school here is hell with all the rednecks waving the confederate flag around, even if I'm not African American. And there's absolutely no diversity here. And I've been bullied the whole time while being in the south, just cause I'm an openly lesbian. I've tried getting respect and I get it, but everyone uses so many gay slurs that it hurts me daily. By far California is the best place to live if your gay. And Massachusetts. But not the south. They're all the same. And despite the so told great schools here, (Which they are, great oppurtunities) the curriculum is the worst. Everyone is so stupid here. They can't even say their multiplication tables without using the calculator. Sure U.S. is pretty decent, but not the south. You just got to avoid that part of the country.
• BACK TO TOPPOST A COMMENTREPORT ABUSE
  Name: Franck
  Date posted: 12/23/2010 12:59:47 AM
  Hometown: Antananarivo, Madagascar 
  
  Comment:
  Jason, just because the Netherlands are one of the most accepting countries doesn't mean 100% of its population is friendly (and relating homophobia to Islam is a bit too simplistic). The U.S. might have a friendlier population than most think, but when we claim we're being treated like dirt, we're talking of the government, not the population. Last I heard, the Netherlands don't have all-powerful equivalents of NOM, AFA or FRC pressuring their government into caving in to the views of the bigoted part of the population. As for badmouthing Europe as an excuse not to make appropriate efforts: should the UK be excused of its marriage-in-all-but-name system just because France is worse? Should France be excused of its less-than-equal system because Poland is worse? Should Poland be excused of its homophobia because Russia is worse? Beware of such a logical chain, because at the end of it lie countries like Uganda, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
• BACK TO TOPPOST A COMMENTREPORT ABUSE
  Name: Jayden
  Date posted: 12/22/2010 7:58:04 PM
  Hometown: Fort Wayne 
  
  Comment:
  Amen Franck! God fearing Indiana here. The only thing I fear here are the Christians.
• BACK TO TOPPOST A COMMENTREPORT ABUSE
  Name: Jason D.
  Date posted: 12/22/2010 4:23:53 PM
  Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio 
  
  Comment:
  Franck, when I was in Amsterdam with my boyfriend five years ago, we were denied the right to share the same bed in a hotel room. We were in center of Amsterdam, and the hotel was staffed with waspy Dutch kids, not muslims. At first we thought they were kidding, but they were insistent. Never anywhere in the US had anything like that ever happened to us. It was embarrassing. So much for the tolerant Dutch, huh?
• BACK TO TOPPOST A COMMENTREPORT ABUSE
  Name: Franck
  Date posted: 12/22/2010 3:35:54 PM
  Hometown: Antananarivo, Madagascar 
  
  Comment:
  Why shouldn't I be irritated? Homophobes and wingnuts have been hammering me constantly with comments that "gays ask for too much". Now I realize that some gays think the same. They live in gay-friendly places that offer them lots of protections and forget that such places are tiny dots amidst the huge map that is the United States. I'm being denied the right to even be able to live with the one I love. Don't tell me it's a snobbish thing to want even just that most basic of comforts. From where I am, I see a small number of gays sitting atop their ivory towers and thinking that the rest of us are in the situation. Get real: we aren't. You might not be victims anymore. Be glad of it. Just don't badmouth those of us who still are.
• BACK TO TOPPOST A COMMENTREPORT ABUSE
  Name: Franz
  Date posted: 12/22/2010 3:07:26 PM
  Hometown: Seattle 
  
  Comment:
  For all of you patriots here, the only people that are "snobs" are people that are privileged enough to think that staggered equality is acceptable. And BTW privilege is a lot more complex than simply having more money than other people.
• BACK TO TOPPOST A COMMENTREPORT ABUSE
  Name: Billy Boi
  Date posted: 12/22/2010 1:44:21 PM
  Hometown: Bowie, Maryland 
  
  Comment:
  Come now, Frankc, I don't see how enervating yourself down to a pauper can empower anyone. This victimhood kick Americans are into is helping no one. If you can't be appeased for any reason, why bother...
• BACK TO TOPPOST A COMMENTREPORT ABUSE
  Name: David
  Date posted: 12/22/2010 1:38:25 PM
  Hometown: USA 
  
  Comment:
  And of course there are no poor gay people in europe. Last I heard they don't even fart. Must be nice.... LOL!
• BACK TO TOPPOST A COMMENTREPORT ABUSE
  Name: Franck
  Date posted: 12/22/2010 12:04:46 PM
  Hometown: Antananarivo, Madagascar 
  
  Comment:
  Aristocratic are we? I don't see anything aristocratic among my gay friends. Most of them are impoverished students, or destitute couples struggling to make ends meet... Geez, I even know a farmer. Please, where are the multi-million-dollar gays? Can someone introduce me to one of them please? Mob attack in London? Last I heard those disgusted the British the same way a Klan attack would disgust Americans. Now, I see many of you are posting from the North American capitals of liberalism - Boston, Toronto, ... ? Of COURSE the gays you know will be more well-off and aristocratic. What about the rest of the U.S.? As gay-friendly as Boston? As nice as San Francisco? I really doubt so.
• BACK TO TOPPOST A COMMENTREPORT ABUSE
  Name: Vikram
  Date posted: 12/22/2010 11:00:44 AM
  Hometown: New Orleans 
  
  Comment:
  John from canada is right. Gays have become so aristocratic and elitist we've become a parody of snob. It's gotten to the point where I can't stand being around other gay people.Ironically, the more snooty we get, the more trashy we seem to get.

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