As we embrace a New Year, I am honored to report about the very important work of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), a champion for us all.  You may have read the news that in recent years “the full United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) voted in favor of a US-led resolution to grant the IGLHRC consultative status.  IGLHRC is only the tenth organization working primarily for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) human rights to gain such status at the United Nations.”

About this magnificent achievement, President Barrack Obama expressed, “I welcome this important step forward for human rights, as the International Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Commission (ILGHRC) will take its rightful seat at the table of the United Nations.  The UN was founded on the premise that only through mutual respect, diversity, and dialogue can the international community effectively pursue justice and equality.  Today, with the more full inclusion of the International Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Commission, the United Nations is closer to the ideals on which it was founded, and to values of inclusion and equality to which the United States is deeply committed.”

According to members of the IGLHRC team, “Our work requires the development of strong human rights movements globally, which is why building advocacy partnerships is at the heart of what we do.  As partners, we work hand-in-hand with local activists to strengthen their capacity to confront human rights violations at home.  We also connect our partners to the broader human rights arena—including the United Nations system and NGO’s (non-governmental organizations) at the regional and global level.  Together with our partners we create visibility for human rights violations by monitoring and documenting abuses and by responding to human rights emergencies.  We stand firm with those who seek to change discriminatory laws and policies affecting our communities.”

At their web site is a section that allows visitors to see what communities in countries around the world are facing, a great resource also for LGBTI tourists planning their journeys.  For example, if you look up Indonesia you will find a link to a document headlined, “Police Allow Fundamentalists to Disrupt Another LGBT Event.”

The story begins, “Twenty-four hours after they issued a permit to do so, police in Yogyakarta, Indonesia denied lesbians, gay men, waria (third gender), women’s-rights activists, interfaith-youth activists, and other human-rights activists the right to hold a cultural performance to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO).”

The above is in stark contrast that in August of 2009 the President of Indonesia officially opened and welcomed the 9th International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific, held in the ostensibly gay-friendly Bali, which has gay clothing optional resorts, a popular gay beach and gay nightclubs.

“Four critical goals shape our work,” they continued.  “We advocate for the elimination of discriminatory laws, policies and practices, such as sodomy laws which empower police and other authorities to abuse, harass, extort, imprison and execute us.  We support the enactment and implementation of anti-discrimination laws, policies and practices to help build a world that is more equitable and fair.  We strive to reduce family, community and state-sanctioned violence, publicly condemning all forms of violence against individuals because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.  And we actively promote economic, social and cultural rights such as those related to employment, housing, education and health.”

They further explained, “Our work is critically needed.  More than 80 countries still criminalize consensual same-sex intimacy.  And every day in countries around the world, from Brazil to Botswana, Bulgaria to Bangladesh, those who challenge sexual or gender norms are arrested, forced into psychiatric ‘treatment’ or marriage, denied basic job protections, healthcare, and parental rights, brutally attacked, tortured, and even murdered.”

In conclusion, the team expressed, “We work for a day when people with diverse sexualities can flourish.  We work for the day when all human beings are valued, and treated with dignity and respect.  We work for the day when justice becomes a reality, everywhere.”

Find IGLHRC on Facebook by searching their full name, and be sure to visit their official web site at www.IGLHRC.org.

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Photo: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton

Last week, the United Nations’ senior human rights official called on nations to permanently end legal discrimination against gays, which in some places includes capital punishment for consensual sex.

Navi Pillay, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, made her announcement just days after President Barack Obama said the U.S. government will use foreign aid and diplomacy to promote gay rights internationally.

Pillay, whose four-year term as High Commission for Human Rights began in September 2008, also called on international governments to abolish all forms of abuse based on sexual orientation.

The High Commissioner’s urging was issued in a report that was released on December 15 to the United Nations Human Rights Council. In June that 47-nation panel voted to pass its first resolution condemning discrimination directed at LGBT persons.

Although the resolution was hailed by the U.S., its European allies, and other countries, it was condemned by a number of Muslim and African nations.

“Governments and inter-governmental bodies have often overlooked violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Pillay, the first non-white woman to serve on the High Court of South Africa. “On the basis of the information presented [in the report], a pattern of human rights violations emerges that demands a response,” she noted.

The U.N. Human Rights Council report also condemned the ongoing practice of using the death penalty to punish same-sex relations in Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen, and called for legislation to decriminalize consenting gay sex in 76 other countries.

The report does not call for the legalization of same-sex marriage; however, it states that nations must take steps to guarantee that “unmarried same-sex couples are treated in the same way and entitled to the same benefits as unmarried opposite-sex couples.”

On December 6, President Obama announced that the United States would use all the tools at its disposal, including foreign aid, to promote gay equal rights internationally. That same day, in Geneva, Switzerland, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton promised that the administration would fight attempts by countries to criminalize gay conduct, as well as efforts to abuse LGBT people, or ignore such abuse against them.

Clinton, appearing before the U.N. Human Rights Council, told the delegates, “Some have suggested that gay rights and human rights are separate and distinct, but in fact they are one and the same.”

Obama’s memo said:
“The struggle to end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons is a global challenge, and one that is central to the United States commitment to promoting human rights. I am deeply concerned by the violence and discrimination targeting LGBT persons around the world – whether it is passing laws that criminalize LGBT status, beating citizens simply for joining peaceful LGBT pride celebrations, or killing men, women, and children for their perceived sexual orientation.

That is why I declared before heads of state gathered at the United Nations, “no country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere.” Under my Administration, agencies engaged abroad have already begun taking action to promote the fundamental human rights of LGBT persons everywhere. Our deep commitment to advancing the human rights of all people is strengthened when we as the United States bring our tools to bear to vigorously advance this goal.”

GOP presidential contenders Rick Santorum and Rick Perry have condemned Obama’s memo.

Rick Perry has issued a statement attacking the Obama administration over the memorandum issued earlier today directing the heads of Executive Departments and Agencies abroad to advance the human rights of and ensure the safety of LGBT people.

Perry said in a written statement: “Just when you thought Barack Obama couldn’t get any more out of touch with America’s values, AP reports his administration wants to make foreign aid decisions based on gay rights. This administration’s war on traditional American values must stop. President Obama has again mistaken America’s tolerance for different lifestyles with an endorsement of those lifestyles. I will not make that mistake.”

In recognition of Human Rights Day, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will delivered a human rights policy speech on Tuesday, December 6, hosted by the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in Geneva at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

The murder of the South African lesbian activist who was stoned and stabbed to death is part of an “epidemic” of hate crimes against gays, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday.

Human Rights Watch said evidence indicated Nogwaza was targeted because she was a lesbian, saying the murder “appears to be the latest in an epidemic of brutal homophobic attacks”.

“Nogwaza’s death is the latest in a long series of sadistic crimes against lesbians, gay men, and transgender people in South Africa,” Dipika Nath, a researcher for the rights group, said in a statement.

Police spokesman Tshisikhawe Ndou said investigators do not currently consider the murder a hate crime.

“We do not have evidence to conclude that the crime was committed against her based on the fact of her sexual orientation.

It is just purely murder and rape that we are investigating at this stage,” he told AFP.

Human Rights Watch said Nogwaza was stabbed repeatedly with glass shards and left in an alley, her face and head disfigured by stoning. A beer bottle, a large rock and used condoms were found on and near her body, it said.

Police have not made any arrests for the murder.

Activists say lesbian women are often victims of “corrective rape” – forced sex with a man to “cure” their sexuality.
A 2008 study found that 86 per cent of black lesbians in South Africa’s Western Cape Province live in fear of sexual assault in a country that sees an estimated 500,000 rapes a year.

Studies by the government-funded Medical Research Council in 2009 and 2010 found that one in four South African men admitted to committing rape, and one in three in north-central Gauteng Province, where Nogwaza and former midfielder for the national women’s side Eudy Simelane were attacked.

Violence against lesbians is a pervasive problem in South Africa, whose progressive laws on gay rights coexist uneasily with a strong undercurrent of homophobia.

Nogwaza’s body was found in the same township where Simelane was gang-raped and murdered in 2008.

Human Rights Watch said Nogwaza’s murder was “eerily reminiscent” of 29-year-old Simelane’s, for which two men were convicted in 2009.

“Both were ‘out’ as lesbians in the community, both were tortured and sexually assaulted before being killed and the bodies of both were dumped in public places,” it said.

By DMITRY RASHNITSOV

Ugandan human rights leader David Kato was severely beaten in his home with a hammer. His body was discovered in his Kampala apartment on Jan. 26 after the attack and he died on the way to the hospital.

“David Kato will be remembered for his dedication to his community and his country Uganda, where he remained a fearless and outspoken voice for the rights of LGBTI persons in the face of threats to his life,” said Tad Stahnke, Human Rights First’s director of policy and programs. “We send our deepest condolences to our colleagues in Uganda who are shocked by the killing of their charismatic friend and leader.”

Kato worked as an advocate and litigation officer for Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG). In October 2010, The Rolling Stone newspaper in Uganda included Kato’s name in the list of prominent gay rights activists and their contact details, with a banner over the photos calling to “Hang Them.”

“I am deeply saddened to learn of the murder of David Kato,” said President Barack Obama in a statement. “In Uganda, David showed tremendous courage in speaking out against hate. He was a powerful advocate for fairness and freedom. The United States mourns his murder, and we recommit ourselves to David’s work.”

A notable supporter of the “Hang Them initiative” was David Bahati, the Ugandan parliamentarian who achieved international notoriety for introducing the “Anti- Homosexuality Bill of 2009,” a bill that sought to introduce the death penalty for certain same-sex consensual acts.

Commenting on the Rolling Stone article, Mr. Bahati said that the campaign “would have been very helpful to law enforcement of these people; it would have been a great source for law enforcement.”

Kato was one of three litigants to initiate a court challenge to Rolling Stone and on Jan. 3 of this year, the High Court of Uganda ruled that the newspaper had violated the plaintiff ’s constitutional rights to dignity and privacy and issued a permanent injunction.

“The police must carry out a thorough investigation into this attack, including into the motives behind the actions of the perpetrator,” said Paul LeGendre, HRF’s Fighting Discrimination Program director. “We are concerned by reports that the police may have hastily qualified the attack as aggravated robbery. We call on Ugandan President Museveni to send an unequivocal signal to Ugandans and to the world, condemning and demanding an impartial investigation into the murder, and taking steps to ensure the security of LGBTI activists and individuals. We can only hope that David’s murder will serve as a wake-up call to Uganda’s leaders of the dangers of silence and inaction in the face of the deadly homophobic environment that has taken root in Uganda and to which many political and religious leaders – in Uganda and abroad – have contributed.”

Obama noted that his administration is working on protecting all gay activists from hate in America and abroad.

“At home and around the world, LGBTI persons continue to be subjected to unconscionable bullying, discrimination, and hate,” Obama said in a statement. “LGBT rights are not special rights; they are human rights. My Administration will continue to strongly support human rights and assistance work on behalf of LGBT persons abroad. We do this because we recognize the threat faced by leaders like David Kato, and we share their commitment to advancing freedom, fairness, and equality for all.” In the weeks preceding David Kato’s murder in Uganda, five members of the LGBT community in Honduras were also murdered.