The world has edged closer to placing the same value on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people as it does on human rights. Sadly, not all states, including many African countries, are on the same page.

The 47-member Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted a landmark resolution on “Protection Against Violence and Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”. For the first time an independent monitor will be appointed with the mandate to identify the root causes of discrimination against people because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

The expert will, like other special rapporteurs, be tasked with talking to governments to protect LGBTI rights. She or he will have the power to document hate crime and human rights violations. The monitor, however, will not have a mandate to recommend sanctions.

The main initiative was taken by a core group of seven South American states – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico and Uruguay. Forty-one additional countries co-sponsored the text. A record 628 nongovernmental organisations from 151 countries supported the effort. Notably, some 70% were from the global South.

But the resolution was adopted by a narrow margin: only 23 member states voted in favour, 18 against. Six abstained. African countries remained opposed or reluctant to take a stand. Ten of them voted against the resolution and four abstained.

The strongest resistance to the resolution came from the Muslim and African member states of the council. After all, half of the more than 70 countries that still criminalise same-sex relationships and behaviour are in Africa.