Six members of Congress urged the U.S. Agency for International Development to fund LGBT advocacy efforts in Central America specifically to support advocacy groups in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. In their request, the congress members list specific examples of violence against LGBT people in the three countries. They make note of both large scale injustices, including the nearly 200 LGBT Hondurans killed between 2009 - 2014, to the individual stories of men and women who have been brutally attacked.
Switzerland: Parliament votes for law to protect LGBTIs from prejudice
In an amendment to a law that protects people of different races or faiths, the Swiss parliament has voted with 103 in favor, 73 against and nine abstentions to ensure nobody is targeted with hate speech and discrimination on the basis of their sexual or gender identity.
'It's nice to live in a country that recognizes diversity & supports the same equal protection for everyone.' Bastian Baumann, Sec-General of Pink Cross.
Russia fails in bid to stop U.N. staff benefits for all gay couples
Russia failed on Tuesday in a bid to stop the United Nations extending staff benefits to all same-sex couples after a U.N. General Assembly budget committee voted 80 to 43 against the proposal.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in July that the United Nations would recognize all same-sex marriages of its staff, allowing them to receive U.N. benefits. The U.N. now recognizes all same-sex couples married in a country where it is legal, regardless of their nationality. Russia wanted the General Assembly Fifth Committee to overturn Ban's decision and had been threatening to put the measure to a vote since December.
"We must speak plainly about what Russia tried to do today: diminish the authority of the U.N. Secretary-General and export to the U.N. its domestic hostility to LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) rights," the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Samantha Power, said in a statement after the vote. Read More
EU: Parliament human rights report addresses LGBTI criminalisation, trans rights and same-sex unions
The European Parliament has voted its "Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy." The report takes account of the situation of human rights, including of LGBTI people, and makes recommendations accordingly.
The newest report recommends that legislatures throughout Europe "raise the issue of LGBTI [lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, and intersex] rights in political and human rights dialogues with third countries and multilateral forums." The parliament also presses for national governments to "support organisations [sic] defending LGBTI rights by empowering them to challenge homophobic and transphobic laws and discrimination against LGBTI people." Read More
Peru: Outraged by the Civil Union rejection
Peruvians took to the streets shouting that all people should have equal rights after lawmakers killed the Civil Union bill which would supported same-sex unions. Heterosexual friends, gay, bisexual, transgender, lesbian, mothers, fathers, children and families called for equality while marching.
The march was led by congressman Carlos Bruce who introduced the bill and the president of the Harvey Milk Foundation, Stuart Milk, saying: “A mi no me callarán y pueden llamarme maricón porque no me ofenderé” -- They will not silence me and they can call me a queer, it will not offend me. Read More
US: Immigration and LGBTs - Central Americans in Limbo
Last year Obama extended protection from deportation to roughly 3.7 million immigrants. But most of the guarantees were reserved for people whose legally recognized spouses, children, or parents were already American citizens. This was small comfort for LGBT folk whose partners are often not legally recognized, are estranged from family members, and for whom giving birth to a child in the traditional manner is often out of reach. Read More
Europe: Immigration and LGBTs - Denied Safe Haven
Any hope that the same legal protections offered to EU citizens would be extended to LGBT immigrants when they arrive in Europe is often egregiously misplaced. In place of greater freedom, many are greeted with prolonged periods of incarceration. Instead of social acceptance, they are treated with contempt and face discrimination, violence, and sexual abuse in detention centers. Rather than understanding, they’re subjected to drawn-out, sometimes humiliating, decision-making processes designed to establish the “credibility” of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Read More
Kenya: Ugandan LGBT refugees launch UNHCR protest
There are many problems currently brewing in Kenya for Ugandan refugees who, after fleeing homophobia and persecution in Uganda, have been caught in a quagmire of funding and fraud issues. What follows is a desperate plea written by Ugandan refugees in Kenya, whose plight has been exacerbated by recent ‘people trafficking’ fraudsters who have descended on UNHCR pretending to be LGBTI seeking refuge and resettlement. LGBTI do not qualify for asylum in Kenya as their perceived ‘lifestyle-option’ is in breach of existing Kenyan laws which prohibit ‘unnatural’ sexual acts. Read More
US: Obama invokes Stonewall and LGBT equality in #Selma50 speech
Speaking before a crowd of thousands on Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge marking the 50th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday" and the historic civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery today, President Obama noted the progress made in the fight for racial and LGBT equality and the similarities between those two civil rights movements. Read More
Twitter's New Threat Reporting Tool Is a Useless Punt
Twitter, a service that admits it sucks at dealing with trolls, just announced a new tool for reporting harassment to the police. It looks like a good step at first glance—if you ignore the fact that it's a responsibility dodging, spineless fix that's highly unlikely to help anyone being harassed or threatened Twitter. This is a PR stunt, not a solution.
There is middle ground to be explored between castrating Twitter's capabilities as a free speech machine and introducing measures that actually counter abuse. Twitter could, for instance, employ proactive abuse moderators. These moderators could cooperate with appropriate law enforcement agencies and help people getting threatened make contact with police, not by giving them a copy of their complaint but by actually setting up contact. These abuse moderators could keep tabs on IP addresses known to spawn more than one abusive account. Read More
Facebook moves to curb terror, hate speech with update to its ‘community standards’
Nudity, hate speech, self-harm, dangerous organisations, bullying and harassment, sexual violence and exploitation, criminal activity, violence and graphic content are among the areas covered by the updated guidelines.
The move comes with Facebook and other social media struggling with defining acceptable content and freedom of expression, and with these networks increasingly linked to radical extremism and violence, including the posting and sharing of video and photographs of violent hate crimes. Read More
Op-ed: The 14 ways Uganda can break free from homophobia forever
LGBTI people in Uganda live with the threat of even more draconian legislation hanging over them. But there is hope.
Under a proposed new law, which is yet to be debated in parliament, even someone sending a text message mentioning homosexuality could be criminalized. Landlords would be punished for renting homes or offices to gay people – effectively making all gay people homeless. But it is not only the haters who can strategize.
Frank Mugisha, director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), shares his ideas for changing a nation almost synonymous with homophobia. Read More