Repression of LGBTI people in Guyana has come under fire from abroad as part of the past year’s United Nations review of countries’ human rights records. Among countries with anti-gay laws, the past year’s reviews also focused on Grenada, Guinea, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait and Kyrgyzstan as part of the U.N.’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, … Continue reading
Monthly Archives: July 2015
All mouth, no muscle — anti-gay party in Kenya
For a political party so weak that it has no members in parliament, Kenya’s Republican Liberty Party has an amazing knack for grabbing the attention of the media. The most recent example: The supposed plans for a 5,000-person nude protest if President Obama spoke about LGBTI rights during his recent trip to Kenya. Obama did … Continue reading
Uganda Pride: ‘Passionate believer’ tells why it’s important
By Stella Nyanzi My custom of preparing for Uganda’s Pride activities starts a week before the annual event. Today, I am starting my excited posts about #PrideUganda2015. I have posted about each year’s activities, starting with the first one in 2012. As an ally of the organised political LGBTIQ movement, as well as the social … Continue reading
Germany nixes Facebook’s dangerous ‘real names’ policy
Government regulators in Germany have ruled against Facebook’s policy of demanding that account holders use their real names — a policy that jeopardizes the lives of LGBTI people in homophobic countries. As The Guardian reported: “The Hamburg data protection authority said on Tuesday that the site could not force users to give official ID such … Continue reading
African LGBTI advocacy group gains official status
An Africa-based advocacy group working for continent-wide recognition of the human rights of LGBTI Africans has won official recognition in South Africa. Pan-Africa ILGA (PAI), the continent’s regional chapter of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), announced its new official status in the following press release. In 2014, about 150 African … Continue reading
Human rights official blasts anti-LGBTI bias in Indonesia
From Indonesia’s Jakarta Post: The chairman of the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) Hafid Abbas has called for an end to discrimination and stigma against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community, urging the government to issue more supportive regulations. “They have been marginalized, inflicted with violence, isolation. It cannot be justified. … Continue reading
LGBTI life improves in homophobic Cameroon
In Cameroon, the number of prosecutions and convictions of LGBTI people has dropped markedly after years of hard work by local activists and two attorneys advocating for recognition of the human rights of LGBTI people. Cameroon has not repealed the law known as “347 bis,” which provides for up to five years in prison for … Continue reading
On African island, ‘Tchindas’ goes beyond LGBTI acceptance
When I saw the premiere of “Tchindas” earlier this month, I expected to see a documentary about LGBTI people who were accepted by their neighbors in a tolerant community of the Cape Verde islands, off the coast of West Africa. That would have been an amazing contrast to the violent homophobia and transphobia that … Continue reading
Obama in Kenya: ‘Treat people equally under the law’
The Washington Blade reports: President Obama [today] discussed LGBT rights during a press conference in Nairobi with his Kenyan counterpart. “With respect to the rights of gays and lesbians, I’ve been consistent all across Africa on this,” said Obama in response to a question from Reuters reporter Jeff Mason about Kenya’s LGBT rights record. “I … Continue reading
Obama: one of many opposed to Kenya’s anti-gay policies
Repression of LGBTI people in Kenya and Guinea has come under fire from abroad as part of the past year’s United Nations review of countries’ human rights records. U.S. President Barack Obama, currently visiting the East African nation of Kenya, is not the only defender of human rights for LGBTI people who is displeased with … Continue reading
