What’s at stake in U.N. Human Rights Council election

U.N. Human Rights Council elections:   Why they are important to the international LGBT movement Continue reading →

New coalition in Tunisia fights for LGBTQI rights

In Tunisia, 20 LGBTQI and allied activist associations met yesterday to form a new coalition to fight together for the human rights of LGBTQI Tunisians. Continue reading →

Anti-LGBTI push at U.N. falls short

  The U.N. General Assembly today rejected a plan to undo the U.N. Human Rights Council’s June decision to hire a watchdog to investigate violations of LGBTI rights. Among the countries supporting the LGBTI rapporteur were South Africa, which had earlier indicated support for the anti-LGBTI proposal; Sri Lanka and Kiribati, two countries that still … Continue reading →

Opposition and delay confront anti-LGBT push at U.N.

The United Nations has delayed a confrontation about LGBT rights until later this month. At issue is whether the U.N. General Assembly will seek to nullify June’s vote by the U.N. Human Rights Council to hire a watchdog to investigate violations of LGBT rights. A large group of African nations, including Botswana and South Africa, … Continue reading →

Anti-LGBT nations seek to end U.N. advocacy of LGBT rights

A confrontation over LGBT rights is expected to come to a head tomorrow at the United Nations. [Editor’s note: That scheduled vote has been delayed. See: “Opposition and delay confront anti-LGBT push at U.N.”] At issue is last June’s vote by the U.N. Human Rights Council to hire a watchdog to investigate violations of LGBT rights. … Continue reading →

Zimbabwe prisons, Pakistan arrests, Belize delay

In Zimbabwe, National Assembly Speaker Jacob Mudenda told Parliament that homosexuality in prisons should no longer be ignored as it spreads HIV and TB. He said that Zimbabweans are “too shy” to talk about the high rate of homosexuality in the country’s prisons, which are overcrowded and a breeding ground for diseases like tuberculosis.  He … Continue reading →

Progress + disputes: Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia

A recap of recent news about LGBTI rights in three of the Caribbean nations with laws against homosexual activity (Guyana, St. Lucia and Jamaica), with help from coverage in the Caribbean IRN Blog of the International Resource Network: Guyana Stabroek News of Guyana editorialized favorably on Ireland’s vote in favor of Marriage Equality: “Marriage … … Continue reading →

Group calls Iran’s UNHCR response hypocritical, irresponsible

Iranian Queer Organization (IRQO), an organization supporting the Iranian LGBTI community, requested we share with our readers their summary review of Iran’s response to the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) by the United Nations’s  Human Rights Council (UNHRC). We provide IRQO’s statement here, very slightly edited. IRQO regards Iran’s response to the UPR recommendations hypocritical and irresponsible Iran’s response … Continue reading →

Two tiny nations drop anti-gay laws: Palau and Sao Tome

Two tiny island nations have dropped their laws against same-sex intimacy. Palau in the western Pacific Ocean, north of Indonesia, took that step earlier this year. São Tomé and Príncipe, in the Atlantic Ocean off Gabon in central Africa, did so two years ago, but that fact wasn’t widely known. In addition, the island nation … Continue reading →

Activists demand new probe of Eric Lembembe murder

A year after the murder of journalist/activist Eric Lembembe in Cameroon, human rights activists in Cameroon and abroad are calling for a renewed investigation into his death. Cameroonian authorities’ mishandling of the investigation has been so incompetent and disrespectful that it might lead to new homophobic attacks on innocent LGBT people by those who conclude … Continue reading →