Rod 2.0:Beta #gay #news #lgbt #gaynews

VIDEO: UN Ambassador Rice on the "Intl Day Against Homophobia"

Today is the eighth annual International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO). Activities are being observed around the world.

Ambassador Susan E. Rice, the United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, released this video message today. Watch AFTER THE JUMP ...

Ambassador Rice paid particular notice to the plight of LGBT youth:

Today, as we commemorate International Day Against Homophobia, we rededicate ourselves to a basic but essential truth – that human rights are universal and must be protected for all. Homophobia, sadly, is present in every corner of our world. And, it is a problem we continue to face here in the United States.

At the United Nations, the United States is standing up for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and fighting to ensure that their voices are heard and protected. The United States was proud to co-sponsor and adopt an historic resolution at the UN Human Rights Council condemning human rights abuses and violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

We will continue to work in every possible arena to protect communities and promote societies in which everyone – especially LGBT youth – can live safely and without fear regardless of who they are or whom they love. We call on all nations and all peoples to join us in ensuring that human rights are universally protected everywhere every day.

IDAHO and the United Nations Declaration for the Universal Decriminalization of homosexuality were launched by Louis-Georges Tin, the Black gay French human rights activist. Background HERE and HERE.

The "historic resolution" referenced by the ambassador is the March 2011 United Nations Human Rights Council declaration to urge the international community to combat anti-LGBT discrimination and violence. The declaration adopted by some 85 countries in a Joint Statement entitled "Ending Acts of Violence and Related Human Rights Violations Based On Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity."

In December 2008, the Bush Administration joined perennial human rights abusers such as Russia and China to oppose a similar resolution. President Obama made history in September 2011 when he became the first sitting U.S. President to call for universal LGBT rights at the United Nations General Assembly.

Watch AFTER THE JUMP ...

Senate Confirms Pro-LGBT Ambassador to El Salvador

The Senate has finally confirmed Mari Carmen Aponte as Ambassador to El Salvador after a stalemate that lasted more than a year and a half. Republicans filibustered the pro-LGBT interim ambassador's confirmation only six months ago. But the nomination finally moved forward Thursday in a 62-to-37 vote.

Aponte had served as ambassador in San Salvador from September 2010 to December 2011. President Obama made her a recess appointee after she was unable to win Senate confirmation. But her temporary tenure ran out at year's end,  reports the New York Times.

In December, the same nominee got just 49 votes. Republicans had raised questions about whether her former boyfriend was a spy for Cuba and said an opinion piece she wrote for a Salvadoran newspaper had offended the people of El Salvador by praising President Mauricio Funes for banning discriminating against gay men and lesbians.

"The op-ed upset a large number of community and pro-family groups in El Salvador who were insulted by Ms. Aponte’s attempt to impose a pro-gay agenda in their country," Senator Jim DeMint, Republican of South Carolina, said during a confirmation hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at that time.

This time there was hardly a peep. Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, was the only lawmaker to speak before the vote, and he spoke on behalf of Ms. Aponte’s Puerto Rican heritage. Nine Republicans voted to confirm.

Latino activists are credited with pressuring the Republicans to move forward. The activists targeted Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, notes the AP.

Hispanic groups had pressed Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., to break ranks with conservative Republicans to ensure Aponte's confirmation. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus urged him to follow through on a promise to secure the votes for Aponte. Puerto Rico Secretary of State Kenneth McClintock, a Democrat, questioned whether Rubio would stop a qualified Puerto Rican woman from representing the United States.

DeMint––who has said that same-sex marriage is "destructive" to society and gays are "immoral"––led the opposition against Aponte. DeMint also vocally opposed Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor' confirmation––as well as that of Washington D.C. Superior Court. Judge Marisa Demeo, one of President Obama’s first openly LGBT appointees.

Aponte becomes the first Puerto Rican-American woman to serve as a U.S. ambassador. All Democrats and Independents supported the vote. The nine Republican senators voting "yes" were Rubio, Collins and Snowe of Maine, McCain of Arizona, Graham of South Carolina, Murkowski of Alaska, Lugar of Indiana, Ayotte of New Hampshire and Scott Brown of Massachusetts.

Some Background ...
GOP Senators Block Ambassador to El Salvador
Senate Confirms Lesbian Judge Marisa Demeo
DeMint: Gays Are "Immoral"

Uganda's Museveni: "Homosexuals Need Roads and Electricty, Too"

Uganda is pushing back on international pressure to repeal its harsh laws that criminalize same-sex relations. President Yoweri Museveni is criticizing the United States and Great Britain for threatening to withhold foreign aid over the issue, reports AFP.

"Before anyone gives me a lecture about homosexuals and their rights, first talk about railways," Museveni told delegates at the end of a regional meeting in Kampala attended by five other African presidents. "Homosexuals also need electricity, homosexuals also need roads, homosexuals also need railways," Museveni said to applause.

Meanwhile: China has announced that it "wants to build roads and railways in Uganda" ... with no conditions on human rights.

Thirty-eighty African nations have laws criminalizing homosexuality. Four nations—Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan—boast the death penalty for same-sex activity. South Africa and Seychelles boasts the continent's only protections of LGBT rights. African's anti-LGBT laws were a key focus at several sessions at the recent International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Homosexuality is punishable by up to life in prison in Uganda, which has been condemned by the international community for its state-sponsored anti-gay terror campaign. Parliament has revived the extreme Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which seeks the death penalty or life imprisonment for anyone caught engaging in homosexual acts for a second time—as well as for gay sex where one partner is a minor or is HIV positive.

In January 2011, Uganda's opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye said police should not waste resources investigating homosexuality and said that he would decriminalize the practice if elected. Museveni was later re-elected, extending his 25 years in power by another five-year term.

GOP Senators Cite Pro-LGBT Stance to Block Ambassador to El Salvador

Republican senators have successfully filibustered the confirmation of President Barack Obama’s ambassador to El Salvador. The Republican opposition cited a pro-LGBT Pride op-ed that she wrote as among their objections, reports AP.

On a vote of 49-37, the Senate refused to move ahead with the nomination of Mari Carmen Aponte, a Washington lawyer and Hispanic activist. She has served as ambassador in San Salvador since September 2010 after the president, facing GOP opposition, made her a recess appointee. Her temporary tenure is to run out at the end of the year. ...

Conservative anger toward Aponte is based, in part, on an op-ed she wrote June 28 in La Prensa Grafica, a daily newspaper in El Salvador, The essay was in response to a State Department cable to ambassadors worldwide urging them to recognize gay pride month.

In a Spanish-language piece titled "For the Elimination of Prejudices Wherever They Exist," Aponte wrote: "No one should be subjected to aggression because of who he is or who he loves. Homophobia and brutal hostility are often based on lack of understanding about what it truly means to be gay or transgender. To avoid negative perceptions, we must work together with education and support for those facing those who promote hatred."

South Carolina conservative GOP Sen. Sen. Jim DeMint––who has said that same-sex marriage is "destructive" to society and gays are so "immoral"––led the opposition against Aponte. The ambassador "has inflamed tensions in the very country where she should be improving diplomatic relations," claimed the notoriously anti-gay senator, reported the Washington Blade. "Her decision to publish an opinion piece hostile to the culture of El Salvadorans presents even more doubts about her fitness for the job."

DeMint also vocally opposed Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor' confirmation––as well as that of Washington D.C. Superior Court. Judge Marisa Demeo, one of President Obama’s first openly LGBT appointees.

Aponte is the first Puerto Rican-American woman to serve as a US ambassador. The filibuster by GOP senators––including Florida's Marco Rubio––has been sharply criticized by Latino leaders and politicians.

Some Background ...
Senate Confirms Lesbian Judge Marisa Demeo
DeMint: Gays Are "Immoral"

READ: Hillary Clinton Statement on Intl Day Against Homophobia

Today is the sixth annual International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO). Activities are being observed around the world.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released this statement on behalf of the Obama Administration:

In every part of the world, men and women are persecuted and attacked because of who they are or whom they love. Homophobia, transphobia and the brutal hostility associated with them are often rooted in a lack of understanding of what it actually means to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). So to combat this terrible scourge and break the cycle of fear and violence, we must work together to improve education and support those who stand up against laws that criminalize love and promote hate. As we mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia this May 17, let us resolve to redouble our efforts.

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I am proud to reaffirm our support for LGBT communities at home and abroad, and to call for an end to discrimination and mistreatment of LGBT persons wherever it occurs. Whether by supporting LGBT advocates marching in Belgrade, leading the effort at the United Nations to affirm the human rights of LGBT persons, or condemning a vile law under consideration in Uganda, we are committed to our friends and allies in every region of the world who are fighting for equality and justice. These are not Western concepts; these are universal human rights.

Despite these gains and hard work, there is more to do to turn the tide of inequality and discrimination against the LGBT community. If you are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, know that the United States stands with you and we are unwavering in our commitment to ending this cycle of hate.

IDAHO and the United Nations Declaration for the Universal Decriminalization of homosexuality were launched by French Black gay activist Louis-Georges Tin. Background HERE and HERE.

VIDEO: Hillary Clinton's Remarks on Death on Osama bin Laden

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a brief statement on the killing of Al Qaeda terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden.

"History will record that bin Laden’s death came at a time of great movements toward freedom and democracy, at a time when the people across the Middle East and North Africa are rejecting the extremist narratives and charting a path of peaceful progress based on universal rights and aspirations. There is no better rebuke to al-Qaida and its heinous ideology."

And:

"The fight continues, and we will never waver. Now I know there are some who doubted this day would ever come, who questioned our resolve and our reach. But let us remind ourselves, this is America. We rise to the challenge, we persevere, and we get the job done."

Watch Secretary Clinton's full remarks AFTER THE JUMP ...

85 Nations Sign Historic Statement on LGBT Rights at United Nations

On Tuesday, R20 mentioned a proposed United Nations Human Rights Council initiative to urge the international community to combat anti-LGBT discrimination and violence. The declaration was later adopted by some 85 countries in a Joint Statement entitled “Ending Acts of Violence and Related Human Rights Violations Based On Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.“

The full list of signatories AFTER THE JUMP ...

The international declaration called on states to "take steps to end acts of violence, criminal sanctions and related human rights violations committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity."

Colombia, Slovenia and the United States co-chaired the core group of countries that worked to submit the statement.

Some key facts:

— This statement adds new references not seen in previous LGBT statements at the UN, including: welcoming attention to LGBT issues as a part of the Universal Periodic Review process, noting the increased attention to LGBT issues in regional human rights fora, encouraging the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue addressing LGBT issues, and calls for states to end criminal sanctions based on LGBT status.

— 20 countries joined this statement that were neither signatory to the 2006 or 2008 statements.

— The statement garnered support from every region of the world, including 21 signatories from the Western Hemisphere, 43 from Europe, 5 from Africa, and 16 from the Asia/Pacific region.

"We are proud to recognize [the] historic statement, signed by a record 85 nations, reaffirming the rights of all people—regardless of who they are and whom they love," United Nations Ambassador Susan E. Rice said in a statement emailed to R20."Nations than ever believe that freedom from violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity must end."

"Countries around the world participated, including many that had never supported such efforts. And we hope that even more countries will step up," added Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. "Gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights."

The White House also released a statement supporting the declaration. "The President is proud of the work we have done to build international consensus on this critical issue and is committed to continuing our determined efforts to advance the human rights of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity."

This was the second foreign policy initiative in as many days regarding global LGBT issues from the Administration. On Monday, the U.S. and Brazil announced they will promote LGBT rights among member nations of the Organization of American States.

Five African nations signed the declaration: Central African Republic, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Seychelles and South Africa. Several Caribbean nations signed as well, including Cuba, Dominica and the Dominican Republic. Their participation is very encouraging.

Perennial human rights abusers such as China, Russia, Belarus, Jamaica and Nigeria did not sign.

The full list of signatories and text of the statement AFTER THE JUMP ...

Obama Admin to Press for LGBT Rights at United Nations

The United States will introduce its very first statement calling for the United Nations’ top human rights body to combat worldwide anti-LGBT discrimination, reports the Associated Press.

The U.S. declaration will be made Tuesday at the Geneva-based Human Rights Council and has the support of more than 80 countries. Although it is not in the form of binding resolution, the American push for U.N. action has helped win over a handful of new countries to the cause. A resolution could be brought to a vote later this year.

The U.S. document calls for nations to end any criminal punishments against lesbians, gays and bisexuals, and asks the global body to review how governments treat them in the U.N.’s human rights assessments. It acknowledges that “these are sensitive issues for many,” but insists that people must be freed from discrimination because of their sexual orientation.

The position is a marked improvement from previous years.

"We are very concerned that individuals continue to be killed, arrested and harassed around the world because of their sexual orientation or gender identity," said Suzanne Nossel, deputy assistant secretary of state for international organizations. "This statement sends a strong message from across the globe that such abuses should not be tolerated." Nossel said the U.S. was proud to be taking a leading role in promoting the idea that gay rights are human rights — among the sharper foreign policy redirections that occurred after President Barack Obama took office. 

In December 2008, the Bush Administration joined perennial human rights abusers such as Russia, China and Islamic states to oppose a similar French resolution.

Two years later, in December 2010, the United Nations General Assembly voted to restore "sexual orientation" to a resolution that condemned "extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions." The reference to sexual orientation has been included in the biennial resolution since 1999 but failed November 16 on a vote of 165-0, with ten abstentions, including the United States. The main opposition came from Muslim and African nations.

You May Enjoy ...
US Refuses to Sign United Nations Gay Rights Resolution
UN Votes to Condemn Anti-Gay Violence and Executions
Arab, African Nations Block UN Resolution

WIKILEAKS: Gambian Leader Confirms Threat to "Cut Off the Head" of "Any Homosexual"

The President of The Gambia confirmed making violent anti-gay threats, such as vowing to "cut off the head" of "any homosexual"—but dismissed them as rhetoric and insisted he was "not a monster." That according to a series of confidential State Department cables leaked by WikiLeaks and released in the Spanish newspaper El Pais (translation).

Read the cable HERE.

The February 2010 meeting between American Ambassador Barry L. Wells and President Yahya Jammeh reveal the American government was concerned about extreme homophobic statements from the West African leader, such as the decapitation threat and an order for all homosexuals to leave the country.

"Yes I did make those comments but did I actually cut off anyone's head? Have I ever arrested anyone for being gay? No, but Senegal has arrested and imprisoned someone for being gay and they receive the [Millennium Development Goals]. There are gays here in The Gambia, I know that. But they live in secret and that is fine with me, as long as long as they go about their business in private we don't mind. But if you are talking about marrying in this country, that will never happen. We will never accept gays."

The reference to neighboring Senegal was to the December 2008 arrest of eight gay HIV/AIDS activists. After being sentenced to eight years hard labor for "indecent conduct and unnatural acts", the convictions were overturned in April 2009.

"The dozens of cables sent to Washington by diplomats on the continent [show] homophobia is rampant in the streets and government offices in Africa," reports El Pais.

Jammeh also threatened to fire all gay and lesbian officers serving in the military.

The Gambian dictator's private comments are similar to those by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni—whose 25-year term was extended over the weekend—who also dismissed extreme anti-gay public statements. 

Some Background  ...
Gambian Pres. Threatens to "Cut Off the Head" of Homosexuals
UN Rep Expelled After Doubting President's AIDS "Cure"
Gambian President Can Cure "HIV"
WIKILEAKS: Cables Show Ugandan Mockery of Kato

UGANDA: Museveni Wins Elections, Extending 25 Years in Power

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has been declared the winner of Saturday's presidential elections, extending his 25 years in power by another five-year term. Museveni has vowed to stop any street protests and warned "he will use the military to crush any dissent," reports Deutsche Welle.

The Ugandan electoral commission announced on Sunday that Yoweri Museveni had won 68 percent of the presidential vote, well ahead of his closest challenger, Kizza Besigye with 26 percent. Turnout was 59 percent of Uganda's roughly 14 million registered voters. ...

However, European Union election observers said that what they called an unnecessary military presence on polling day on Friday had created an uneasy, intimidating atmosphere.

Besigye has already alleged that huge sums had been used to buy votes and to bribe polling agents, parliamentary candidates and electoral officials. "We reject the outcome of the election and reject the leadership of Mr Yoweri Museveni," Besigye told a news conference. He warned that Uganda was not immune from an Egypt-style revolt. 

In January, Dr. Besigye said police should "not waste resources" investigating homosexuality and he would decriminalize the practice if elected.

"The opposition candidate was standing against Mr Museveni for the third time," reports BBC. "Besigye and Museveni were allies in the guerrilla war which brought the latter to power in 1986, but they later fell out."

A series of confidential State Department cables leaked by WikiLeaks revealed American diplomacy around the extreme Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which mandated the death penalty or life imprisonment for the new crime of "aggravated homosexuality." Museveni assured American diplomats that no executions would occur, but warned diplomats not to publicly "push" the issue, or he would be seen as Washington's "puppet."