Gay rights urged in EU

[Faithless]

Amsterdam mayor urges gay rights in EU (http://uk.gay.com/headlines/9874)

GAY.COM/PlanetOut.com Network | Tuesday 25 April, 2006 10:53

The mayor of Amsterdam has written a letter to leaders of other European capitals urging them to advance and protect the rights of LGBT citizens.

Mayor Job Cohen also warned about the rise of anti-gay sentiment, which has affected the Netherlands in recent months despite the country's reputation for tolerance.

In the letter, Cohen called on mayors to "adhere to the universal declaration of human rights, and to do everything in your political power to open up marriage for same-sex couples and safeguard the right of public demonstrations in your city", the Agence France-Presse news agency reported.

Copies of the letter were sent to the mayors of Warsaw, Prague, Lisbon, Dublin and Vienna, as well as leaders in the Baltic capitals of Riga, Tallinn, and Vilnius.

Franco Frattini, justice commissioner of the European Union, received a copy as well.

Cohen's concerns stem from a number of recent incidents, including Gay Pride bans in Warsaw and Moscow and the rejection of a lesbian couple's wish to marry in Lisbon.

In addition, recent flare-ups between the gay and Muslim communities in the Netherlands have raised concerns about homophobia.

[LaiSteve66]

Gay rights FTW!

[Martino]

Reminds me of a story I read whilst in exile:

Axis of Homophobia: U.S. Supports Iran in U.N.

http://www.equalityforum.com/press-20060130.cfm

Iran successfully introduced a measure in the United Nations to deny two European gay and lesbian organizations official consultative status. The U.S. joined Cuba, Zimbabwe, Pakistan and Sudan in voting to deny a voice to these civil rights associations.

At the direction of John Bolton, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, the U.S. voted to deny consultative status at the U.N. Economic and Social Council to the Danish National Association for Gays and Lesbians and the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA). There are about 3,000 nongovernmental organizations that have consultative status, which officially provides participation in discussions with U.N. member states.

The Iranian measure to prevent gay organizations a consultative voice is consistent with theocratic Islamic state policy. As the U.S. State Department reported in its 2004 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, Iranian law punishes homosexual conduct with the death penalty. In July 2005, Iran executed for homosexuality two teenagers, one of whom was 16 years old.

According to Mark P. Lagon, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, the vote did not stem from “being against gay rights groups” but was based on an affiliation of ILGA with the North American Man/Boy Love Association. The State Department was aware that in 1994, the ILGA formally expelled the man/boy association. The U.S. voted to deny consultative status to the Danish National Association for Gays and Lesbians even though there was no such association.

Every major regional, state, national and international gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender organization condemns pedophilia and statistics support that homosexuals are no more likely to be pedophiles than heterosexual citizens.

The Administration is bi-polar. At a time when it is spending hundreds of billions of dollars and spilling blood to ensure minority rights for Sunnis and Kurds and democracy in the Middle East, the government simultaneously abridges minority rights for gay and lesbian Americans and precludes a voice for gay and lesbian civil rights organizations in the United Nations.

Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA), Co-Chair of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, called the vote “a major setback” for human rights diplomacy. The Administration policy is un-American and should be condemned by Congress.

[Faithless]

And John Bolton would probably say: "The United States applauds the Iranians for their stance on this important issue, but it doesn't change our desire to blow them to kingdom cum!"

And the would-be Iranian propoganda news story: "US vows to blow Iraq, make cum"