United Nations: See Past LGBT Labels

Clip description:

This video from the United Nations Free & Equal campaign celebrates the contributions that millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people make to families and local communities around the world. The cast features "real people" (not actors), filmed in their workplaces and homes -- among them, a firefighter, a police officer, a teacher, an electrician, a doctor and a volunteer, as well as prominent straight ally and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The clip is running all day today in Times Square.

Russia Fails To Stop Same-Sex Marriage Benefits For United Nations Staffers

Reuters reports:

Russia failed 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. Previously, staff members' personal status was determined by the laws of their country of nationality. But the United Nations now recognizes all same-sex couples married in a country where it is legal, regardless of their nationality.

Russia's attempt was opposed by the United States and the European Union. Thirty-seven countries abstained from the vote. The United Nations has about 44,000 employees worldwide.

UPDATE: IGLHRC reacts:

The failed effort engineered by Russia to undermine U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s authority deserved today’s fate. The vote was taken completely without justification and based on a specious argument that the Secretary General had overstepped his authority. He did nothing of the kind. Further, the vote offered a new twist on the kind of homophobic scapegoating we see globally. This was a disingenuous effort to shed the dignity of LGBT employees at the U.N., while clawing at the authority of the Secretary General. Those who sided with Russia should be ashamed of such a craven vote.

UNITED NATIONS: Russia Tries To Block Marriage Benefits For LGBT Staffers

Foreign Policy reports:

Last June, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a far-reaching administrative ruling that offered marital benefits for the first time to all of the United Nations’ lesbian and gay employees, as well as to other U.N. workers who had entered legally recognized domestic partnerships. On Monday, March 2, Russia gave the plan a resounding nyet.

Speaking Monday morning at a meeting of the U.N.’s main budget committee, a Russian diplomat demanded that Ban reverse his decision on the matter, saying the U.N. chief’s action violated a U.N. General Assembly resolution that left it to U.N. employees’ governments to determine whether are eligible for spousal benefits. Moscow has been weighing whether to force a vote in the budget committee, known as the Fifth Committee, to halt funding such benefits, a vote that it likely could win. Unlike the U.N. Security Council, the United States and other big powers don’t have the power to veto votes in the Fifth Committee. While its decisions are generally made by consensus, states can call for a vote.

“We will insist that the secretary-general urgently revoke the administrative bulletin” expanding benefits to same-sex couples, the Russian diplomat told the committee. Russia’s critics characterized the gambit as a cynical political maneuver aimed at checking the authority of a U.N. leader who has clashed with Moscow over its policies from Syria to Ukraine. Russia has transformed what is by all accounts a low-priority administrative dispute into a high-profile power struggle with the U.N. leader.

Russia's move is being opposed by the United States and the European Union. (Tipped by JMG reader Zhera)

AUSTRIA: Conchita Wurst Meets UN Head Ban Ki-Moon During Talks On LGBT Rights

Via the Associated Press:

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has joined Austrian cross-dressing pop star Conchita Wurst in calling for an end to bias based on a person's sexual orientation. Wurst teamed up with Ban on Monday on the sidelines of a U.N. conference to deliver their message of tolerance. Ban told reporters that he will continue his fight "against transphobia and homophobia." "I stand strong for equality," Ban said. "We are unstoppable," he added, quoting Wurst's words on the night of her victory at this year's Eurovision song contest.

More from Yahoo News:

The entertainer, sporting a demure dress and black high heels along with the trademark beard, shook hands and joked with Ban and sang for hundreds of cheering officials and diplomats at the United Nations complex in Vienna. "This year I extended benefits to same-sex partners of U.N. staff members... Discrimination has no place in the United Nations," Ban said to applause from officials, dozens of whom crowded round to get a picture with or autograph from Wurst. "When I heard that she won this Eurovision song contest I immediately knew that she was a star of the world," Ban said.

NEW YORK: United Nations Human Rights Council Endorses LGBT Rights

Via press release:

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) today applauded the United Nations’ top human rights body for approving a resolution condemning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, calling it an important step forward toward progress for equality and human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals.

“The Human Rights Council has taken a fundamental step forward by reaffirming one of the United Nations’ key principles—that everyone is equal in dignity and rights,” said Jessica Stern, executive director of IGLHRC. “This resolution puts the UN on a trajectory to address the discrimination and violence LGBT persons suffer daily across the world.”

“The council is confirming that LGBT people have universal human rights,” said Stern. “We know, of course, that the struggle is long, and that we will need the Council to focus on the violations we suffer for many years to come. But for now, we celebrate that the majority of States stood with us to declare, unequivocally, that human rights are for everyone, everywhere.”

The Human Rights Council resolution—led by Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Uruguay—followed a resolution in 2011 on the same topic led by South Africa and asks the UN Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights to gather and publish information on how best to overcome discrimination and violence.

Opponents of the resolution employed procedural tactics to defeat the text, by presenting a total of 7 amendments that would have eliminated all reference to sexual orientation and gender identity from the text, and made it applicable only to countries who proactively declare support for sexual diversity and rights. These amendments were defeated by vote. The resolution passed by 25 votes in favor, 14 against, and 7 abstentions.

Voting For:  Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Macedonia, Montenegro, Peru, Philippines, Romania, South Africa, South Korea, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam.

Voting Against: Algeria, Botswana, Ethiopia, Gabon, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Kuwait, Maldives, Morocco, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates. 

Abstaining: Burkina Faso, China, Congo, India, Kazakhstan, Namibia, Sierra Leone.

UPDATE: The White House applauds.

The United States applauds today's adoption by the UN Human Rights Council of a resolution in support of the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons. The second such resolution to be passed by the UN Human Rights Council, today's resolution reiterates that LGBT persons are entitled to the human rights and fundamental freedoms that are the birthright of all humankind, expresses grave concern regarding acts of violence and discrimination against LGBT persons, and requests the preparation of an important new report on preventing such abuses. We thank sponsors Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Uruguay for their leadership, and commend the Council for taking another historic step to reinforce the unassailable principle that LGBT rights are human rights.

UPDATE II: More from Buzzfeed:

The proposal’s opponents — led by Egypt and other members of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation — fought determinedly to defeat the proposal, which they framed as a form of cultural imperialism and an attack on Islam. “We feel there is an attempt to impose uniculturality” that “runs counter to religious and cultural practices of some countries,” said Saudi Arabia’s representative during debate. The language “In my opinion, this [resolution] is a human rights violation.” Pakistan’s representative was more explicit: “The wider connotation of the words ‘sexual orientation’ can be destructive and inimical to our Muslim [faith] …and to our youth as a whole,” he said.

But several amendments intended to gut the bill failed, and the final vote suggests the these arguments are losing ground even in the regional blocs that have historically been the most unified in opposing U.N. language supporting LGBT rights. Congo, Sierra Leone, and Namibia broke with most of the rest of the Africa bloc to abstain on the resolution, a kind of soft “yes” vote. Kazakhstan, a member of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation abstained as well. The vote was far more lopsided than when a virtually identical resolution was voted on in 2011, when it passed by a vote of 29 to 19 with three abstentions.

Obama Addresses United Nations General Assembly, Says Airstrikes Must Continue

Via USA Today:

U.S.-led airstrikes in Syria and Iraq are necessary to stop the terrorist threats of the Islamic State and others, President Obama told world leaders Wednesday. "The only language understood by killers like this is the language of force," Obama told the United Nations General Assembly in his annual address. The president also called on the world's nations and While there is a "pervasive unease" over a variety of global problems — from the spread of Ebola in West Africa to Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine — Obama told the U.N. delegates they are making progress in addressing them. "As we look to the future, one issue risks a cycle of conflict that could derail such progress," Obama said. "And that is the cancer of violent extremism that has ravaged so many parts of the Muslim world."

Paul McCartney - Meat Free Monday

Stereogum recaps:

Meat Free Monday is a campaign to convince people who eat meat to skip eating it one day of the week to help reduce their carbon footprint. As any self-respecting Beatles fan knows (or Simpsons fan for that matter), Paul McCartney is a guy who skips eating meat seven days of the week. He once wrote a song titled “Meat Free Monday” to encourage people to take that pledge, and now it’s resurfaced with a new video. The campaign released a new lyric video for the track featuring photos sent in by fans who took the pledge. It was posted this week as global leaders flock to the UN headquarters in New York for the first major discussion on climate change since the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen.

NEW YORK CITY: 300,000 March Ahead Of United Nations Climate Change Summit

Via USA Today:

More than 300,000 people marched through the streets of New York City on Sunday in what organizers called the largest climate-change demonstration in history. With banners, flags, floats and drums, protesters at the "People's Climate March" overwhelmed midtown Manhattan in flocks of vivid color, demanding action ahead of the United Nations Climate Summit this week. "I'm totally passionate about our planet and what's happening with our life here," said Heather Snow, 57, a massage therapist from Wilmington, N.C. "The whole Congress, everyone has gone insane, and it's time to end the insanity. I don't know how, I don't know when, but it's got to happen soon. We're running out of time." The massive march kicked off at 11:30 a.m. on the ritzy Upper West Side along Central Park before winding its way through the city on a two-mile route. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, former U.S. vice president Al Gore, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, and actors Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio joined thousands of protesters at the march.

United Nations Celebrates First Anniversary Of Pro-LGBT Campaign

Via press release:

Today, Free & Equal, the United Nations Human Rights Office’s global public education campaign for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality, releases “UN Free & Equal: One Billion Rising” a video highlighting the campaign’s impact to date. “In the past year, more than a billion people around the world have been exposed to Free & Equal’s message of equality and acceptance. Millions of them have watched and shared campaign videos and read and posted materials online,” said Charles Radcliffe, Chief of Global Issues at the UN Human Rights Office. “At a time when the rights of LGBT people being challenged in some countries, the campaign has helped to raise awareness of the stigma, discrimination and violence that continues to affect LGBT communities in all parts of the world.”

Watch the clip.

Robert Oscar Lopez Celebrates UN Resolution That Excludes Gay Families

"I have been to the United Nations and met with various representatives on the issue of same-sex parenting. I can’t reveal the names of the ambassadors I met, because this is all radioactive. But the bottom line is, whether they were from Europe, Asia, or Africa, they were more than aware that a freakish Nordic alliance of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland has been trying to turn the whole globe into some kind of gay utopian dream. The ambassadors I’ve spoken with are not impressed with the gay pride parades that take place in Copenhagen. In fact, most of what the LGBT lobby is advocating makes their skin crawl, and with good reason. They’re not morons. I’m no dummy, either. We aren’t fooled by this silly trick of trying to say that orphans being raised by their grandmothers are the same thing as two lesbians who manufacture a child using DNA they got from a fertility clinic. People have seen Blade Runner. People have read Brave New World. People know what it means to create human beings to satisfy wealthy people’s desire for designer kids." - Homocon horcrux Robert Oscar Lopez, writing about a UN resolution that excluded gay families thanks to a parliamentary move by Russia. Lopez' piece was published this morning on the website of hate group leader Matt Barber.

RELATED: Over at the Daily Beast, Jay Michaelson delves into the resolution and Russia's role in thwarting an amendment that would have vaguely included gay families.

UN Recognizes Same-Sex Marriages

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon yesterday announced that UN employees who have legally married will have those unions recognized even if their home countries don't.

Under the new policy staff who have married a same-sex spouse in a jurisdiction will receive the same benefits and recognition as those in heterosexual marriages regardless of whether same-sex marriage is legal in their country of citizenship. The United Nations LGBTI employee group UN-GLOBE welcomed the policy change, saying they hoped it will be recognized throughout the many arms and programs. "With this new policy in place at the UN, I believe that the entire UN system will follow suit, if history is any guide. And if any agency, fund or programme still refuses to change, we will make sure they hear from us,"UN-GLOBE president Hyung Hak Nam said.

Ban Ki-Moon: "I am proud to stand for greater equality for all staff, and I call on all members of our UN family to unite in rejecting homophobia as discrimination that can never be tolerated at our workplace."

UN: Tell Your Story On International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia

Via press release:

On the eve of the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has released an emotive, new video that focuses on the impact that each of us can have by sharing our own stories and by showing our support for our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex friends, colleagues and family members. The video, entitled 'The Power of Sharing' has been produced as part of the OHCHR- led Free & Equal campaign, which is aimed at raising awareness of homophobic and transphobic discrimination, and promoting respect for the rights of LGBT people. It focuses on the impact that each of us can have by sharing our own stories and by showing our support for our lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex friends, colleagues and family members.

Via their IDAHOT website.

UN Demands US Stop All Executions

From the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights:

The suffering of Clayton Lockett during his execution in Oklahoma on Tuesday 29th April, may amount to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment according to international human rights law. It also appears to run counter to the 8 th Amendment of the United States Constitution, which states that “…nor cruel and unusual punishment [shall be] inflicted.” We note that the execution of a second man in Oklahoma, scheduled later on Tuesday, was stayed by the Governor, who has ordered a review of execution procedures and protocols.

The prolonged death of Clayton Lockett is the second case of apparent extreme suffering caused by malfunctioning lethal injections reported in 2014 in the United States. The other case was that of Dennis McGuire, executed by the State of Ohio on 16 January 2014 with an allegedly untested combination of drugs.

The UN Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture have both previously called on the United States to review its execution methods in order to prevent severe pain and suffering. Most recently, in March 2014, the Human Rights Committee recommended the US ensure that lethal drugs used for executions originate from legal, regulated sources, and are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The apparent cruelty involved in these recent executions simply reinforces the argument that authorities across the United States should impose an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty and work for abolition of this cruel and inhuman practice. Thirty-two out of 50 states in the US still have the death penalty in their laws (in addition to the US government and the US military). Eighteen states in the US have abolished the death penalty, most recently Maryland in 2013 and Connecticut in 2012.

The UN opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances.

Bolding is mine.

UN Posts Video For Indian LGBT Rights

Via press release:

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Wednesday launched the first ever Bollywood-style UN music video at a press conference in Mumbai to promote its Free & Equal campaign for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality.

The two-and-a-half minute video, called “The Welcome”, stars actress and former Miss India Celina Jaitly. Jaitly, who was last year nominated by the High Commissioner as a “UN equality champion” in recognition of her support for LGBT equality, makes her musical debut in the video, singing a new version of the 1979 Bollywood classic, Uthe Sab Ke Kadam. The song was recomposed and remixed by Neeraj Shreedhar of the Bombay Vikings, and produced in association with the music company Saregama India. The dance moves in the video were choreographed by Longi – the choreographer for Slumdog Millionaire – who worked on the project pro bono, as did the entire cast. The concept for the video was developed by creative agency Curry Nation.

“It is an honour to partner with the United Nations on the incredibly timely and important Free & Equal campaign,” said Celina Jaitly. “I have been working for LGBT rights for many years, and I am honoured to contribute my musical debut to such a good cause. Music is a universal language. It can engage people’s passion, and that's when good things happen."

Ukraine Appeals To UN: Stop Russia

Trans Rights Are Human Rights

Via UNAIDS Asia & the Pacific:

Across Asia and the Pacific, transgender people face significant stigma and discrimination which prevents them from accessing the HIV and health services they need. Everyone has the right to live a full and healthy life with dignity. This video is proudly produced by the Asia-Pacific Transgender Network (APTN) in partnership with UNAIDS Asia and the Pacific. Thank you to all 21 transgender men and women who appeared in this video.

Google Auto-Complete

Inspired by a similar campaign about women's rights, the United Nation's human rights office has launched an ad campaign which notes the most common suggestions when Google searches are made on LGBT-related topics. More results are at the link.

RUSSIA: Court Agrees With UN Ruling, Dismisses "Gay Propaganda" Charge

In what activists hope may lead to a repeal of Russia's national "homosexual propaganda" ban, a local court has agreed with a 2012 ruling by the United Nations Human Rights Commission and dismissed the charges against activist Irina Fet, who was arrested in 2009 after holding the above "Homosexuality Is Normal" sign.  Gay Star News reports:

Ryazan regional court today (2 October) has now agreed with the international ruling, and cancelled all prior charges and verdicts. Moscow Pride is now entering into a separate process with the Finance Minister to compensate Fet for moral damages, which could take up to two years. Nikolai Alekseev, a lawyer and one of Russia’s foremost gay rights activists, has described it as a ‘severe blow’ to the country’s gay propaganda laws. Speaking to Gay Star News, he said: "Full justice is restored. It is written now in a Russian court. It is a decision that is extremely important. The Russian judiciary is moving forward with the international courts, and agreeing with their view of the legal aspects of sexual orientation." While the law being discussed is the regional gay propaganda ban in Ryazan, and not the federal nationwide ban, one ruling could affect the other.

Another report on the ruling can be read here via Google Translate.

NEW YORK CITY: Activists Confront Jamaican Prime Minister At United Nations

Via press release:

New York-based LGBT activist group Jamaica Anti-Homophobia Stand halted Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller’s exit from a United Nations session at the Ford Foundation in New York today. Shouting “Gay rights are human rights!” and “Portia, shame on you!” the group of seven protestors greeted the PM as she began to exit the Ford Foundation offices on East 43rd Street in Manhattan. Simpson-Miller stopped, waved at the protestors and blew kisses, then went back inside the building. Protestors paced the sidewalk outside the Ford Foundation for one hour with signs reading “Eight Gays Killed in 2012” and “Portia Protect Gay Citizens.” The group called for an end to Jamaica’s anti-gay laws, which tacitly condone attacks and murders of members of the LGBT community in Jamaica. Consensual sexual intercourse and interaction between homosexuals has been illegal since 1864. Gays are imprisoned for 10 years with hard labor under Jamaica’s Buggery Law and often brutalized and killed by anti-gay mobs if caught or suspected.

RELATED: Jamaica's Gleaner mocked today's protest, claiming the it had "fizzled" because of low attendance.

TODAY: Activists To Protest Jamaica At United Nations General Assembly

Via press release:

New York-based LGBT activist group Jamaica Anti-Homophobia Stand will protest Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller, on September 26th and 28th in New York as she makes appearances at the 68th UN General Assembly. Simpson Miller’s appearances come shortly after a spate of attacks and murders of gay men and transsexuals in Jamaica. Allies such as Queer Nation, ACT UP and the Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens will join in this opportunity to stage a protest Thursday, September 26th at the Ford Foundation (UN Session) in Manhattan at 11:00 a.m. sharp. On Saturday, September 28th, activists will stage another protest against Simpson-Miller at the United Nations Plaza, 1st Avenue and 45th Street, New York, NY. The protests call for an end to Jamaica’s anti-gay laws, which tacitly condone attacks and murders of members of the LGBT community in Jamaica. Consensual sexual intercourse and interaction between homosexuals has been illegal since 1864. Gays are imprisoned for 10 years with hard labor under Jamaica’s Buggery Law and often brutalized and killed by anti-gay mobs if caught or suspected.

The protest begins at 10AM at United Nations Plaza. I'll have photos/video later if available.