South Africa Votes for UN Gay Rights Position

Only three African countries support
Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender
Identity

South Africa opposed members of the
African Group in the United Nations General Assembly yesterday to
uphold the appointment of an Independent Expert on Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity on the UN Human Rights Council.

Earlier this month the African Group, of
which South Africa is a member, delivered a statement to the UN
General Assembly opposing the appointment.

Then gay rights groups in South Africa
penned an open letter to the Department of International Relations
and Cooperation (DIRCO) asking South African representatives to the
UN to vote against a resolution proposed by the African Group that
would have suspended the appointment of the Independent Expert.

The authors of the letter condemned
South Africa’s then-failure to explicitly distance itself from the
position of the African Group, a block of African countries in the
UN that issued a statement arguing that sexual orientation and
gender identity “should not be linked to existing international
human rights instruments.”

According to the UN’s website, the vote
took place late yesterday, with 84 countries, including South
Africa, voting in favour of keeping the Independent Expert, 77
voting against, and 17 abstaining. Cape Verde and Seychelles were
the only other two members of the African Group that voted in
favour. (A few African countries didn’t vote at all.)

Sanja Bornman, chairperson of the Hate
Crimes Working Group and a member of Lawyers for Human Rights, said
the vote is a step in the right direction for LGBTIQ activism
globally.

“We are very pleased, and relieved, by
the SA vote,” she said in an email. “Now the … Expert can proceed
with his mandate, which will benefit LGBTIQ people around the
world, including the African continent.”

Melanie Judge, a queer activist and an
associate professor at the Centre for Law and Society at the
University of Cape Town, said the vote was an important reflection
of South Africa’s principles. “Historically, our government has
played a leading role to advance the human rights of LGBTI people,
both regionally and internationally, and yesterday’s vote
reasserted a commitment to this and should thus be welcomed by all
South Africans,” she said in an email.

Still, gay rights groups are questioning
why South Africa did not take a direct and outward stance against
the position of the African Group when its resolution was first
proposed, Bornman said, and these groups plan to engage with DIRCO
in the future to explore this issue and gain some insight.

The post South Africa Votes for UN Gay Rights Position
appeared first from online sources and was reposted by the community on Welcome to 9jalegal – Nigeria’s Leading Legal
Information and Services Portal.

Only three African countries support
Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender
Identity

South Africa opposed members of the
African Group in the United Nations General Assembly yesterday to
uphold the appointment of an Independent Expert on Sexual
Orientation and Gender Identity on the UN Human Rights Council.

Earlier this month the African Group, of
which South Africa is a member, delivered a statement to the UN
General Assembly opposing the appointment.

Then gay rights groups in South Africa
penned an open letter to the Department of International Relations
and Cooperation (DIRCO) asking South African representatives to the
UN to vote against a resolution proposed by the African Group that
would have suspended the appointment of the Independent Expert.

The authors of the letter condemned
South Africa’s then-failure to explicitly distance itself from the
position of the African Group, a block of African countries in the
UN that issued a statement arguing that sexual orientation and
gender identity “should not be linked to existing international
human rights instruments.”

According to the UN’s website, the vote
took place late yesterday, with 84 countries, including South
Africa, voting in favour of keeping the Independent Expert, 77
voting against, and 17 abstaining. Cape Verde and Seychelles were
the only other two members of the African Group that voted in
favour. (A few African countries didn’t vote at all.)

Sanja Bornman, chairperson of the Hate
Crimes Working Group and a member of Lawyers for Human Rights, said
the vote is a step in the right direction for LGBTIQ activism
globally.

“We are very pleased, and relieved, by
the SA vote,” she said in an email. “Now the … Expert can proceed
with his mandate, which will benefit LGBTIQ people around the
world, including the African continent.”

Melanie Judge, a queer activist and an
associate professor at the Centre for Law and Society at the
University of Cape Town, said the vote was an important reflection
of South Africa’s principles. “Historically, our government has
played a leading role to advance the human rights of LGBTI people,
both regionally and internationally, and yesterday’s vote
reasserted a commitment to this and should thus be welcomed by all
South Africans,” she said in an email.

Still, gay rights groups are questioning
why South Africa did not take a direct and outward stance against
the position of the African Group when its resolution was first
proposed, Bornman said, and these groups plan to engage with DIRCO
in the future to explore this issue and gain some insight.

The post South Africa Votes for UN Gay Rights Position
appeared first from online sources and was reposted by the community on Welcome to 9jalegal – Nigeria’s Leading Legal
Information and Services Portal.