UN votes to accept execution of gays

[begin_within]

For the last 10 years sexual orientation has been included in a list of discriminatory grounds for executions – gay rights activists say the vote to remove that listing is “dangerous and disturbing.” But now sexual orientation has been taken out of the list. It passed on a narrow vote of 79 for, 70 against, 17 abstentions and 26 absent.

http://news.pinkpaper.com/NewsStory/4319/18/11/2010/countries-vote-to-accept-execution-of-gays.aspx

In favor of the amendment to remove sexual orientation from the resolution on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (79) (In other words, these countries cast a vote saying it's acceptable to execute gays):

Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Brunei Dar-Sala, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, China, Comoros, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Opposed to the amendment to remove sexual orientation from the resolution on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (70) (In other words, these countries voted that execution of gays is unacceptable):

Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Micronesia (FS), Monaco, Montenegro, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela

Abstain (17):

Antigua-Barbuda, Barbados, Belarus, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Colombia, Fiji, Mauritius, Mongolia, Papau New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

Absent (26):

Albania, Bolivia, Central African Republic, Chad, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Marshall Island, Mauritania, Nauru, Nicaragua, Palau, Sao Tome Principe, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Togo, Tonga, Turkey, Turkmenistan

[mmonk]

1. Rather sick.

[Poll_Blind]

2. That would make a great breakdown map of "Civilized World" vs "Uncivilized World", IMO. n/t

PB

[Starry Messenger]

3. Totally obscene. n/t

[gateley]

4. Bahamas???? WTF? nt

[Warren DeMontague]

18. Seriously.

Aside from being totally indefensible from a moral standpoint, it's stupid, too. I can't imagine that's going to help their gay vacation dollar bottom line.

[The Wielding Truth]

5. Don' t you mean " Some UN members vote to accept execution of gays"?

[slackmaster]

8. The resolution passed, and simple majority rules

So technically saying the UN voted in favor of it is accurate.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

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[slackmaster]

14. The space allocated for the subject line isn't big enough to hold the whole list of 79 countries

I picked out one country that struck me as conspicuous because it's so often cited as a paragon of human rights. The Cuban Constitution, IIRC, has a line explicitly prohibiting discrimination against people on the basis of sexual orientation. Have you ever read it? ETA - Correction, all laws against sexual acts among same-sex consenting adults were struck down in 1979. Sex discrimination is unconstitutional in Cuba, unlike in US federal law.

China, pretty much every Muslim country, several former Soviet republics, most of Africa, etc. didn't seem out of place to me, so I didn't bother commenting on them in my initial reply.

Why do you want to make this into a personal issue?

[readmoreoften]

31. It's a big fucking deal. And contrary to what's going on in the streets and what Castro just said.

Some fucked up shit.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

33. It's a big fucking deal, and also a serious case of schizo.

There have been highly-publicized gay events in Cuba lately; they seemed to be making a point of ending discrimination. This vote is baffling. Or perhaps the reasoning is "we don't practice sexual discrimination but other countries should be free to do so if they like". Which would make some sort of sense but is still fucked-up wrong.

Ah, Venezuela voted against. But then again, unlike Cuba and North Korea, Venezuela is a democracy.

[Angry Dragon]

7. I wonder which group will be next

[RKP5637]

46. Excellent Question. Which group will be next. I have no doubt that a significant

number of people around the world would execute huge groups of people if give the choice much as Hitler did. These people are still around throughout the world. Good question, which race, minority, whatever, will be next. This is disgusting. It just demonstrates to me once more how totally fucked up many humans are ... It is a F'ed species.

[donco6]

9. And I gave disaster aid to Haiti.

I hope it went to people who DON'T want to kill me.

[JI7]

11. what's with Russia and Cuba ?

it seems many of the other former soviet states voted against removal

[readmoreoften]

32. Russia has gone into an extreme state of reaction. It's one of the worst places for LGBT people now.

During the Russian Revolution it was the best place for LGBT people and women, maybe in the world. By 1920, homosexuality was decriminalized, same-sex marriages were performed, abortion was formally legalized. Stalin destroyed all that by instituting the reactionary "New Soviet Family" in the 1930s. It's been downhill ever since.

[JI7]

39. but that doesn't explain now, i mean hitler executed gays, but you don't see germany

voting that way with with excuse about it's history.

[readmoreoften]

53. Not making excuses, just pointing out trends and origins.

There is a proto-fascist movement in Russia that is very strong. Absence of a left makes for a strong unified right-wing. Looking for "reasons" in these cases is never really sensical. Russia has been in a reactionary slide since 1917. Downhill all the way. The fall of Stalinism only made it worse. Their economy is in total shambles and their civil society is crumbling. People run to the churches in such conditions.

[lise]

12. and we're still

in the UN.... why?

I used to think they were a positive organization. But for the past 5 years it seems anytime they come up , it's UN troupes raping women. UN troupes guarding the Palaces of the elites from storming (with good reason) plebes.

Again, why are we a part of this org?

[RKP5637]

47. I question the usefulness of the UN. It seems more problematic to me than useful, n/t

[bluestateguy]

13. Those of you who want US foreign policy to be turned over to the UN, take note

nt

[Behind the Aegis]

15. Disgusting!

[charlie]

16. Kill the gays, but don't diss my religion

Nearly every year, a country (usually Pakistan) proposes a UN resolution calling for states to take measures preventing "defamation of religion", particularly Islam. These are the aye votes from 2007:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Grenada, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

http://www.mediawatchwatch.org.uk/2008/01/02/defamation-of-religion-becomes-un-resolution

You'll notice almost all of the countries that voted aye to gay-killing are in the bunch above.

[ZombieHorde]

41. Exactly. nt

[RKP5637]

48. Yep, exactly. IMO religion is a very destructive force. n/t

[Warren DeMontague]

17. That's a serious wall of shame.

Inexcusable.

[pacalo]

19. The U.S. ambassador Susan Rice couldn't give an impassioned speech on this barbarianism?

That goes for those representing other world leaders, too. Time to write to all of them. It's time to bring the third world into the 21st century. This is atrocious!

[pacalo]

20. Self-deleted -- dupe. Had trouble with post going through.

[pacalo]

21. Self-deleted -- dupe.

[TheWatcher]

22. The Whole Planet Is Gong Insane.

I really didn't need to see this.

[lightningandsnow]

23. A lot of the reason those countries are homophobic is due to colonialism.

Especially in the Caribbean and South America. In many indigenous cultures, same-sex desiring and gender nonconforming people were not only respected, but revered. When contact and colonization occurred, European Christian colonizers enforced strict sexual and gender norms. So, really, let's not be congratulating ourselves too much.

[proteus_lives]

24. Great way of deflecting blame from those who want execute gay people.

:eyes:

[lightningandsnow]

25. I'm not saying homophobia isn't bad.

I'm saying we've been complicit in it, especially when it comes to places like South America and the Caribbean.

[proteus_lives]

26. Ah, tropes.

How are "we" complicit in it in the Middle East?

Or in South America/Caribbean?

White Man's burden has been replaced with White Man's guilt. Both are wrong.

[lightningandsnow]

27. I do admit that in the middle east, it's more a problem with fundamentalist religion.

However, as I said, many, if not most indigenous cultures in the Americas have traditionally not been as strict about sex and gender roles as European Christians. In fact, in a lot of indigenous cultures, people believed to have a male and female spirit - many of whom we'd call lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender today - were revered. European Christians saw this as sinful and enforced heterosexuality and strict gender roles. You don't see how this would carry over into homophobia today?

[Township75]

28. That is not convincing.

We were a colony, Canada was a colony, who colonizied the former Soviet Countries....not European Christians...same with China.

I think someone likely doesn't care for Christianity and is trying to make this about that religion as opposed to countries against homosexuals.

[proteus_lives]

30. It's the same in our cultures.

But we don't execute people for being gay.

It's more complicated then that.

It's a symptom of a wider problem with personal liberties.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

34. No excuse. Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay etc. voted against. -nt

[JI7]

36. nope, in this case you can't blame colonialism and it just excuses the bigotry

[JI7]

38. how does that explain Russia being anti gay while many of the places they "colonized"

are supportive of protecting gays.

how about China which was never a colony and is not christian or european being anti gay.

while india which was a colony voting to defend gays.

mexico which is a very conservative catholic nation voting to support gays. but cuba not .

[sufrommich]

43. I don't see any European countries voting to execute gay

people on the list.

[WildEyedLiberal]

54. Which is why every single "European Christian" country voted against executing gays

Most of South and Central America voted against executing gays, so there goes your OMG THE WHITE PEOPLE MADE THEM HOMOPHOBIC argument...

[leftynyc]

29. It's time to leave this body

Or at least get it the fuck out of New York. They should be embarassed and ashamed of themselves.

[Capitalocracy]

35. Could someone who knows more about this explain to me

whether there was anything else the U.S. could do in this case? Do they have veto power for this type of resolution or is that just in the Security Council or something? (I obviously don't know much about how the UN works.)

[bluedigger]

37. It's nice when we come down on the right side, even in a losing cause.

I hope this info is being distributed to travel agencies...

[RKP5637]

51. Yeah, I hope this goes straight to the top of countries to avoid straight or gay. One might be

on the list and not even realize it ...

[Flubadubya]

40. This is an unscionable travesty and must be rebuked...

All the more reason we (the United States) need to end DADT, ratify same sex marriage, and publicly condemn this outrage.

... and I thought humans were evolving. :shrug::cry:

[ZombieHorde]

42. Madness. nt

[Cleobulus]

44. Fucking atrocious. n/t

[Ian David]

45. Bahamas, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Morocco, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent ...

... those are really the only ones on the list with any sort of tourism, aren't they?

Fuck them all.

What do we do about the abstentions?

Antigua-Barbuda, Barbados,Papau New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago... etc?

Tuvalu will be under water within 10 years anyway, so nobody gives a shit about them now.

[Jamastiene]

49. Well fuck you too UN.

Directed to the UN, not the OP.

Is there going to ever be an end to this hateful bullshit? I'm beginning to wonder.

[rucky]

50. At least it narrows down my world travel decisions.

I'll never set foot in one of the "Yes" countries.

[RKP5637]

52. Yeah, it's a good list to have, never to visit straight or gay, it just shows the

mentality and demeanor of the country. Places for anyone to avoid.

[and-justice-for-all]

55. Why the fuck would the UN allow for a vote on such obvious....

human rights violation?! REVOLTING!

[rollin74]

56. Fuck the U.N.

and all the countries who voted in favor of this including CUBA

the U.N. is a joke and should be disbanded

[fujiyama]

57. Aside from certain parts of the organization

like UNICEF, UNESCO, and I believe the WHO (which is associated with the UN), the organization is a corrupt, meaningless joke ruled by a mob of seemingly uncivilized barbaric lunatics that would prefer the world heading back to the middle ages.

I won't dare note which religion is the majority in the countries that voted to allow this. It's obvious. Give Turkey credit for simply being absent. Cowardly, but better than voting to support it outright.