Wed 11 Apr 2012 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Jan Logie, Louisa Wall and Tau Henare Two of New Zealand’s lesbian MPs and an outspoken National MP have played a key part in an international push to urge Ugandan leaders to get rid of the nation's proposed anti-gay legislation. The New Zealand delegation to the 126th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Kampala, made up of National’s Tau Henare, Labour’s Louisa Wall and the Greens’ Jan Logie, joined with fellow parliamentarians to urge a commitment to the safeguarding of human rights for all citizens, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. The trio was instrumental in proposing the actions to be taken by the geopolitical Twelve Plus group, comprising 46 countries affiliated to the IPU. The Twelve Plus group has extended its plea, writing to both the Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament and the leaders of political parties, to get rid of proposed legislation that would discriminate against gay Ugandans. "We want to stand shoulder to shoulder with our fellow parliamentarians in fighting inequality, poverty and discrimination on any grounds, and we respectfully implore parliamentarians to extend human rights protections to all citizens,” Henare said. It's a powerful statement from Henare, who has in the past mocked gay Labour MP Charles Chauvel with 'Miss Daisy' taunt in the House and described a push to remove the negative use of the term gay from schoolyard speak as "a gay story". Henare said the IPU Assembly, attended by over 1500 parliamentarians from across the world, is a significant opportunity to express concern. The New Zealand delegation has also proposed an item for inclusion on the agenda of a future Assembly on sexual orientation and gender identity rights and the role of parliamentarians in affirming these rights in legislation, as the other members of the delegation.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 11th April 2012 - 2:56pm