Tue 20 Dec 2016 In: International News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Russia has forced a specific reference to glbti people to be removed from a Security Council tribute speech to be delivered to outgoing UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. Ban Ki-Moon The fifteen-member council wanted to include their thanks that "due to you, Mr Secretary-General women, young people, and the LGBT community have been heard and assisted, and today their voices sound louder and stronger in this headquarters and around the world." However, Russia, which has become steadily more homophobic in recent years under Vladimir Putin, refused to allow the glbti reference. The phrase had to be re-drafted and now apparently reads: "the most vulnerable or marginalised have been increasingly heard and assisted by the United Nations." Ban, who has worked more than any of his predecessors to specifically improve the lives and visibility of glbti people, announced in 2014 that the UN would recognize all same-sex marriages of its staff, allowing them to receive its benefits. Russia, with the support of 43 states including Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, India, Egypt, Pakistan, and Syria, unsuccessfully tried to overturn the move last year.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 20th December 2016 - 11:05am