Vietnam was among 25 countries to support a landmark United Nations resolution upholding the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
By Tuan Anh | dtinews.vn | September 27, 2014 08:36 PM
On September 26 in Geneva, the United Nations Human Rights Council, approved a resolution condemning violence and discrimination against LGBT people. Russia and Indonesia were among the 14 countries to oppose it.
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) hailed the adoption of the resolution as “an important step toward progress for equality and human rights for LGBT individuals”.
In New York, Jessica Stern, executive director of IGLHRC, said that “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.”
She added that “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.”
“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,” Jessica Stern emphasised.
The UN Human Rights Council rejected seven proposed amendments before the final vote put forth by Egypt, Uganda, Pakistan, South Sudan and other countries, which sought to strip LGBT-specific language from the proposal.
Speaking with a DTiNews reporter in New York, Merle Ratner, a social activist for peace in the US, said that she highly appreciated Vietnam’s achievements in protecting the rights of the LGBT community rights through domestic actions and policies and as a member of the UN Human Rights Council.
She said that Vietnam has become an example in the region on the issue and that the improvements have raised the status of the country in the international arena.