US balks at backing condemnation of anti-gay laws

By DAVID CRARY – 1 day ago
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Alone among major Western nations, the United
States has refused to sign a declaration presented Thursday at the
United Nations calling for worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality.
In
all, 66 of the U.N.'s 192 member countries signed the nonbinding
declaration — which backers called a historic step to push the General
Assembly to deal more forthrightly with any-gay discrimination. More
than 70 U.N. members outlaw homosexuality, and in several of them
homosexual acts can be punished by execution.
Co-sponsored by
France and the Netherlands, the declaration was signed by all 27
European Union members, as well as Japan, Australia, Mexico and three
dozen other countries. There was broad opposition from Muslim nations,
and the United States refused to sign, indicating that some parts of
the declaration raised legal questions that needed further review.
"It's
disappointing," said Rama Yade, France's human rights minister, of the
U.S. position — which she described as in contradiction with America's
long tradition as a defender of human rights.
According to some
of the declaration's backers, U.S. officials expressed concern in
private talks that some parts of the declaration might be problematic
in committing the federal government on matters that fall under state
jurisdiction. In numerous states, landlords and private employers are
allowed to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation; on the
federal level, gays are not allowed to serve openly in the military.
Carolyn
Vadino, a spokeswoman for the U.S. mission to the U.N., stressed that
the United States — despite its unwillingness to sign — condemned any
human rights violations related to sexual orientation.
Gay rights activists nonetheless were angered by the U.S. position.
"It's
an appalling stance — to not join with other countries that are
standing up and calling for decriminalization of homosexuality," said
Paula Ettelbrick, executive director of the International Gay and
Lesbian Human Rights Commission.
She expressed hope that the U.S. position might change after President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January.
Also
denouncing the U.S. stance was Richard Grenell, who until two months
ago had been the chief spokesman for the U.S. mission to the U.N.
"It
is ridiculous to suggest that there are legal reasons why we can't
support this resolution — common sense says we should be the leader in
making sure other governments are granting more freedoms for their
people, not less," said Grenell, who described himself as a gay
Republican. "The U.S. lack of support on this issue only dims our once
bright beacon of hope and freedom for those who are persecuted and
oppressed."
More than 50 countries opposed to the declaration,
including members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, issued
a joint statement Thursday criticizing the initiative as an unwarranted
attempt to give special prominence to gays and lesbians. The statement
suggested that protecting sexual orientation could lead to "the social
normalization and possibly the legalization of deplorable acts" such as
pedophilia and incest.
The declaration also has been opposed by the Vatican, a stance which prompted a protest in Rome earlier this month.
A
Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the Roman Catholic
Church opposed the death penalty and other harsh repression of gays and
lesbians, but he expressed concern that the declaration would be used
as pressure against those who believe marriage rights should not be
extended to gays.
A new Vatican statement, issued Thursday,
endorsed the call to end criminal penalties against gays, but said that
overall the declaration "gives rise to uncertainty in the law and
challenges existing human norms."
The European nations backing
the declaration waged their campaign in conjunction with the 60th
anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The
Dutch foreign affairs minister, Maxime Verhagen, said countries that
endorsed that 1948 document had no right to carve out exceptions based
on religion or culture that allowed discrimination against gays.
"Human rights apply to all people in all places at all times," he said. "I will not accept any excuse."
He
acknowledged that the new declaration had only symbolic import, but
said it marked the first time such a large number of nations had raised
the cause of gay rights in the context of General Assembly proceedings.
"This
statement aims to make debate commonplace," he said. "It is not meant
to be a source of division, but to eliminate the taboo that surrounds
the issue."
Although the declaration's backers were pleased that
nations on six continents had signed it, there were only two from Asia
and four from Africa.