A Global Gay Report Card
by Richard J. Rosendall
First published in Bay Windows, March 22, 2007
Article I of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights begins, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” The United States was not just a party to its adoption in 1948; the key force behind its creation was Eleanor Roosevelt. While sexual orientation is not a protected category, the U.S. State Department since 1991 has included gay rights abuses and advances in its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, tracking the status of internationally recognized human rights.
The reports for 2006, released on March 6, 2007, reflect a dramatic improvement in LGBT- and HIV-related information gathering. In the reports for 2005, I found relevant items under 105 countries. For 2006, the number has risen to 142 countries. You can view my extracts online at http://www.glaa.org/archive/2007/CountryReports2006.shtml .
Here are some highlights, organized in three broad groupings.
Negative:
• In many countries, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) reported HIV/AIDS in prisons.
• In Cambodia, “Trafficking victims, especially those trafficked for sexual exploitation, faced the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.”
• In Cameroon, “false allegations of homosexuality were used to harass enemies or to extort money.”
• In Central African Republic, “An estimated 110,000 children have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS, and children accused of sorcery ... were often expelled from their households.”
• In China, HIV/AIDS activist Hu Jia “was detained and held incommunicado for 41 days.” His attorney was similarly detained.
• In Egypt, “The government ... has occasionally used emergency courts to prosecute homosexuals ....”
• In El Salvador, “There were no developments regarding the Governance Ministry’s 2005 denial of legal status to En Nombre de la Rosa, a homosexual and transvestite advocacy NGO,” and no developments in investigations into the 2004 killings of two transvestites.
"It was hard not to be overwhelmed by all the brutality and inhumanity; but gradually I became inspired by the realization that LGBT people are organizing everywhere from Mali to Fiji."• In Guinea, “An international NGO reported the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS among incarcerated minor boys to be as high as 50 percent, suggesting sexual abuse.”
• In Iraq, “There were several reported examples of juveniles sentenced to up to 10 years in jail for having engaged in same-sex sexual relations.”
• In Jamaica, the gay rights group J-FLAG reported “police harassment, arbitrary detention, mob attacks, stabbings, harassment of homosexual patients by hospital and prison staff, and targeted shootings of homosexuals.”
• In Kuwait, “police raided a party where homosexuals were allegedly celebrating a wedding,” and a law was approved “to impose a fine of $3,450 and/or one year’s imprisonment for those imitating the opposite sex.”
• In Rwanda, “Due to the genocide and deaths from HIV/AIDS, there were numerous households headed by children, some of whom resorted to prostitution to survive.”
• In Tanzania, a Muslim NGO “blocked a local restaurant’s planned celebration of Freddie Mercury’s birthday because the Zanzibar-born rock star was gay.”
• In Zimbabwe, members of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe were once again expelled from a book fair and their literature seized by unidentified men while police watched.
• Permits for gay events were denied by officials in Ghana, Latvia, Moldova, and Russia. Police in Estonia failed to protect gay rights marchers.
Positive:
• In Brazil, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, “The Secretariat of State Security in Rio de Janeiro State in partnership with NGOs operated a hot line and offered professional counseling services to victims of antihomosexual crimes.”
• In Bulgaria, the gay rights group Gemini won three gay-related discrimination cases.
• In the Czech Republic, “parliament passed registered domestic partnership legislation.”
• In Israel, “the High Court issued a ruling requiring the government to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in foreign jurisdictions.”
• In Mexico, Mexico City passed a civil unions bill.
• In Mozambique, “a major newspaper published, for the first time, an article arguing in favor of homosexual rights.”
• In Singapore, “the government approved a gay and lesbian festival that included movie showings, book signings, and theater performances.”
• South Africa legalized same-sex marriage.
Mixed:
• In Burma, despite widespread human rights abuses including anti-gay discrimination, “homosexuals had a certain degree of protection through societal traditions. Transgender performers commonly provided entertainment at traditional observances.”
• In Germany, “authorities in Baden‑Wuerttemberg required residents seeking naturalization to complete a questionnaire concerning their political and moral beliefs and their adherence to the constitution. ... Critics viewed the questionnaire, which included questions on attitudes toward women’s and gay rights ... as discriminating against Muslim immigrants.”
• In Romania, a gay pride parade “was marred by violent physical and verbal attacks by onlookers” who “hurled bottles, food, and buckets of water” and were egged on by Orthodox priests and seminarians. On the other hand, “police were reportedly alerted in advance to the planned attacks and dispatched a highly organized force to protect the marchers.”
• In Saudi Arabia, while sodomy is punishable by death or flogging, there was regular discussion in the media of homosexuality (previously taboo), and a case was dismissed against a journalist charged with promoting homosexuality for suggesting that homosexuality has a genetic cause.
• In Sweden, “The government allocated extra funding to combat honor-related violence [by Muslim immigrants] against young women and men (including homosexuals).”
As I searched through the immense document for the LGBT- and HIV-related portions, it was hard not to be overwhelmed by all the brutality and inhumanity; but gradually I became inspired by the realization that LGBT people are organizing everywhere from Mali to Fiji. Great things grow from small seeds.
by Richard J. Rosendall
First published in Bay Windows, March 22, 2007
Article I of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights begins, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” The United States was not just a party to its adoption in 1948; the key force behind its creation was Eleanor Roosevelt. While sexual orientation is not a protected category, the U.S. State Department since 1991 has included gay rights abuses and advances in its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, tracking the status of internationally recognized human rights.
The reports for 2006, released on March 6, 2007, reflect a dramatic improvement in LGBT- and HIV-related information gathering. In the reports for 2005, I found relevant items under 105 countries. For 2006, the number has risen to 142 countries. You can view my extracts online at http://www.glaa.org/archive/2007/CountryReports2006.shtml .
Here are some highlights, organized in three broad groupings.
Negative:
• In many countries, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) reported HIV/AIDS in prisons.
• In Cambodia, “Trafficking victims, especially those trafficked for sexual exploitation, faced the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.”
• In Cameroon, “false allegations of homosexuality were used to harass enemies or to extort money.”
• In Central African Republic, “An estimated 110,000 children have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS, and children accused of sorcery ... were often expelled from their households.”
• In China, HIV/AIDS activist Hu Jia “was detained and held incommunicado for 41 days.” His attorney was similarly detained.
• In Egypt, “The government ... has occasionally used emergency courts to prosecute homosexuals ....”
• In El Salvador, “There were no developments regarding the Governance Ministry’s 2005 denial of legal status to En Nombre de la Rosa, a homosexual and transvestite advocacy NGO,” and no developments in investigations into the 2004 killings of two transvestites.
"It was hard not to be overwhelmed by all the brutality and inhumanity; but gradually I became inspired by the realization that LGBT people are organizing everywhere from Mali to Fiji."• In Guinea, “An international NGO reported the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS among incarcerated minor boys to be as high as 50 percent, suggesting sexual abuse.”
• In Iraq, “There were several reported examples of juveniles sentenced to up to 10 years in jail for having engaged in same-sex sexual relations.”
• In Jamaica, the gay rights group J-FLAG reported “police harassment, arbitrary detention, mob attacks, stabbings, harassment of homosexual patients by hospital and prison staff, and targeted shootings of homosexuals.”
• In Kuwait, “police raided a party where homosexuals were allegedly celebrating a wedding,” and a law was approved “to impose a fine of $3,450 and/or one year’s imprisonment for those imitating the opposite sex.”
• In Rwanda, “Due to the genocide and deaths from HIV/AIDS, there were numerous households headed by children, some of whom resorted to prostitution to survive.”
• In Tanzania, a Muslim NGO “blocked a local restaurant’s planned celebration of Freddie Mercury’s birthday because the Zanzibar-born rock star was gay.”
• In Zimbabwe, members of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe were once again expelled from a book fair and their literature seized by unidentified men while police watched.
• Permits for gay events were denied by officials in Ghana, Latvia, Moldova, and Russia. Police in Estonia failed to protect gay rights marchers.
Positive:
• In Brazil, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, “The Secretariat of State Security in Rio de Janeiro State in partnership with NGOs operated a hot line and offered professional counseling services to victims of antihomosexual crimes.”
• In Bulgaria, the gay rights group Gemini won three gay-related discrimination cases.
• In the Czech Republic, “parliament passed registered domestic partnership legislation.”
• In Israel, “the High Court issued a ruling requiring the government to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in foreign jurisdictions.”
• In Mexico, Mexico City passed a civil unions bill.
• In Mozambique, “a major newspaper published, for the first time, an article arguing in favor of homosexual rights.”
• In Singapore, “the government approved a gay and lesbian festival that included movie showings, book signings, and theater performances.”
• South Africa legalized same-sex marriage.
Mixed:
• In Burma, despite widespread human rights abuses including anti-gay discrimination, “homosexuals had a certain degree of protection through societal traditions. Transgender performers commonly provided entertainment at traditional observances.”
• In Germany, “authorities in Baden‑Wuerttemberg required residents seeking naturalization to complete a questionnaire concerning their political and moral beliefs and their adherence to the constitution. ... Critics viewed the questionnaire, which included questions on attitudes toward women’s and gay rights ... as discriminating against Muslim immigrants.”
• In Romania, a gay pride parade “was marred by violent physical and verbal attacks by onlookers” who “hurled bottles, food, and buckets of water” and were egged on by Orthodox priests and seminarians. On the other hand, “police were reportedly alerted in advance to the planned attacks and dispatched a highly organized force to protect the marchers.”
• In Saudi Arabia, while sodomy is punishable by death or flogging, there was regular discussion in the media of homosexuality (previously taboo), and a case was dismissed against a journalist charged with promoting homosexuality for suggesting that homosexuality has a genetic cause.
• In Sweden, “The government allocated extra funding to combat honor-related violence [by Muslim immigrants] against young women and men (including homosexuals).”
As I searched through the immense document for the LGBT- and HIV-related portions, it was hard not to be overwhelmed by all the brutality and inhumanity; but gradually I became inspired by the realization that LGBT people are organizing everywhere from Mali to Fiji. Great things grow from small seeds.