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Death Penalty For Same-Sex Relations Denounced By United Nations

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“Horrific laws” condemning people to death because of whom they love are the focus of a new international proposal. “The question of the death penalty” resolution to denounce the most severe punishment for consensual same-sex relations was passed on Friday by the 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. Twenty-seven nations voted in favor of the resolution; 13 voted against it; and 7 abstained.

(map courtesy of ILGA)

“It is unconscionable to think that there are hundreds of millions of people living in States where somebody may be executed simply because of whom they love” Renato Sabbadini, executive director of The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), said in a statement. “This is a monumental moment where the international community has publicly highlighted that these horrific laws simply must end."

ILGA, a federation of more than 1,200 member organizations from 132 countries committed to equal human rights for LGBTI people that enjoys consultative status at the United Nations, called the resolution a “historic first.” The group produced a recent report and map that detail sexual orientation laws around the world.

The United States was among the nations that voted against the resolution. But it wasn’t unexpected, Mr. Sabbadini said in an email, as countries that maintain the death penalty, like the U.S., generally vote "no”  on resolutions that are against it. In this case  a "no" vote did not address same-sex relations, but the wider application of the death penalty.

“Some States that have the death penalty did express “regret” that they couldn’t support the resolution, perhaps most notable the US,” he said, but added that this resolution is important. “ It shows that there are negative consequences for human rights when the death penalty is imposed, and calls on states that have not yet abolished the death penalty to ensure that it is not applied arbitrarily or in a discriminatory manner."

Currently, there are six countries (eight if parts of Syria and Iraq occupied by Isis are included) where the death penalty is implemented for same-sex relations. (Penalty applies country-wide in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen, and in certain provinces in Nigeria and Somalia.)

In five other countries (Afghanistan, Mauritania, Pakistan, Qatar and the UAE) the interpretation of Sharia law technically permits the death penalty, but it is thought to not be invoked; these nations may implement lesser penalties, ILGA said. And in one nation (Brunei Darussalam) same-sex relations are illegal, but its criminal procedure code has not yet been put into effect.

The resolution also condemns the death penalty for adultery, noting that it is disproportionately imposed on women. In addition to focusing on gender and sexual orientation, the new resolution builds on a recent UN report that examined the question of the death penalty’s disproportionate or discriminatory impact on groups or people who: have mental or intellectual disabilities; are below 18 years of age at the time of the crime, economically vulnerable, foreign nationals, exercising their right to freedom of religion or belief and freedom of expression; belong to racial and ethnic minorities; or are women who are pregnant.

Six attempts by Egypt, Russia and Saudi Arabia to amend the resolution and dilute its impact were each defeated in often-close voting, ILGA said. The group commended the eight countries that spearheaded the resolution – Belgium, Benin, Costa Rica, France, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia and Switzerland – for their leadership and support.

“They stood firm on principle through a difficult negotiation and voting period”, André du Plessis, head of UN Programme and Advocacy at ILGA, said in a statement.

For more information about ILGA, click here; to read the text of the resolution, click here.