Members of terror group Islamic State (Isis) have stoned to death two men in Syria after alleging they were gay. According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), this is the first execution that the militants have carried out against homosexuals.
Activists on social media said that the dead men were opponents of IS and that the group had used the allegation as a pretext to kill them. Read More
Gambia President Yahya Jammeh passed a brutal new anti-gay law calling for life sentences for "aggravated homosexuality." Days after the bill was passed many groups, including the European Union and US State Department have come out against the action, saying they are "deeply concerned."
Amnesty International recently reported that under the new law Gambian security forces were allegedly torturing people arrested in raids, threatening them with rape and pressuring them to confess to homosexual acts.
However, Gambian Foreign Minister Bala Garba Jahumpa has rebuffed criticism and stated the government will not allow acceptance of gay people to be a pre-condition for receiving aid "no matter how much aid is involved." He vowed not to engage with any ‘ungodly’ gays because they are ‘detrimental to human existence.’ Read More
Drafters of a revised anti-gay law want parliament to pass it in time to be a "Christmas gift" for Ugandans, a lawmaker said last week. "This bill is inconsistent with fundamental freedoms and human rights ... accepting it would be a display of weakness rather than leadership," said Asia Russell, Uganda-based director of international policy at Health GAP, an HIV advocacy group. Read More
The European Parliament voted for a report defining its input into the global future development policy. The report contains strong wording on LGBTI rights and sexual and reproductive health and rights. According to the Parliament, development policy should pay particular attention to “the protection and respect of the rights of migrants and minorities, including LGBTI people and people living with HIV.” Furthermore, the Parliament prioritises “universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights.”
The report comes at a time of an increase in anti-LGBTI legislation, most recently in Gambia. Attempts by the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) to delete paragraphs on sexual and reproductive health and rights, were defeated by a wide margin. Read More
In 2010, Tiwonge Chimbalanga, a transgender woman, was imprisoned in Malawi for getting engaged to a man. Pardoned and freed, she now lives in exile in South Africa. The international campaign to secure her pardon and resettlement in South Africa represented a triumph for the global cause of LGBT rights. But for Chimbalanga, who unexpectedly found herself on the front lines of an intensifying battle over these rights in Africa, there is little sense of victory. Mark Gevisser reports on an uneasy triumph for the global LGBT rights movement. Read More
A new study indicates that same-sex attraction may have evolved to benefit society. Diana Fleischman, MD, and a research team at the University of Portsmouth in England have published preliminary research in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, which provides evidence that the purpose of sex extends beyond procreation — it also forms bonds between people that are beneficial to survival. Thus, sex between people of the same gender may have played a crucial role in forming alliances and friendships that have benefited humanity throughout its history. Read More
Once I kept track of how many died: one a week for eleven weeks in a row. Then I stopped counting. Some people lost dozens, even hundreds of friends. Fast forward a couple of decades. In general, an HIV diagnosis today is very different than an AIDS diagnosis thirty years ago. It's popular to say it's manageable. Getting infected now is viewed by many as "no big deal".
A younger generation wonders why we continue to look at AIDS so differently than they do. The gay papers aren't filled with dozens of obituaries; instead, full-page ads for the newest drugs. Living well with HIV is not only a goal, it's an assumption.We have to realize that younger people - especially young gay men - don't see the urgency because the lack of urgency is a great accomplishment. We should be thrilled that people aren't dying within weeks or months of a diagnosis. Read More
Just 30% of Americans with HIV had the virus under control in 2011, and approximately two-thirds of those whose virus was out of control had been diagnosed but were no longer in care, according to a new report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The new study underscores the importance of making sure people with HIV receive ongoing care, treatment, and other information and tools that help prevent transmission to others, as well as the need to reach more people with HIV testing. Read More
For the first time in its history, the United Nations Committee Against Torture (CAT) expressed concern over the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion therapy being used on LGBT youth in the United States.
This historic development comes after leaders from the National Center for Lesbian Rights’ #BornPerfect campaign, Samantha Ames and Samuel Brinton, testified before the Committee.
Along with other signatories to the Convention Against Torture, the U.S. is reviewed by CAT about its compliance with the convention, which prevents both torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. In addition to conversion therapy, issues such as police violence, detention of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, and the sexual abuse of children by priests were raised as matters for the U.S. to address. Read More
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hosted the Austrian winner of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest, Conchita Wurst as she sang for hundreds of UN staff, diplomats, and members of civil society.
Speaking at the event the Secretary-General said he knew Wurst was the star of the world when she won the Eurovision Song Contest and turned her victory into an electrifying moment of human rights education. The Secretary-General said: "Conchita is promoting respect for diversity …. She confounds people's preconceived ideas of gender and sexuality - and she appeals to them to accept her as she is. That is a powerful message." Read More