If recent stories out of Russia, Uganda and South Africa have taught us anything, it’s the importance of highlighting the plight of the international lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Featuring UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, the United Nations’ new anti-homophobic video campaign reminds us that homosexuality is still illegal in 76 countries, while seven countries actually prescribe the death penalty.
The video’s message is clear: LGBT rights are human rights.
ouragannyc
Beautifully done!
vklortho
@ouragannyc: Agreed! That video was amazing!
Yiannis
Indeed, it’s an amazing video. The UN Secretary is doing the good work once more.
Derek Williams
The main difficulty facing outsiders trying to change attitudes is that the governments of these countries reflect the homophobic attitudes of those who elect them, as is the case in Russia for example, where statutes outlawing homosexual freedoms are being passed with impunity.
The ordinary citizen in these jurisdictions sincerely believes that when gays and lesbians are bashed and murdered, and subjected to “corrective rape”, they are getting what they deserve, and that their attackers are doing “God’s work”.
Religion is at the heart of practically all homophobia. Religion is the scourge of the homosexual. People have the civil right to their religious beliefs, but they do not have the authority to deny others their right to a different religious belief, or no religious belief at all. And they certainly do not have the right to deny homosexuals our civil right to love another human being of our own choosing.