WATCH the United Nations Free & Equal Campaign Video

This video from the United Nations Free & Equal campaign celebrates the contributions that millions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people make to families and local communities around the world. The cast features "real people" (not actors), filmed in their workplaces and homes -- among them, a firefighter, a police officer, a teacher, an electrician, a doctor and a volunteer, as well as prominent straight ally and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

United Nations will Expand LGBT Marriage Benefits

Good News.

The United Nations Secretariat will provide full benefits to employees in same-sex unions, regardless of whether their home country acknowledge gay marriage.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said:

"Human rights are at the core of the mission of the United Nations. I am proud to stand for greater equality for all staff, and I call on all members of our UN family to unite in rejecting homophobia as discrimination that can never be tolerated at our workplace."

Here's more:

The change does not apply to all of the nearly 50 U.N. organizations, although some of them -- such as UNESCO and the World Food Program -- already had policies recognizing same-sex unions based on where the marriages took place. Ban's announcement applies only to employees of the U.N. Secretariat, although it is likely that other agencies in the system will be pressured to follow suit.

Previously, the status of an employee's marriage depended on his or her country of nationality. With the new change, relationship status will be determined based on where the couple gets married. Therefore, if gay employees legally get married to their partners in United States, the marriages will be recognized by the U.N., even if they won't be recognized in their home countries.

In a statement, UN-GLOBE, the association that represents, lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender and intersex U.N. employees, praised the change but said they wished it would have gone further.

“Let me reiterate UN-GLOBE's belief that the fairest policy would have been an affidavit policy, as it would have covered general service, national and even some international staff who, under the newly adopted policy, may not be able to secure visas, nor have the resources, to travel to a country where legal unions are performed,” said UN-GLOBE President Hyung Hak "Alfonso" Nam. “But for now, I would say this: at long last. Let us just enjoy this moment, this huge victory.”

The change will also not apply to the independent U.N. pension fund and the pension, death and disability benefits that it manages. UN-GLOBE and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission are calling on the fund to follow suit.

source

The Obama Administration demands the United Nation's Support for Gay Rights

The Obama administration is stepping to the plate by issuing a statement tasking for the UN's support to stop discrimination against gays and lesbians around the world. This is a big step, y'all.

The U.S. declaration was made Tuesday, March 22 at the Geneva-based Human Rights Council and had the support of more than 80 countries. Although it is not in the form of binding resolution, the American push for U.N. action has helped win over a handful of new countries to the cause. A resolution could be brought to a vote later this year.


The issue of gay rights has polarized nations at the U.N. for years. And despite growing acceptance for LGBT lifestyles in Western nations and parts of Latin America, lawyers say there is still a gap in human rights treaties for the protection of gays against discrimination and mistreatment.


"We are very concerned that individuals continue to be killed, arrested, and harassed around the world because of their sexual orientation or gender identity," said Suzanne Nossel, deputy assistant secretary of state for international organizations. "This statement sends a strong message from across the globe that such abuses should not be tolerated."


The U.S. document calls for nations to end any criminal punishments against lesbians, gays, and bisexuals, and asks the global body to review how governments treat them in the U.N.’s human rights assessments. It acknowledges that "these are sensitive issues for many," but insists that people must be freed from discrimination because of their sexual orientation.

Feeling it.

source

Is there an Alien Ambassador for the U.N.?

Well, not really, but there where many who start to wonder. Word got that Malaysian astrophysicist Mazalan Othman was in the running to be the first AA to greet the Shi'ar and other extraterrestrials to earth.

Mazlan had this to say:

"It sounds really cool, but I have to deny it," Mazlan Othman said in an e-mail to The Guardian.
Reports about a UN alien ambassador got started when the Sunday Times reported that Othman was in the running to be the first point of contact for alien visitors. Othman was reportedly set to appear at a Royal Society conference to say that extraterrestrial contact was more likely than ever, and that Earth needed a plan to deal with their arrival.

Othman, however, told The Guardian that she will instead be talking about "near-Earth objects" at the conference rather than close encounters of the little green men kind.

Could be true, or it could be a cover up. Maybe we should check out Area 51.

source

The Obama Administration Will endorse the U.N. Gay Rights Declaration

The Obama posse will endorse the U.N. declaration calling for the worldwide decriminalization of homosexuality.

If y'all remember, Bush refused to participate and didn't endorse the declaration, in fact, we were the only western government that refused to join the party.

But that's changing for the better, I hope.

Several officials involved in this process said:

"The United States is an outspoken defender of human rights and critic of human rights abuses around the world. As such, we join with the other supporters of this statement and we will continue to remind countries of the importance of respecting the human rights of all people in all appropriate international fora."

Another official added that the United States was concerned about "violence and human rights abuses against gay, lesbian, transsexual and bisexual individuals" and was also "troubled by the criminalization of sexual orientation in many countries."

"In the words of the United States Supreme Court, the right to be free from criminalization on the basis of sexual orientation 'has been accepted as an integral part of human freedom'".

Source

Hey America! I Deserve Protection, Too!

USA, USA, USA! That chant is a joke to me. We are being ridiculous about this UN decriminalizing homosexuality thing. While 66 other countries are on point and on board with the change, we are still not standing up for all our people.

What a lovely message to send to us America. We protect everyone but you, gay folk....okay, a great way to start the day, I tell you. But we are not alone, Russia, China, the Roman Catholic Church and members of the Organization of the Islamic Conference are also at our side.

For some reason we along with the other silly countries and church, believes it will legitimize pedophilia and other “deplorable acts.” Deplorable, I never had that title before.

Here's more from NYTimes:

The declaration, sponsored by France with broad support in Europe and Latin America, condemned human rights violations based on homophobia, saying such measures run counter to the universal declaration of human rights.

“How can we tolerate the fact that people are stoned, hanged, decapitated and tortured only because of their sexual orientation?” said Rama Yade, the French state secretary for human rights, noting that homosexuality is banned in nearly 80 countries and subject to the death penalty in at least six.

France decided to use the format of a declaration because it did not have the support for an official resolution. Read out by Ambassador Jorge Argüello of Argentina, the declaration was the first on gay rights read in the 192-member General Assembly itself.

Although laws against homosexuality are concentrated in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, more than one speaker addressing a separate conference on the declaration noted that the laws stemmed as much from the British colonial past as from religion or tradition.

Navanethem Pillay, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights, speaking by video telephone, said that just like apartheid laws that criminalized sexual relations between different races, laws against homosexuality “are increasingly becoming recognized as anachronistic and as inconsistent both with international law and with traditional values of dignity, inclusion and respect for all.”

Take heed America, power in world does not mean money, weapons, or oil. True power is in forward thinking and progress. Setting the tone for equality that's what we should be strong in. However, I'm not sure where we are anymore. I have to say that right now, I'm not a patriot.