U.N. council votes to keep researching anti-LGBTQ abuses despite U.S. U-turn
Geneva – The United Nations Human Rights Council voted on Monday to renew the mandate of an LGBTQ rights expert, a decision greeted by the defenders in the midst of the United States’s absence, a former key supporter who is now going back to these protections.
Western diplomats had previously expressed concerns concerning the renewal of the mandate of the South African scientist Graeme Reid which contributes to stimulating protections by documenting abuses and by dialogue with countries.
The request for a three -year renewal was adopted with 29 votes in favor, 15 against and three abstentions. Supporters included Chile, Germany, Kenya and South Africa while several African nations and Qatar opposed it.
“The renewal of this mandate is a spark of hope at a time when the reactionary powers of the world are trying to dismantle progress that our communities have fought so hard to make,” said Julia Ehrt, executive director of the Ilga World campaign group.
The United States, which has disengaged from the Council under President Donald Trump, citing an alleged anti-Semitic prejudice, was previously a supporter of the Biden administration mandate.
Since its entry into office in January, Trump has signed decrees to limit transgender rights and dismantle diversity, actions and inclusion practices in the government and the private sector.
Its administration says that such stages restore equity, but civil rights and LGBTQ defenders say that marginalized groups are more vulnerable.
In negotiations before the vote, Pakistan expressed its opposition to the mandate on behalf of the Muslim group OIC, calling for this a tool to defend “controversial opinions”.
