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Significant Troubles Reported for Youths in Northern Ireland Raided Taiwan Bookstore Asks for a Gay Judge International News Report |
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United Nations Commission Will Vote on Gay Human Rights
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR)
will vote on a groundbreaking gay human-rights
resolution during its 60th session in Geneva in March
and April.
The vote was postponed at last year's session because of opposition from Muslim, African and Latin American countries, Vatican City, China and India. The United States was planning to abstain from the vote. The resolution, introduced by Brazil, "expresses deep concern at the occurrence of violations of human rights in the world against persons on the grounds of their sexual orientation" and "calls upon all States to promote and protect the human rights of all persons regardless of their sexual orientation." Gay activists say they are better prepared this year. In 2003, "delegates from both member states and NGOs [nongovernmental organizations] were caught unawares," the International Lesbian and Gay Association said January 13. "This will certainly not be the case at the 2004 annual session. ... The delegates from member states and NGOs who support the ... resolution and who have been lobbied by associations which defend the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, will ensure that the UNCHR is reminded of the historical and symbolic significance of voting in its favor." Significant Troubles Reported for Youths in Northern Ireland Twenty-nine percent of 360 GLBT youths surveyed in Northern Ireland have tried to kill themselves, the Belfast Telegraph reported January 13. A further 26 percent have harmed themselves. The Department of Education-sponsored survey questioned GLBTs age 25 and under via support groups and the Web. It also found that gay youths are five times more likely to be taking antidepressants and 20 times more likely to have an eating disorder. "We as a society can no longer ignore what is happening to thousands of our young people," said P.A. MagLochlainn, president of the Northern Ireland Gay and Lesbian Rights Association. Raided Taiwan Bookstore Asks for a Gay Judge The Taipei, Taiwan, gay bookshop Gin Gin's has requested that a gay judge hear the case resulting from a police raid last August, the Taipei Times reported January 14. Police nabbed more than 500 gay-sex magazines, including the Taiwanese title His and several publications from Hong Kong. Owner Lai Jeng-jer was charged with offenses against morals. "Taiwan is a place where people don't know very much about homosexuals and where there is considerable discrimination against homosexuals, so to get a fair trial, I would like to ask heterosexual judges to avoid the case," he told the Times. Lai's petition to the court also requested that the confiscated magazines be reviewed by 100 homosexuals to see if they consider the contents indecent. "The definition of indecency may vary from person to person, and a homosexual male's perception of indecency cannot be arbitrated by a heterosexual male," he said. |