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South Korea: Homosexuality Removed from 'Unacceptable' List International News Report |
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United Nations Extends Employee Benefits to Same-Sex Couples
The United Nations January 29 extended benefits to
employees' same-sex spouses and registered domestic
partners.
The change came in the form of an administrative order from Secretary-General Kofi Annan. When an employee applies for the benefits, the UN will seek an OK from the national government of the worker's home nation "to confirm the existence and validity of the domestic partnership contracted by the staff member under the law of that country." Same-sex marriage is permitted in The Netherlands, Belgium and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Ontario. Domestic partnerships or civil unions are available in Denmark/Greenland, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and the U.S. states of California, Hawaii, New Jersey and Vermont. Gay couples also have access to some spousal rights in Australia, Austria, Hungary, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. It is unclear what the U.S. government's response would be to an inquiry regarding a UN employee from a state that offers civil unions or domestic partnerships. Marriage and marriage-like unions are regulated individually by the 50 states. It is also unknown what determination would be made when citizens of a country that does not offer same-sex unions get married in Canada. Foreigners can arrive in British Columbia or Ontario, buy a license and get married the same day. South Korea: Homosexuality Removed from 'Unacceptable' List The South Korean government said February 4 it will remove homosexuality from its list of unacceptable sexual acts that harm teenagers. The list -- which also includes incest, bestiality, prostitution and sadism -- is used for censoring movies, books and Web sites, among other purposes. The law change is expected to take effect in a few months' time, following public hearings and passage by the National Assembly. "We revised the bill because the United Nations and National Human Rights Commission of Korea, among others, said that we shouldn't violate the human rights of homosexual minors in society," Lee Ju-hyun, director of the government's Commission on Youth Protection, told the JoongAng Daily newspaper. |