UN General Assembly: Summary execution of queers okay

dreadgeek · 11-22-2010, 04:28 PM

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people were once again subject to the whims of homophobia and religious and cultural extremism this week, thanks to a United Nations vote that removed “sexual orientation” from a resolution that protects people from arbitrary executions. In other words, the UN General Assembly this week voted to allow LGBT people to be executed without cause.

According to the International Gay and Lesbians Human Rights Commission, the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee on Social, Cultural and Humanitarian issues removed “sexual orientation” from a resolution addressing extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions this past week in a vote that was overwhelming represented by a majority of African, Middle East and Carribean nations. For a UN committee that addresses human rights questions that affect people all over the world, by removing protections for LGBT persons from a category of arbitrary executions, belies the objective and purpose of a committee whose focus this year is “on the examination of human rights questions,” according to its website.

Whole article here

I think that any and all discussions of cultural relativism should be filtered through the above. Imagine, if you will, that you are an Ugandan queer. Which do you think would be more important to you, the cultural integrity of your nation (e.g. if the way they interpret Christianity is that queers should be killed, that's the culture) or your right to exist? Can we all, at minimum, agree that whatever we might think of the death penalty as punishment for crime (not a discussion I want to have right now) that people should not be subject to summary execution merely for being queer?

What's more, we cannot look to the West or the North or the First World as the problem here. The arguments made by the nation's themselves are that homosexuality is a violation of their local culture or an imposition of the West. Neither colonialism nor imperialism can explain this. This one has to be laid, firmly, at the feet of the nations that voted in favor of executing queer people.

Cheers
Aj

11-22-2010, 04:28 PM	#1
dreadgeek Power Femme How Do You Identify?: Cinnamon spiced, caramel colored, power-femme Preferred Pronoun?: She Relationship Status: Married to a wonderful horse girl Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Lat: 45.60 Lon: -122.60 Posts: 1,733 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 1,132 Thanked 6,844 Times in 1,493 Posts Rep Power: 21474852	UN General Assembly: Summary execution of queers okay Gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people were once again subject to the whims of homophobia and religious and cultural extremism this week, thanks to a United Nations vote that removed “sexual orientation” from a resolution that protects people from arbitrary executions. In other words, the UN General Assembly this week voted to allow LGBT people to be executed without cause. According to the International Gay and Lesbians Human Rights Commission, the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee on Social, Cultural and Humanitarian issues removed “sexual orientation” from a resolution addressing extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions this past week in a vote that was overwhelming represented by a majority of African, Middle East and Carribean nations. For a UN committee that addresses human rights questions that affect people all over the world, by removing protections for LGBT persons from a category of arbitrary executions, belies the objective and purpose of a committee whose focus this year is “on the examination of human rights questions,” according to its website. Whole article here I think that any and all discussions of cultural relativism should be filtered through the above. Imagine, if you will, that you are an Ugandan queer. Which do you think would be more important to you, the cultural integrity of your nation (e.g. if the way they interpret Christianity is that queers should be killed, that's the culture) or your right to exist? Can we all, at minimum, agree that whatever we might think of the death penalty as punishment for crime (not a discussion I want to have right now) that people should not be subject to summary execution merely for being queer? What's more, we cannot look to the West or the North or the First World as the problem here. The arguments made by the nation's themselves are that homosexuality is a violation of their local culture or an imposition of the West. Neither colonialism nor imperialism can explain this. This one has to be laid, firmly, at the feet of the nations that voted in favor of executing queer people. Cheers Aj __________________ Proud member of the reality-based community. "People on the side of The People always ended up disappointed, in any case. They found that The People tended not to be grateful or appreciative or forward-thinking or obedient. The People tended to be small-minded and conservative and not very clever and were even distrustful of cleverness. And so, the children of the revolution were faced with the age-old problem: it wasn’t that you had the wrong kind of government, which was obvious, but that you had the wrong kind of people. As soon as you saw people as things to be measured, they didn’t measure up." (Terry Pratchett)