United Nations: It's Okay to Kill the Gay

by Thor   Halvorssen
The Huffington Post

NEW YORK, NY -- Last week, the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly voted on a special resolution addressing extrajudicial, arbitrary and summary executions. The resolution affirms the duties of member countries to protect the right to life of all people with a special emphasis on a call to investigate killings based on discriminatory grounds. The resolution highlights particular groups historically subject to executions including street children, human rights defenders, members of ethnic, religious, and linguistic minority communities, and, for the past 10 years, the resolution has included sexual orientation as a basis on which some individuals are targeted for death.

These two teenagers, suspected of being gay, were executed in Iran in 2005.

The tiny West African nation of Benin (on behalf of the UN's African Group) proposed an amendment to strike sexual minorities from the resolution. The amendment was adopted with 79 votes in favor, 70 against, 17 abstentions and 26 absent.

A collection of notorious human rights violators voted for the amendment including Afghanistan, Algeria, China, Congo, Cuba, Eritrea, North Korea, Iran (didn't Ahmadinejad tell the world there were no gays in Iran?), Egypt, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia, Sudan, Uganda, Vietnam, Yemen, and Zimbabwe.

Add to this Bahamas, Belize (where you get 10 years for being gay), Jamaica (10 years of hard labor), Grenada (10 years), Guyana (life sentence), Saint Kitts and Nevis (10 years), Saint Lucia (10 years), Saint Vincent (10 years), South Africa (Apartheid? What apartheid?), and Morocco (ruled by a gay monarch!). They are all on the list of nations that do not think execution of gays and lesbians is worthy of condemnation or investigation. (The full vote tally is published beneath this column.)

To its shame, Colombia was among the 16 nations who abstained.

Those against the amendment include every European nation present, all Scandinavian countries, India, Korea, most of Latin America, all of North America, and only one Middle Eastern nation: Israel. In most countries in the Middle East, it is a crime to be gay--in some, like Saudi Arabia, it is punishable by beheading and in others, like Iran, by hanging.

The UN has a remarkable track record of doing virtually nothing when presented with mass killings or genocide. "Never again!" was the cry after the holocaust. Since then, the world has witnessed a dozen more never agains with strong condemnation from the UN coming after the corpses pile up. A resolution of the sort that was voted on in the General Assembly is significant for its clarity of message: "It's okay to kill the gays."

The British government had pleaded: "The subject of this amendment--the need for prompt and thorough investigations of all killing, including those committed for ... sexual orientation--exists in this resolution simply because it is a continuing cause for concern."

Not a single African nation voted against the amendment. This is not surprising. Homosexuality is illegal in most of Africa. So acceptable is the notion of extra-judicial killings of gay men and women for their consensual private conduct that one of these countries, Uganda, is considering legislation making homosexuality (not the behavior, just being gay) punishable with death. The proposer of the bill, David Bahati, and the Ugandan "Minister for Ethics and Integrity," Nsaba Buturo, have vowed the bill will pass before parliament dissolves on May 12, 2011.

Uganda is not a Muslim nation. It is a Christian country. And it was American evangelical preachers in Uganda who fanned the flames of what could turn into mass executions in a continent that has seen genocidal murder occur numerous times in the last two decades on the basis of religious belief, ethnicity, and membership in a linguistic minority (Burundi, Darfur, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia, Zimbabwe...).

I had the opportunity to meet one of the courageous individuals in the struggle against this potential mass killing in Uganda. Her name is Kasha Jacqueline and she was one of the presenters at this year's Oslo Freedom Forum. Jacqueline was concerned for her safety when she made her way to Oslo given that she could have been the subject of retaliation upon her return.

Upon arriving in Norway, she was approached by several members of one of Oslo's gay and lesbian organizations who urged her not to speak at the Oslo Freedom Forum because they disagreed with our inclusion of several speakers who were outspoken critics of left-wing dictatorships. Sadly, some people in Oslo believe that only those on the left can call themselves human rights defenders -- their double standard usually will manifest itself when they ignore the crimes of the governments they favor.

Kasha Jacqueline was quick to tell them that she was using us, and not the other way around. Her speech was so powerful that she was invited to stay an extra day and give the same speech at an event open to the public. She kindly accepted.

Just days later, the inclusion of Kasha Jacqueline in the program of the Oslo Freedom Forum was one of the subjects of public condemnation by an American pro-life activist. The irony was excruciating. Here was a man who devotes his life to what he describes as stopping the mass killings of babies chastising an event for including someone in our program who wants to stop the mass killings of gays and lesbians. My response to his jeremiad, which was never published, concluded: "There is nothing to discuss in a circumstance like the one faced by Ms. Jacqueline and those affected by this legislation other than to offer: 'Ms. Jacqueline, how can we help you and your organization prevent what could become a horrific massacre?'"

Thus the left, dear reader, thus the right. They deserve each other.

Thor Halvorssen is president of the Human Rights Foundation and founder of theOslo Freedom Forum.

In favor of the amendment to remove sexual orientation from the UN resolution on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (79 nations):

Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Brunei Dar-Sala, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, China, Comoros, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Opposed to the UN amendment to remove sexual orientation from the resolution on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (70 nations):

Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Micronesia (FS), Monaco, Montenegro, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela

Abstain (17 nations):

Antigua-Barbuda, Barbados, Belarus, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Colombia, Fiji, Mauritius, Mongolia, Papau New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Vanuatu

Absent (26 nations):

Albania, Bolivia, Central African Republic, Chad, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Marshall Island, Mauritania, Nauru, Nicaragua, Palau, Sao Tome Principe, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Togo, Tonga, Turkey, Turkmenistan

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Rutgers freshman kills self after classmates use hidden camera to watch his sexual activity

BY Alison Gendar, Edgar Sandoval and Larry Mcshane
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

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An undated Facebook photo of Tyler Clementi, sources say killed himself jumping off the George Washington Bridge. Two classmates (below) were arrested for cyber-voyeurism.

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Dharun Ravi

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Molly Wei

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Rutgers tragedy

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A Rutgers University freshman, distraught over a gay tryst splashed live across cyberspace by his roommate, plunged to his death from the George Washington Bridge.

"Jumping off the gw bridge sorry," read the final Facebook status from Tyler Clementi, just 72 hours after his private life suddenly became public knowledge.

The 18-year-old committed suicide after his dorm-room rendezvous was surreptitiously streamed on the Web via his roomie's hidden camera, sources told the Daily News.

The student who broadcast the liaison, and the friend who was with him, were arrested while Clementi's family waited for his body to be found.

"His poor parents," one police source said. "Shame is a terrible thing."

The quiet redhead, a scholarship student and skilled violinist, apparently asked roommate Dharun Ravi, 18, for some privacy on Sept. 19.

"Roommate asked for the room till midnight," Ravi wrote on Twitter that night. "I went into Molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay."

Authorities say Ravi streamed the action on the Web to friends - an illegal video transmission.

Two days later, in another Twitter post, Ravi indicated he had plans for a sequel.

"Yes, it's happening again," he wrote, inviting people to watch between 9:30 p.m. and midnight. The second streaming attempt failed, authorities said.

When Clementi learned of the vile voyeurism, he couldn't handle it and methodically planned his own death.

Sometime after 8 p.m. on Sept. 22, a friend said, he used his cell phone to change his Facebook status to the chilling farewell message.

Clementi wandered along the south walkway of the GWB from Fort Lee, N.J., to the tower on the New York side at 8:50 p.m., sources said.

Once there, he carefully left behind his wallet - including his license, AAA card and Rutgers ID - before leaping to his death. There was no note.

Authorities discovered the corpse of a white male floating Wednesday near theColumbia University boathouse, about 30 blocks north of the bridge, but no identification was made.

The dead teen's devastated family said they were "cooperating fully" with the continuing criminal probe against Ravi and his high-school pal and fellow Rutgers freshman Molly Wei.

"Tyler was a fine young man, and a distinguished musician," they wrote. "The family is heartbroken beyond words."

A priest spent about an hour Wednesday consoling the family at their Ridgewood, N.J., home.

Ravi and Wei were each charged with two counts of invasion of privacy. Ravi, freed on $25,000 bail, faced two additional charges for his botched bid at beaming Clementi's love life on the Internet.

They face up to five years in prison if convicted.

Rutgers, which launched a program to promote civility on campus just this week, said if the allegations are true, the duo violated the school's "standards of decency and humanity."

The gay rights group Garden State Equality denounced the death as a hate crime.

Rutgers student Danielle Birnbohm, who lived next door to Clementi and Ravi, said the pair shared a room in the Davidson C dorm but spent little time together.

"[Tyler] kept to himself. He was a great person," said Birn-bohm. "It's a shame. I can't believe someone would kill himself because of that."

Another dorm resident, Nicole Conter, recalled Clementi as "cute and quiet."

"He was in a band, and played instruments," said the chemistry major. "He really kept to himself."

At Ridgewood High School, the teen won a scholarship from the local symphony orchestra at his June graduation.

Ravi, of Plainsboro, and Wei, 18, of Princeton, were members of the same clique at West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North in New Jersey.

Friends described Ravi as an outgoing Ping-Pong player and Frisbee enthusiast who enjoyed a good prank.

"I think he's a good person," said Michael Zhuang, 17, a neighbor and former classmate. "I don't think he's a homophobe. It would've been no different if it was a girl in the room."

lmcshane@nydailynews.com

With Kerry Wills, Matthew Lysiak, John Lauinger, Jonathan Lemire and Samuel Goldsmith

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