US lesbian and gay group gets UN accreditation
July 22nd, 2010 by Martina.Booth
A US gay rights group has received United Nations accreditation, permitting it to lobby at the world body.
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission will now be able to attend UN meetings, submit statements and work with governmental and UN agencies on human rights for LGBT people.
US president Barack Obama said he “welcomed this important step forward for human rights”.
“The United Nations is [now] closer to the ideals on which it was founded, and to values of inclusion and equality to which the United States is deeply committed,” he added.
The group’s director, Cary Alan Johnson, said the decision was “an affirmation that the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people have a place at the United Nations as part of a vital civil society community.”
“The clear message here is that these voices should not be silenced and that human rights cannot be denied on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.”
Only nine of the 3,200 non-governmental organisations which have consultative status at the UN are lesbian and gay groups.
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