Human Rights
Despite a long campaign to redress the deficit, which continues, gay and lesbian rights are still not protected by the UN Human Rights Declaration. “Millions of people across the globe face imprisonment, torture, violence, and discrimination because of their sexual orientation,” said MEP Michael Cashman. The Islamic countries of Iran and Egypt, and Communist China, come in for special criticism due to their incidence of hanging or imprisoning gay men because they are gay. There are also criticisms of Russia, Latvia and Poland not doing enough to ensure equality and not complying enough with their international obligations.
At the 2005 UK General Election, the Conservative Party made a policy commitment to repeal the UK Human Rights Act. The governing Labour Party announced in 2006 that they would be reviewing its operation in the light of increased terrorism and problems in administering justice which were leading some to conclude that the Human Rights Act was hindering justice.
On 10 December 2008 there was a further attempt to include sexual orientation in the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, but it was opposed by a significant number of countries, including the USA. Around sixty countries have signed the proposal including all the countries who are members of the European Union.
Page updated 30 December 2008
