Respect Gay Rights Ban Ki-Moon tells African Union

[Camy]

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged African leaders to respect gay rights.

Discrimination based on sexual orientation had been ignored or even sanctioned by many states for too long, Mr Ban told an African Union summit.

Homosexuality is illegal in many African countries - a situation which has drawn increasing criticism from activists and the West.

Mr Ban also said the Arab Spring proved leaders "must listen to their people".

The two-day summit, in the AU's new building in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, is set to elect a new AU Commission chair.

South Africa has put forward long-serving minister Nkosozana Dlamini Zuma - the ex-wife of President Jacob Zuma - to challenge the incumbent, Jean Ping of Gabon, who has been in post since 2008.

If Ms Zuma wins Monday's vote, she will be the first woman to take the helm of the 54-nation bloc's executive council.

Homosexual acts are illegal in most African countries, including key Western allies such as Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and Botswana.

Both the US and UK have recently warned they would use foreign aid to push for homosexuality to be decriminalised on the socially conservative continent.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16780079

[DesDownunder]

Discrimination against LGBTQ people in Africa is a real human rights issue. Despite the recent very welcome statements and decrees from President Obama and Hilary Clinton ( link to her full inspiring speech at the UN), there have been American based people cited as stirring up trouble for African LGBTQ people. Scott Lively is one of these as president of the Abiding Truth Ministries which has been cited as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Centre, and said to be directly linked with the Uganda 'death' bills for homosexuality.

Excerpt (1'53") from above Clinton UN speech (30 minutes) which I recommend when you can make the time :

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mTJYbCHHnA8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

More and more people are coming out as they feel safe to do so. It is up to all of us to do whatever we can to support Hilary Clinton, President Obama, and Ban Ki-Moon, and those who bravely and in many cases heroically come out, or offer their support publicly. These people lessen the chances of LGBTQ youth being bullied and becoming suicidal.

I state yet again, that in human history there has, as far as I can research, never been a country which did not alter the laws it passed to legalise homosexuality, and thereby re-criminalise homosexuality. I make no bones about being horrified over some of the claims being made by anti-gay supporters of some of the Republican Candidates, which I will not name here because it just gives them publicity. I will say that I think we have made sufficient inroads into mainstream acceptance that reversing the laws in those Western countries which now see us as human beings just like everyone else, will not be overturned without theocratic manipulation of our political systems. If for no other reason we all must be very careful for whom we vote, and remember that not voting is effectively a vote for the party you don't want.