The Gay Youth Corner - LGBT Rights Are Human Rights Too

Human rights, we have all heard of them; however, few of us can recite them; perhaps find it hard even to utter a single one? Yet, we hear the two words rather frequently. What, then are our human rights and more importantly, as members of an extensive LGBT community how can we use these rights to command the respect of countries where being gay is regarded as immoral and illegal? The International Bill of Human Rights was written after the end of the Second World War. With the creation of an international code of conduct regarding the treatment of all humans it was believed by the member states of the United Nations (UN) that greater respect of human life could be encouraged after the awful persecution of the Jewish race by the Nazi regime.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was unanimously adopted on 10 December 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly "as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations."

The list of human rights is extensive and broken down to cover many different areas. However, at its core is the belief that all mankind are equal before the law and free to express themselves regardless of their gender, race, creed, education, belief system and sexuality. It would be easy, totally acceptable even to believe that such a code is encouraged, enforced and proudly endorsed by all member states of the UN. Why is it then that so many citizens of member states do not know their human rights and clearly are misinformed of the human rights violations that are carried out every day the world over?

Here is the biggest flaw of the UN. As close as we have to a global parliament, the United Nations should act as a beacon for justice and equality for all the member states it brings together. Yet, we need only to observe the recent charade of the war in Iraq to see this is not the case. Where the UN fails is in the respect it does not command from its members. Indeed the recent refusal by America to adhere to the counsel of the UN sent ripples across the globe carrying the message that it is perfectly acceptable to ignore the principles of which the UN is founded. Therefore, on a smaller scale, other countries are not discouraged and see no reason for justification of the human rights violations within their own borders, much the same as America defied the UN and invaded the borders of foreign territories with little justification themselves.

There is of course work being done by UN member states towards fighting wrongful persecution, yet these countries struggle to enforce their codes on countries to whom in their opinion are doing little wrong. What does this have to do with the rights of the global LGBT community? Why as a gay youth should you be encouraged to consider the human rights of people thousands of miles from your home country? You should be concerned because LGBT rights are human rights too. If you are reading this and are sceptical of causing a fuss over issues that seem abstract and distant from your personal troubles then please take the time to read on. What is true is that regardless of your origin or nationality your rights as a gay man or woman should be respected across the world, persecution is neither owed nor deserved of any member of any minority group.

How do LGBT rights compare, interweave even with those human rights we have already discussed? Freedom of expression is perhaps the key point to consider; sexuality is an expression of self. We are not talking of the degrees of protest or pride that we all encounter or present, but the basic right to express yourself as an individual. Imagine living in a country where your Prime Minister believes homosexuality to be immoral and therefore national government, short of requesting their citizens to attack you, do nothing should such a crime be committed. This is the case in Poland where the (then) Prime Minister in 2005 stated ‘If a person tries to infect others with their homosexuality, then the state must intervene in this violation of freedom’. How then does a gay man or woman exist in a country where their expression of individuality is seen as illegal?

Moreover, still with Poland and as recently as May last year; the Deputy of the Polish National Assembly, Wojciech Wierzejski, stated ‘If deviants begin to demonstrate, they should be hit with batons’. Here then is a man in the same position as Condoleza Rice, or Gordon Brown removing even the power of protest from the LGBT community. For all of the cries of prejudice and intolerance in the UK and

America

at least the act of protest is allowed assuming it causes no infringement before the law.

Here then is the core of how LGBT rights are so paralleled to human rights. If any progress is to be made globally then the rights of gay and lesbian individuals must be seen as an extension of the rights of all individuals. Such acts as public execution in the Middle East for being gay need to be dealt with immediately and seen as the most extreme violation of human rights. Even more locally, in America, for example, the right to marriage needs to be legalised. Here is where we can start most effectively, America is bound to the code of human rights and therefore needs to be made to see that same sex marriage is a right owed to all of the LGBT community, as individuals, as human beings.

What work is being done already? You may or may not have heard of Amnesty International, a not for profit, non political organisation which aims to wipe out human rights violations across the world. Part of their work is focussed around LGBT rights and by getting involved you too will be doing something about the international threat of persecution. However, Amnesty also puts an emphasis on all violations of any of the articles of the human rights bill and their work is extensive and far reaching. Many universities have Amnesty societies and this is the best place to get started, however, you can also find out more by following the link at the bottom of this page.

Most importantly is that as a member of the international LGBT community you recognise the hard work and struggle that others go through on a daily basis. The violation of human rights is a global problem and a very important issue for international politics. Therefore, stand up, put in some work researching those who need your help and see what you can offer. Even if it is writing a letter to the leader of a dictatorial society, or a card sent to one of the many people fighting for their rights in their own country, wishing luck and support, every effort will make a difference.

22-01-2007 04:28

"Indeed the recent refusal by America to adhere to the counsel of the UN sent ripples across the globe carrying the message that it is perfectly acceptable to ignore the principles of which the UN is founded.Therefore, on a smaller scale, other countries are not discouraged and see no reason for justification of the human rights violations within their own borders"

I think it's incredibly biased and ignorant to imply that just because the US decided to invade Iraq, smaller countries are going to start violating the human rights of their own citizens now. I don't see how that conclusion can be logically drawn. While I disagree with the war in Iraq, I certainly don't think it's goin to lead to other countries to start taking away their citizen's human rights.

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caliban

12-01-2007 10:07

Yeah this article here is confusing. It alludes to the fact that sexuality is protected in our Bill of Human Rights? Which I'm pretty sure, it isn't. At least not yet. It doesn't mention the GLBTQPA community at all, and thus we aren't entitled to Human Rights. Maybe that's a goal, but until something like that is added in, no one owes us the time of day if they don't so choose.

Other than that, I did like this article. It's been the first on here that hasn't made me very angry.

In the 1960s Malcom X encouraged the black communuty to bring America up against the UN and have our country tried for infringments on their Human Rights. Malcom X was a brilliant leader, and I wish maybe some thing of the sort would have come about.
We need something mentioning gays specifically in the Bill of Human Rights. Once we have that, we'll be a lot better off. It wont be easy, but we'll have a start.

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OMGImad0rk

12-01-2007 03:17

Being specific and all that

I think this is a great article, and I went on to read the full International Bill of Human Rights out of interest. I think it should be updated to include specifc references to sexuality, which it does not seem to do. Yeah, it covers literally everyone but if in Article 2 they're going to mention race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, I think they should definitely include sexuality too.
Similarly in Article 16, about marriage, there should be a section about how same-sex couples have a right to marry and to found a family. I think implicitly stating these things could help perhaps. Maybe I'm just being picky though.

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train_stranger