A United Nations committee on Monday
rejected a second attempt to suspend the organization's new office to
investigate and report on violence and discrimination against sexual
minorities.
Last month, African states led by
Botswana called on the General Assembly's human rights committee to
delay creation of the office and suspend the work of Vitit
Muntarbhorn of Thailand, who was appointed as the office's first
expert in the fall. The effort failed.
Botswana's second attempt also failed,
with 84 countries voting against the motion, including the United
States, and 77 backing it. Sixteen nations abstained from the vote.
“The U.N. General Assembly vote makes
clear that no one should be subjected to discrimination and violence
on any grounds,” OutRight Action International Executive Director
Jessica Stern told
the Washington
Blade. “We congratulate the many states, national human
rights institutions, and civil society organizations that worked to
ensure that the universal human rights system would be upheld. Today
was a victory for human rights.”
U.S. Ambassador to the UN Samantha
Power tweeted a photo of the motion failing. “General Assembly
rejects African attempt to end the post of UN Independent Expert to
monitor violence/discrim vs LGBT,” she captioned the photo.
After last month's loss, Charles
Ntwaagae, Botswana's ambassador to the UN, reiterated Africa's
opposition, saying that the Human Rights Council was ignoring race-
and religion-based discrimination while focusing on people's “sexual
interests and behaviors.”