United Nations President Ali Abdussalam
Treki has called on governments to protect human rights even as world
leaders continue to criticize the Libyan diplomat's anti-gay remarks.
In a press conference to open the 64th
session of the United Nations General Assembly, Treki said a UN
resolution that calls for the universal decriminalization of being
gay was “not acceptable.”
“[T]hat matter is very sensitive,
very touchy,” Treki said. “As a Muslim, I am not in favor of it
… it is not accepted by the majority of countries. My opinion is
not in favor of this matter at all. I think it's not really
acceptable by our religion, our tradition.”
“It is not acceptable in the majority
of the world. And there are some countries that allow that, thinking
it is a kind of democracy … I think it is not,” he added.
The resolution, which eventually won
approval, was met with strong resistance from a group of Arab leaders
who challenged it with a statement condemning being gay. The
Arab-backed resolution decried the decriminalization of being gay
because it might lead to “the social normalization, and possibly
the legitimization, of many deplorable acts including pedophilia.”
Vatican officials also balked at the pro-gay resolution, saying it
would promote gay marriage. U.S. representatives under the previous
administration refused to sign-on to either document. The Obama
administration, however, altered course and adopted the pro-gay
resolution.
On Wednesday, Michael Cashman, the
openly gay UK Member of the European Parliament (MEP), joined the
growing chorus of global leaders condemning Treki's anti-gay
sentiments.
“He [Treki] must now speak on behalf
of those who do not have a voice and forget his religious beliefs
which must remain private,” Cashman said in a statement. “He
must realize that the implications of his words could legitimize
violence towards LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender]
people.”
Cashman's remarks echoed sentiments
from several U.S. lawmakers.
“This is par for the course for a
Libyan official – offensive, stupid and bigoted,” Massachusetts
Representative Barney Frank, the nation's most powerful openly gay
elected official, told On Top Magazine.
“[W]hat's 'not acceptable' is drawing
geographic borders around equality,” Illinois Representative Mike
Quigley, a long-time gay ally, said.
And in a statement, Florida
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the ranking Republican on the
House Foreign Affairs Committee, said, “The anti-gay bigotry spewed
by this Qaddafi shill demonstrates once again that the UN has been
hijacked by advocates of hate and intolerance.”
When asked to clarify his gay
resolution remarks during an October 2 news conference, Treki
dismissed the questions with, “I answered before.”
Speaking of the UN's Goldstone report
on the Gaza conflict, however, he said that “a violation of human
rights in any country concerns the whole of humanity,” the Inner
City Press reported Friday.