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.