UN President's Anti-Gay Remarks 'Shameful,' Jared Polis Says

Colorado Congressman Jared Polis has joined the growing chorus of international politicians and human rights organizations speaking out against United Nations General Assembly President Ali Abdussalam Treki's remarks that being gay is “not really acceptable.”

“Human rights violations of any kind must not be tolerated,” Polis told On Top Magazine in an email.

“It is shameful that a leader of an organization designed to unite the people of the world could preach such blind intolerance and division,” the freshman congressman added.

Polis joins an increasing number of politicians and human rights organizations outraged at Treki's homophobic language, including Massachusetts Representative Barney Frank, Illinois Representative Mike Quigley, Florida Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, UK MEP Michael Cashman, and the international human rights groups ILGA and EveryOne Group.

Among them, however, is neither the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, nor the United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon.

When questioned during an October 2 press conference, Farhan Haq, a spokesman for Ban Ki-moon, said he would not comment on Treki's remarks, adding that the UN chief supports the human rights of everyone, the Inner City Press reported.

Treki made his comments on September 18, during a press conference to open the 64^th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

“[T]hat matter is very sensitive, very touchy,” Treki said in response to a question about a UN resolution that calls for the universal decriminalization of being gay. “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.

“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, responded in an On Top Magazine request for comment.

Cashman, who is also openly gay, warned that such statements could “legitimize violence towards LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender] people,” in a statement.

“[W]hat's 'not acceptable' is drawing geographic borders around equality,” Quigley, a long-time gay ally, said.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, blasted the president's words in a statement: “The anti-gay bigotry spewed by this Qaddafi shill demonstrates once again that the UN has been hijacked by advocates of hate and intolerance.”

The International Lesbian & Gay Association (ILGA) expressed “outrage” at Treki's remarks.

“Considering that the statement called for the universal decriminalization of homosexuality, one cannot but conclude that the new president of the UN Assembly is in favor of criminalizing lesbians and gay men, bisexual, trans and intersex people,” the group said in a statement. “The worrying and serious implications of this attitude, coming from the new head of an institution which is supposed to regard human rights – all human rights – as the most scared value cannot be overstated.”

During an October 2 press conference, Treki summarily dismissed a request to clarify his remarks with, “I answered before.” But speaking of the UN's Goldstone report on the Gaza conflict, he called human rights a common concern, saying that “a violation of human rights in any country concerns the whole of humanity.”