LGBT rights stripped from UN development goals
A historic new UN agreement on development goals no longer makes any mention of improvements on LGBT rights.
The 193 Member States of the United Nations reached a provisional agreement on Sunday on the new sustainable development agenda that is set to be adopted by world leaders in September.
The agreement includes 17 new sustainable development goals – aiming to end poverty, reduce inequality and combat climate change by 2030.
However, despite calls from some countries for a more progressive approach, all mentions of LGBT rights were stripped from the final agreement.
Though the goals contain an expansive anti-discrimination provision, the anti-LGBT Catholic Centre for Family and Human Rights reports that LGBT rights were scraped out of the agreement.
The final text pledges to ensure that “human rights and fundamental freedoms are enjoyed by all, without discrimination on grounds of race, ethnicity, colour, sex, age, language, religion, culture, migration status, political or other opinion, national or social origin, economic situation, birth, disability or other status.”
It also pledges to “end all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere” – but LGBT rights fails to be mentioned.
The anti-LGBT group reports that Brazilian Ambassador Guilherme de Aguiar Patriota complained his delegation wanted “more progressive language” on human rights – as well as action on on “LGBTI, whether or not these groups are fully stated”.
However, it adds that Ambassador Usman Sarki of Nigeria “vocally denounced” any attempt to impose LGBT rights on his country – demanding that the draft agreement be “cleaned” during negotiations to remove mention of LGBT rights.
