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U.S. opposes UN resolution against death penalty for same-sex relations

L

LordOfLore

Banned
Link.

The resolution — which Belgium, Benin, Costa Rica, France, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia and Switzerland introduced — passed by a 27-13 vote margin.

Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa, Togo, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Albania, Croatia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Slovenia, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama, Paraguay, Venezuela, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland and the U.K. supported the resolution.

Botswana, Burundi, Egypt, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, China, India, Iraq, Japan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates joined the U.S. in opposing it.

Kenya, Nigeria, Tunisia, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea and Cuba abstained.

The resolution specifically condemns “the imposition of the death penalty as a sanction for specific forms of conduct, such as apostasy, blasphemy, adultery and consensual same-sex relations” and expresses “serious concern that the application of the death penalty for adultery is disproportionately imposed on women.” It also notes “poor and economically vulnerable persons and foreign nationals are disproportionately subjected to the death penalty, that laws carrying the death penalty are used against persons exercising their rights to freedom of expression, thought, conscience, religion, and peaceful assembly and association, and that persons belonging to religious or ethnic minorities are disproportionately represented among those sentenced to the death penalty.”

ILGA in a press release noted Egypt, Russia and Saudi Arabia sought to amend the resolution and “dilute its impact.” These amendments failed, even though the U.S. supported two of them from Russia that stated the death penalty “does not per se mean a (human rights) violation, but may lead to . . . (human rights) violations” and “in some cases the (death penalty) leads to torture, rather than that many states hold that the (death penalty) is a form of torture.”

The U.S. also backed a proposed amendment from Egypt that stated “a moratorium (on the death penalty) should be a decision after domestic debate.” The U.S. abstained from voting on a proposed amendment from Saudi Arabia that said countries have the right to “develop their own laws and penalties (in accordance with international law.)”

Iran, Saudi Arabia, Mauritania and Sudan are among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual activity remains punishable by death. The so-called Islamic State has executed dozens of men in Iraq, Syria and Libya who were accused of committing sodomy.

“It is unconscionable to think that there are hundreds of millions of people living in states where somebody may be executed simply because of whom they love” said ILGA Executive Director Renato Sabbadini in a press release, referring to the resolution. “This is a monumental moment where the international community has publicly highlighted that these horrific laws simply must end.”

The vote took place nine days after Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, Costa Rican Vice President Ana Helena Chacón and other world leaders attended a U.N. LGBT Core Group event that coincided with the opening of the U.N. General Assembly.

Kelly Currie, the U.S. representative to the U.N. Economic and Social Council, attended the event but did not speak. Former Vice President Biden is among those who spoke at last year’s U.N. LGBT Core Group event.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley in April said the U.S. remains “disturbed” by the ongoing crackdown against gay men and lesbians in Chechnya. Caitlyn Jenner in July met with Haley at her office in New York.

President Trump traveled to Saudi Arabia in May. He made no mention that consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death in the kingdom in a speech he gave in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.

Trump has also not publicly commented on the ongoing crackdown against LGBT Chechens.

The U.S. and 24 other countries in 2014 voted for a resolution against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender the U.N. Human Rights Council adopted. The body in 2011 narrowly approved a resolution in support of LGBT rights that South Africa introduced.
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O

OnPoint

Member
OEfMosE.jpg
 
K

Kas

Member
Good on Albania, I guess.


Not so good on the US. Like, how the fuck does one disagree with this in good faith?
 
Hexa

Hexa

Member
A lot of the countries against it I get, but Japan and China I do not. Why did they vote against it?
 
R

RumblingRosco

Member
I guess we knew it would pass, and thus voted against it to shore up our support for Saudi Arabia without actually tipping the vote?

I mean... that's like the best possible thing I can say about this, and it's not even really a good thing nor do I agree with it on any level. That's just me trying to play devil's advocate here.
 
kamineko

kamineko

Does his best thinking in the flying car
You can slow down, US, the world already knows how stupid and ugly we are
 
J

Jackpot

Banned
Not just same-sex relations:

the imposition of the death penalty as a sanction for specific forms of conduct, such as apostasy, blasphemy, adultery and consensual same-sex relations
Click to expand...
 
S

Sweeney Tom

Banned
I guess it's nice to know how my country feels about people like me? Like, it's really hard to say this isn't what it looks like.
 
K

Kusagari

Member
Pretty obvious why they didn't. They probably fear a resolution like this would eventually lead to a resolution opposing the death penalty altogether.

And the GOP could never agree with that.
 
Q

Quixzlizx

Member
It's sad that the best-case scenario for motivation is the US government protecting their right to execute people in general.
 
R

Raylan Targaryen

Member
Soka said:
I guess we knew it would pass, and thus voted against it to shore up our support for Saudi Arabia without actually tipping the vote?

I mean... that's like the best possible thing I can say about this, and it's not even really a good thing nor do I agree with it on any level. That's just me trying to play devil's advocate here.
Click to expand...
There’s no devils advocate. This is what America chose to represent us, to speak for us. This is who we are
 
E

EMT0

Banned
I read the two paragraphs in the OP, and while LGBT is in there, it seems like it's a general proposal against the death penalty with a specific mention of its use against LGBT relationships, adultery, etc.
 
O

Occam

Member
Kusagari said:
Pretty obvious why they didn't. They probably fear a resolution like this would eventually lead to a resolution opposing the death penalty altogether.

And the GOP could never agree with that.
Click to expand...

They are the pro-death party, after all.
 
G

guybrushfreeman

Unconfirmed Member
The death penalty is abhorrent in any and all cases. It has no justification in any form. To see so many countries opposing such a resolution is terrifying. It's just pure murder
 
S

SecretMoblin

Member
Countries voted against it because the resolution was seen as part of a slow march to denounce the death penalty more broadly. China, India, Japan, and the U.S. have capital punishment and presumably didn't want to "undermine" their own legal systems.
 
H

Heshinsi

"playing" dumb? unpossible
Hollywood Duo said:
Japan, India, and China voting against it makes me think there is more to this.
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Countries that have the death penalty don’t want to be told their laws are barbaric (which it is)? They might not even be voting against this because they are against gay rights (they also might be), but judging from the motions the US was supporting, it could also be about the image of the death penalty.
 
A

Africanus

Member
How the hell did Nigeria, a country that allows this in its Northern states, abstain before voting no against it.
Slippery slope is not in good faith here.
 
Lanrutcon

Lanrutcon

Member
Bonen no Max'd said:
isn't South Africa pretty good on LGBT issues? They were one of the first countries to legalize same sex marriage.
Click to expand...

We still have issues (especially on the women's rights front in the more tribal areas), but I didn't realise we were actually pushing on the LGBT front. Go us!
 
Woo-Fu

Woo-Fu

Banned
Makes sense to me, doesn't matter if you agree with the resolution, what you don't agree with is that the UN should be the one mandating it.

It isn't about being the bad/good guy, it is about maintaining the sovreignty of your nation.
 
R

Red Arremer

Member
Congratulations, USA. Nations like Rwanda, Mongolia and Kyrgyzstan are more progressive than you are.

Bonen no Max'd said:
isn't South Africa pretty good on LGBT issues? They were one of the first countries to legalize same sex marriage.
Click to expand...

They are, actually. The first and so far only African country to legalize same sex marriage, among the first dozen or so in the world, and the very first constitutional ban on discrimination based on sexuality.
Obviously problems still exist because of conservative bigot assholes, but they kind of do everywhere.
 
M

Mivey

Member
kapowza said:
The US regime doesn't want the UN encroaching on their rights to put people to death, whatever the reason.
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The UN cannot really force anything, though. I mean, UN resolutions are just a diplomatic finger waggling. With the US sitting in the security council, the only body that can almost force stuff, they have nothing to fear. The normal rules don't apply anyway, so if that's their motivation, they are just fucking idiots.
 
G

guybrushfreeman

Unconfirmed Member
Woo-Fu said:
Makes sense to me, doesn't matter if you agree with the resolution, what you don't agree with is that the UN should be the one mandating it.

It isn't about being the bad/good guy, it is about maintaining the sovreignty of your nation.
Click to expand...

You clearly have no concept of what the UN is or does

Edit: It passed by the way so I guess sovereignty is over now!
 
H

hobblygobbly

Member
Woo-Fu said:
Makes sense to me, doesn't matter if you agree with the resolution, what you don't agree with is that the UN should be the one mandating it.

It isn't about being the bad/good guy, it is about maintaining the sovreignty of your nation.
Click to expand...

This has absolutely nothing to do with sovereignty unless you think UDHR also has to do with sovereignty... what you say is the same reasoning countries like Russia and China do for when they violate things like UDHR and UN charter provisions.
 
S

Snowybreak

Member
Woo-Fu said:
Makes sense to me, doesn't matter if you agree with the resolution, what you don't agree with is that the UN should be the one mandating it.

It isn't about being the bad/good guy, it is about maintaining the sovreignty of your nation.
Click to expand...

The sovereignty to... Kill gay people? What?
 
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