Monday, January 30, 2012

UN URGES AFRICAN UNION TO RESPECT GAY RIGHTS


ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged African leaders to respect gay rights. Discrimination based on sexual orientation had been ignored or even sanctioned by many states for too long, Mr Ban told an African Union summit.
Homosexuality is illegal in many African countries - a situation which has drawn increasing criticism from activists and the West.
Ban Ki-moon told delegates that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity "prompted governments to treat people as second class citizens or even criminals".
Homosexual acts are illegal in most African countries, including key Western allies such as Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and Botswana.Both the US and UK have recently warned they would use foreign aid to push for homosexuality to be decriminalised on the socially conservative continent.
Source: Agency

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