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UNITED NATIONS

Boost for Worldwide Gay Rights as IDAHO Decriminalisation Initiative Heads for UN General Assembly

France leads bid to decriminalise homosexuality
 

■ Louis-Georges Tin founder of International Day Against Homophobia..

LONDON, November 17, 2008  –  An historic declaration against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity is to be presented to the General Assembly of the United Nations between December 15 and 20

It is thought that this is the first time a declaration of this kind has reached the General Assembly of the UN in New York.

The initiative for the declaration follows a campaign by the IDAHO committee (the committee coordinating the International Day Against Homophobia) which has been supported by the French government following a meeting to mark IDAHO on 17th May 2008.

All 27 countries of the European Union have signed the declaration and a spokesperson for the UK Foreign Office has advised IDAHO-UK that they are supportive of the French efforts to increase the signatories to the statement and are working closely with the EU Presidency who are coordinating efforts.

However, campaigners are anxious to stress that support for the declaration is by no means confined to Europe and that many countries around the world are campaigning hard in support of the declaration and are asking their neighbours to support the text.

Louis Georges Tin, president of the IDAHO Committee explained that the initial strategy is to encourage as many countries as possible to sign the declaration.

After the declaration is presented it is hoped that the momentum for decriminalisation will build and that there will be enough support for a resolution to be passed in the UN.

Intense diplomatic and political efforts to build that support are likely to continue for some time to come, but campaigners are encouraged by the world wide support for decriminalisation thus far.

Monsieur Tin also explained that a key theme for the IDAHO campaign in 2009 will be the need to address world transphobia – and this issue is likely to taken up by the 80 countries that will be organising IDAHO events on or around May 17.

IDAHO is essentially a ‘grassroots’ grouping of activists with a minimal ‘bureaucracy’

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