NEW YORK, NY - In the wake of Indian Supreme Court’s ruling that gay sex is illegal, UN chief Ban Ki-moon has stressed on the need for equality and opposed any discrimination against lesbians, gays and bisexuals.
The Secretary General “re-affirmed that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. He once again spoke out against discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people and stressed the need to recommit ourselves to building a world of freedom and equality for all,” Ban’s spokesperson Martin Nesirky said when asked to comment on the Supreme Court ruling. In his message on the occasion of Human Rights Day, observed on December 10, Ban said the global body denounces all attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) or intersex people.
“We oppose all arrests, imprisonments and discrimination they suffer. And we recommit ourselves to building a world of freedom and equality for all,” the UN Secretary General said. He said the key to success in promoting human rights is the political will of member states. “It is states, in the first instance, that are obliged to protect human rights and prevent violations at a national level, and to stand up when other states fail to live up to their commitments,” he said.
The Secretary General “re-affirmed that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. He once again spoke out against discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people and stressed the need to recommit ourselves to building a world of freedom and equality for all,” Ban’s spokesperson Martin Nesirky said when asked to comment on the Supreme Court ruling. In his message on the occasion of Human Rights Day, observed on December 10, Ban said the global body denounces all attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) or intersex people.
“We oppose all arrests, imprisonments and discrimination they suffer. And we recommit ourselves to building a world of freedom and equality for all,” the UN Secretary General said. He said the key to success in promoting human rights is the political will of member states. “It is states, in the first instance, that are obliged to protect human rights and prevent violations at a national level, and to stand up when other states fail to live up to their commitments,” he said.
“This is not always easy, and over the past 20 years, we have seen genocide and many other appalling and large-scale violations of international human rights and humanitarian law,” Ban added. Various human rights groups have also denounced the ruling by the Supreme Court, saying the move to criminalize gay sex is unjust and “miscarriage of justice”.
The American Jewish World Service (AJWS), a Jewish international human rights and development organization, expressed deep disappointment with the decision of the Supreme Court to overturn a 2009 Delhi High Court ruling, creating a legal precedent to decriminalize homosexuality in India. (PTI)
The American Jewish World Service (AJWS), a Jewish international human rights and development organization, expressed deep disappointment with the decision of the Supreme Court to overturn a 2009 Delhi High Court ruling, creating a legal precedent to decriminalize homosexuality in India. (PTI)