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Three Homosexual Activist Groups Gain Previously Denied UN Consultative Status

Will boost efforts to gain UN recognition for sexual orientation and gender identity as human rights

By Gudrun Schultz

NEW YORK, United States, December 14, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Three homosexual activist groups were granted consultative status at the United Nations this week, despite serious concerns over the groups’ history of affiliation with organizations promoting pedophilia.

The European Region of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA-Europe), along with two member groups--the Danish National Association for Gays and Lesbians and the Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany--were granted consultative status by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Consultative status gives non-governmental organizations the right to represent their own interests at the UN and to participate in the UN’s work.

“We demand the right not to be discriminated against on the grounds of who we are, as lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender persons,” said Rosanna Flamer Caldera, Co-Secretary General of ILGA, in response to the UN decision.

ECOSOC disregarded the report of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations for 2006, which called on the Council to withhold status from the homosexual organizations.

The Council’s actions were criticized by UN members who objected to the decision to override the Committee’s recommendation, according to a press release. The UN representative for Benin called the procedure a “masquerade” and said the Council had “acted in great haste and general disarray” and had “created an unfortunate precedent by reducing the authority of the Committee’s decisions.”

“The Council should not be in a hurry to sow confusion for the benefit of certain organizations,” the representative said.

ILGA had gained consultative status to the UN in 1993, but was suspended one year later after the UN discovered that groups promoting sex with children had memberships with the organization, including the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) which campaigns to legalize adult/child sexual contact.

The organization’s support for repealing sexual age-of-consent laws have been a source of concern for conservative UN member states, as well. In 1985, ILGA passed a resolution stating that “young people have the right to sexual and social self-determination and age of consent laws often operate to oppress and not to protect.”

Repeated efforts by the organization to regain status have been denied.
In January 2006 ECOSOC again denied requests by ILGA and the Danish National Association for official status, after opposing members in the UN remained unconvinced that the organizations no longer included pro-pedophilia members.

While ILGA said pedophilia groups had been expelled, the organization had refused to submit a membership list, claiming to do so would compromise members in countries where homosexuality was illegal.

The executive director of ILGA-Europe, Patricia Prendiville, said the UN’s decision to admit the group will boost homosexual activist efforts to gain UN recognition for sexual orientation and gender identity as human rights, one of the primary goals of the organization.

See UN press release:
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/ecosoc6242.doc.htm

See previous LifeSiteNews coverage:

Two International Gay Associations Denied Membership Status with UN
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/jan/06012402.html

United States Backs UN NGO Status for Homosexual Activist Groups Once Associated with Pedophiles
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2006/may/06051902.html

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