The Lesbians in Baguio for National Democracy (Lesbond) and Progay Baguio issued a joint statement this week supporting the declaration at a high level panel of the United Nations seeking to decriminalize homosexuality worldwide.
At a high level event at the United Nations in Geneva on 17 September, officials including Secretary General Ban Ki-moon issued a formal call to end legal sanctions of sexual orientation and gender identity. The panel was co-sponsored by a cross-regional group of 13 states, including Argentina, Brazil, Finland, France, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, Romania, Slovenia, Timor-Leste, and Uruguay.
Julie Palaganas, coordinator of Lesbond, said the panel’s recommendation can help efforts of grassroots LGBT organizations to expand protections of human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
”We agree with Ban Ki-moon’s leadership on this initiative that would lead to erasing laws that make sexual orientation and gender identity a crime in 78 countries. It is high time for the State Parties of the United Nations to write an agreement to end torture, and cruel treatment of LGBTs,” Palaganas said.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navanethem Pillay, declared that the first priority of those states should be decriminalization worldwide.
Willie Villacampa, coordinator of ProGay Baguio, also called on the UN to actively protect gay human rights defenders against state repression. The ProGay leader voiced out a global protest against the illegal arrest of Nikolai Alekseev by Moscow intelligence forces as he was about to board a plane for Geneva. Alekseev, organizer of Moscow Gay Pride, was to attend the European Court for Human Rights. The Russian human rights lawyer is suing Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov for suppressing the LGBT pride parades in the city.
ProGay said that the Russian government should set an example to the world by setting free Alekseev and allowing gay prides to be conducted without violence in all cities of the Russian Federation.
Lesbond and Progay has been active in promoting human rights based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the Ilocos and Cordillera regions. The two groups jointly sponsor the annual Baguio Pride Parade as part of their campaigns against homophobia and discrimination. The two groups are in an uphill battle given the very conservative and unaccepting environment of the broad expanse of northern Philippines.
Tags: ban ki moon, gay human rights, gay rights groups, human rights lawyer, legal sanctions, national democracy, pride parades, PROGAY, state repression, yuri luzhkov