The Obama administration on Wednesday formally
endorsed a U.N. statement calling for the worldwide decriminalization
of homosexuality, a measure that former President George W. Bush had
refused to sign.
The move was the
administration's latest in reversing Bush-era decisions that have been
heavily criticized by human rights and other groups. The United States
was the only western nation not to sign onto the declaration when it
came up at the U.N. General Assembly in December.
"The
United States supports the U.N.'s statement on human rights, sexual
orientation and gender identity and is pleased to join the other 66
U.N. member states who have declared their support of the statement,"
said State Department spokesman Robert Wood.
"The
United States is an outspoken defender of human rights and critic of
human rights abuses around the world," Wood told reporters. "As such,
we join with other supporters of this statement, and we will continue
to remind countries of the importance of respecting the human rights of
all people in all appropriate international fora."
The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that the administration would endorse the statement.
Gay rights groups hailed the move.
"The
administration's leadership on this issue will be a powerful rebuke of
an earlier Bush administration position that sought to deny the
universal application of human rights protections to lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals," said Mark Bromley of the
Council for Global Equality, which promotes equal rights for
homosexuals.
"This is long past overdue and
we are encouraged by the signal it sends that the rights of lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender people will now be considered human
rights," said Rea Carey, the executive director of the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force.
Human rights groups had
criticized the Bush administration when it refused to sign the
statement when it was presented at the United Nations on Dec. 19. U.S.
officials said then that the U.S. opposed discrimination on the basis
of sexual orientation but that parts of the declaration raised legal
questions that needed further review.
According
to negotiators, the Bush team had concerns that those sections could
commit the federal government on matters that fall under state
jurisdiction. In some states, landlords and private employers are
allowed to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation; on the
federal level, gays are not allowed to serve openly in the military.
But
Wood said a "careful interagency review" by the Obama administration
had concluded that "supporting this statement commits us to no legal
obligations."
When it was voted on in
December, 66 of the U.N.'s 192 member countries signed the nonbinding
declaration, which backers called an historic step to push the General
Assembly to deal more forthrightly with anti-gay discrimination. It was
endorsed by all 27 European Union members as well as Japan, Australia
and Mexico.
But 70 U.N. members outlaw
homosexuality - and in several, homosexual acts can be punished by
execution. More than 50 nations, including members of the Organization
of the Islamic Conference, opposed the declaration.
Some
Islamic countries said at the time that protecting sexual orientation
could lead to "the social normalization and possibly the legalization
of deplorable acts" such as pedophilia and incest. The declaration was
also opposed by the Vatican.
by Matthew Lee
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