Dec 03, 2007Quickie Link: Hot Debates in Peru on Youth Rights Treaty
By vanrozenheim
(Peru) - What was a procedural congressional debate yesterday on whether the Peruvian government would adhere to the Iberian-American Convention on the Rights of Youth - an international treaty that establishes a core set of legal standards to protect young people - became a heated debate on whether the treaty would open the door for same-sex marriage in Peru that exposed unexpected legislative support for same-sex partnerships. As a result, a vote on the treaty was shelved and the resolution was sent back to the Peruvian Commission of International Relations for further study. At issue, according to La Razon, were articles 5 and 14 which refer to language prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and the right to one's sexual identity and article 20.1 which speaks of the right to build a family - which some legislators argued clashed with the Peruvian constitution.
