Feb 16, 2008
Quickie Link: Gay Groups' Observer Status at UN Blocked
By vanrozenheim
(UN) - LGBT rights groups from Spain, the Netherlands and Brazil have been refused observer status that allows Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to participate in United Nations business. The UN Committee on NGOs was tied, with Columbia, Dominica, Israel, Peru, Romania, UK and the USA voting yes and Burundi, China, Egypt, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia and Sudan voting no. Angola, Guinea, India and Turkey abstained while Cuba was not present. The UK representative on the committee said they were discriminating against LGBT NGO applicants and that it is the right of the community to have their voice heard at the UN. Romania said the NGO Committee "engaged in a blatant act of discrimination today."