https://politicalresearch.org/ The latest research related to united nations en https://religiondispatches.org/2018/01/02/2017-around-world-progress-and-persecution-lgbt-people Journalist Masha Gessen dubbed 2017 “the year Russian LGBT persecution defied belief.” Pink News called 2017 “ the year of the homophobic purge” featuring “brutal crackdowns across the world.” The Daily Xtra’s year-end recap focused more on the good news… Tue, 02 Jan 2018 12:38:20 EST Peter Montgomery f1967b35-d0f3-45ce-a3ef-7e4ff0ffe508 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/12/18/indonesian-court-rejects-religious-conservatives-bid-criminalize-gay-sex-more-global Costa Rican human rights and anti-torture activist Victor Madrigal-Borloz is the new UN Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. The first expert, Vitit Muntarbhorn, resigned for health reasons after his first year in the position, which was created… Mon, 18 Dec 2017 12:04:57 EST Peter Montgomery 8d3b4277-3328-49cd-8e55-6790a23489ec https://religiondispatches.org/2017/10/30/australian-church-leaders-see-marriage-vote-battle-soul-australia-global-lgbt-recap-1030 Editors from the International Press Institute told American journalists “that Donald Trump’s hostility toward the free press is emboldening dictators and autocratic leaders across the globe.” Human Rights First reacted to raids on LGBT nightclubs in Belarus by saying it… Mon, 30 Oct 2017 03:09:27 EDT Peter Montgomery f42a71e5-be18-471c-89ab-d2687bd498c3 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/10/17/sydneys-anglican-diocese-gives-1-million-no-campaign-marriage-and-more-global-lgbt-recap Archbishop of Sydney Glenn Davies: “It is a consequence of our discipleship to uphold the gift of marriage as God has designed it.” Tue, 17 Oct 2017 08:41:19 EDT Peter Montgomery 1230ca0c-9c25-4b99-85ba-ece278972bb5 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/10/10/us-religious-right-groups-support-move-toward-illiberalism-hungary-and-poland-and-more The European Lesbian* Conference, which brought together 500 activists, artists, academics, politicians, journalistas and civil society leaders in Vienna ended on Sunday. At 76 Crimes, Dominique Menoga and Michaël Cousin reflect on the first international francophone conference on sexual and… Tue, 10 Oct 2017 02:55:22 EDT Peter Montgomery 7a562892-1108-441e-953f-d09831b49596 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/09/25/lgbt-muslim-clash-aiding-rise-right-europe OutRight Action International has published quotes from speakers at the meeting of the LGBTI Core Group during the recent United Nations General Assembly. The LGBTI Equal Rights Association for Western Balkans and Turkey held its annual conference in Podgorica, Montenegro… Mon, 25 Sep 2017 03:11:10 EDT Peter Montgomery aed81aaa-ad4b-42f5-8d87-246f5235af49 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/09/18/australian-church-nixes-straight-couples-wedding-over-their-marriage-equality-support Vitit Muntarbhorn, a Thai lawyer and diplomat, cited health problems in resigning effective October 31 as the United Nations’ first independent expert charged with investigating violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The creation of… Mon, 18 Sep 2017 10:15:53 EDT Peter Montgomery 9defd6a8-24de-421a-a119-e18e92fc3817 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/07/10/founder-liberal-mosque-germany-under-guard-after-death-threats-and-more-global-lgbt A dozen UN agencies issued a joint statement calling for an end to discrimination in health care settings; the statement includes sex, sexual orientation and gender identity among the marginalized and stigmatized groups that are vulnerable to discrimination. In Antigua… Mon, 10 Jul 2017 01:27:20 EDT Peter Montgomery b57fdf64-d285-43b9-a5fb-a33eb5ea13bd https://religiondispatches.org/2017/06/12/scottish-episcopal-church-angers-conservative-anglicans-embrace-same-sex-marriage-and The Global Interfaith Network on Sex, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression has published an e-book, “ Behold, I make all things new: What do the sacred texts of Judaism, Christianity and Islam really say in regard to human sexuality?”… Mon, 12 Jun 2017 12:32:18 EDT Peter Montgomery 2af81c60-a424-45b3-b09d-693967619a7c https://religiondispatches.org/2017/05/08/londons-big-gay-iftar-and-more-global-lgbt-recap International Family Equality Day was celebrated on May 7 with events in 30 countries. The United Nations Special Repporteur in the field of cultural rights, Karima Bennoune, invited contributions to a consultation on the impact of fundamentalism and extremism on… Mon, 08 May 2017 12:25:34 EDT Peter Montgomery ae9e254e-5f65-46b0-a57c-9280ca902643 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/05/02/global-religious-right-asks-how-far-can-we-get-and-more-global-lgbt-recap Social conservatives from around the world gathered in Brussels last week to ask each other, “How far can we get?” The meeting was convened by the Political Network for Values, which provides a setting for activists to meet with like-minded… Tue, 02 May 2017 12:00:20 EDT Peter Montgomery 45a25490-6683-4a80-8239-9856cf216925 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/04/07/anti-romeo-vigilante-squads-target-men-suspected-being-gay-more-global-lgbt-recap Christian LGBT bloggers David and Constantino Khalaf (Modern Kinship on Patheos) have published what they call “ The Ultimate Resource Guide for LGBTQ Christian and Allies.” OutRight Action International posted a round-up of countries with constitutional protections relating to sexual… Fri, 07 Apr 2017 05:09:43 EDT Peter Montgomery 4593ffdb-349c-49ac-8e9d-a8bffb8fde77 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/03/26/duterte-cites-catholic-heritage-opposing-marriage-equality-and-more-global-lgbt-recap In conjunction with the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences conference, the University of California Press blog republished “ Why Do Some Countries Disapprove of Homosexuality? Money, Democracy and Religion,” which was originally published on The Conversation earlier this month. The… Sun, 26 Mar 2017 07:53:20 EDT Peter Montgomery 8fc7eea5-8932-4aa9-8e30-dc597b157c2e https://religiondispatches.org/2017/03/20/trump-v-lgbt-people-un-bible-beer-backlash-australia-global-lgbt-recap As the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) got underway last Monday (it runs from March 13-24), the US State Department announced that joining the official US delegation would be representatives from two organizations that are extremely hostile… Mon, 20 Mar 2017 12:07:53 EDT Peter Montgomery 69d6dd72-4c4b-4a13-b0f1-ab094586381a https://religiondispatches.org/2017/02/26/trump-considers-pulling-usa-out-human-rights-council-indonesian-president-blames Politico reported this week that the Trump administration is considering pulling the USA out of the United Nations Human Rights Council. The Human Rights Council last year created the UN’s first independent expert position dedicated to investigating anti-LGBT discrimination and… Sun, 26 Feb 2017 10:27:53 EST Peter Montgomery d319d9b3-37aa-4a02-a4cd-abedfc77fc8c https://religiondispatches.org/2017/02/21/warships-animals-pubs-eligible-blessings-church-england-not-same-sex-couples-global-lgbt Vitit Muntarbhorn, the UN independent expert charged with investigating discrimination and violence on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity told the Washington Blade’s Michael Lavers that he sees his job as “an engaging process with all actors.” A… Tue, 21 Feb 2017 12:24:57 EST Peter Montgomery ade51f20-dcb3-41af-82ca-257cfbcf18cc https://religiondispatches.org/2017/02/12/hungarian-mayor-wants-import-white-christians-ban-muslims-lgbt-people-global-lgbt-recap February 6 was International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. US-based anti-LGBT activist Brian Brown traveled to Russia to build support for his new International Organization for the Family and its recently launched manifesto. In Politico, Casey Michel… Sun, 12 Feb 2017 10:41:45 EST Peter Montgomery 537353aa-a05a-4703-a1dd-3df4e213f873 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/02/05/trump-order-death-sentence-some-lgbt-refugees-global-lgbt-recap Many LGBT advocates protested U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order barring refugees from entering the country as well as immigrants from seven Muslim majority countries, an order some activists said could be “ a death sentence for LGBTI people.” BuzzFeed… Sun, 05 Feb 2017 08:44:53 EST Peter Montgomery d5f04861-7d99-4513-91a4-ed8ef686f6f7 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/01/22/uncertainty-about-us-role-lgbt-human-rights-under-trump-global-lgbt-recap As the Donald Trump administration took power in Washington, D.C., amid some uncertainty about the stance it will take toward LGBT people, Human Rights First published a video about the importance of U.S. government advocacy for LGBT human rights worldwide… Sun, 22 Jan 2017 11:00:12 EST Peter Montgomery f361a641-fe21-40b3-983c-40a2b4431883 https://religiondispatches.org/2017/01/16/authoritarian-populism-vs-human-rights-campaign-against-gender-ideology-and-more-global Human Rights Watch released its 2017 World Report, in which the group reviews human rights practices in more than 90 countries, which a focus on the “dangerous rise of populism” and global attacks on human rights values. From a description… Mon, 16 Jan 2017 06:23:26 EST Peter Montgomery 6063e821-223f-46ae-9295-05117758a21b https://religiondispatches.org/2017/01/01/biggest-best-worst-lgbt-religion-stories-2016-and-more-global-lgbt-recap At People For the American Way’s Right Wing Watch blog this week, I posted highlights of how the U.S. Religious Right made life more difficult and dangerous for the world’s LGBT people in 2016. Michael Lavers at the Washington Blade… Sun, 01 Jan 2017 08:50:38 EST Peter Montgomery aaa62261-7187-433a-9017-159f89d2df97 https://religiondispatches.org/2016/12/25/morality-and-marriage-vigilantes-and-more-global-lgbt-recap LGBT news from around the world Sun, 25 Dec 2016 10:31:28 EST Peter Montgomery 75d961cd-4b26-496f-a6f4-c97c4f67e260 https://religiondispatches.org/2016/12/19/weeks-lgbt-recap-are-gay-priests-overdue-stonewall-moment “Unless gay priests decide that it’s time for their Stonewall moment, Church leaders—some of them closeted, sometimes self-loathing, homosexually-oriented men themselves—will continue to utter the slander that affects not just ordained gay men and seminarians, but every LGBTQ person in the Church.” Mon, 19 Dec 2016 07:32:15 EST Peter Montgomery 4e0861a5-100c-4f91-b39e-f3ba9ad0cb0f https://religiondispatches.org/2016/12/12/international-human-rights-day-snapshot-lgbt-rights-vatican-cape-town The International Organization for the Family rolled out its “Cape Town Declaration” in South Africa Friday, reaffirming the “critical role” of traditional man-woman marriage as the bedrock of civilization. Mon, 12 Dec 2016 08:57:02 EST Peter Montgomery 6083369e-4378-435b-9e50-8f758814f82a https://religiondispatches.org/2016/12/05/gambian-voters-reject-anti-gay-strongman-jammeh-activists-ponder-trump-impact-lgbt-human APCOM produced an animated video about the Yogyakarta Principles, which have provided a foundation for the promotion of LGTBTI human rights for 10 years. World AIDS Day was commemorated on December 1; Pope Francis put out a statement that included… Mon, 05 Dec 2016 12:03:47 EST Peter Montgomery 872fff1a-e4a4-488e-862e-fedbeed44fad