Quote of the Day

[This resolution] really is a key part in setting a new norm that gay rights are human rights and that that has to be accepted globally."

It talks about the violence and discrimination that people of LGBT persuasion experience around the world and that those issues ... need to be taken seriously. It calls for reporting on what's going on, where people are being discriminated against, the violence that is taking place, and it really puts the issue squarely on the U.N.'s agenda going forward.

– Suzanne Nossel
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organizations,
quoted in "U.N. Council Passes Gay Rights Resolution"
by Jill Dougherty
CNN
June 17, 2011

Related Off-site Links:
U.N. Backs Gay Rights for First Time Ever – Frank Jordans (Associated Press, June 17, 2011).
U.N. Council Passes Protection of Gay Rights – Associated Press via USAToday.com (June 17, 2011).

Image: A gay rights activist in Calcutta, India, participates in a July 2, 2009, rally celebrating the groundbreaking ruling by the Delhi High Court decriminalizing homosexuality. The United Nations issued its first condemnation of discrimination against gays, lesbians and transgender people on Friday, June 17, 2011, in a cautiously worded declaration hailed by supporters as a historic moment. Members of the U.N. Human Rights Council narrowly voted in favor of the resolution put forward by South Africa, against strong opposition from African and Islamic countries. (AP Photo/Sucheta Das)