Petrelis Files

US Wants UN Resolution on Gays;
SF Rally on 12/11 at Noon

Several friends have alerted me to an excellent move by the US at the United Nations related to gays and the horrific vote last month deleting gays from a resolution against extrajudicial killings.

A reminder. There will be a rally tomorrow, December 11 starting at noon, at UN Plaza in San Francisco because of the recent vote and to express solidarity with gay people around the planet. Please join us.

Excerpted from a story by Mark Leon Goldberg at UN Dispatch:

United States Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice will announce later today that the United States will introduce an amendment in the General Assembly to prohibit the violent targeting of people based on their sexual orientation.

The move comes in response to an amendment last month at the General Assembly’s Third Committee on Extrajudicial, Summary, and Arbitrary Executions, which eliminated any mention of sexual orientation from a resolution condemning the extrajudicial killing of vulnerable people around the world. A coalition of conservative states, mostly from Africa and the Middle East, successfully blocked “sexual orientation” from being included among a list of fifteen groups that are particularly vulnerable to extrajudicial killings. Typically, “sexual orientation” would be included among other groups like religious minorities, refugees, members of indigenous communities, street children, etc. But not this time.

Today is Human Rights Day, so the symbolism of the timing of the announcement is particularly significant. [...]

There is also this media advisory from the White House:

Ambassador Rice to Make Remarks at UN High Level Panel “Ending Violence and Criminal Sanctions on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity,” Marking Human Rights Day, December 10, 2010

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice will join UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and Mr. Ivan Šimonovic, Assistant Secretary-General, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in delivering remarks at this UN High Level meeting.

Friday, 10 December, 1:00 – 2:45 p.m.
Ambassador Rice’s remarks are expected to begin at approximately 1:15pm.
ECOSOC Chamber, NLB, UN Headquarters, New York

Let's hope there is support and movement on this effort by the United States.