[Grem] LGBT groups rethinking strategy after international setbacks

[Emoke Greschik]

LGBT activists met in conference near the UN last week to explore what they
ought to do in face of growing international opposition. Strong, some would
say draconian, laws have been enacted in recent months in Eastern Europe
and Africa. And they are getting no traction at the UN either. Part of the
problem could be undue pressure on the issue coming from the US, EU and
rich LGBT pressure groups in the west. Stefano Gennarini reports.
LGBT Groups Rethinking Strategies After International Setbacks
http://c-fam.org/en/issues/marriage-and-family/7757-lgbt-groups-rethinking-strategies-after-international-setbacks
 By Stefano Gennarini, J.D.

NEW YORK, March 7 (C-FAM) *Groups* working for the normalization of
homosexuality around the globe *are asking themselves what they should do
in the face of growing opposition to their efforts.*

Nigeria, Uganda, and India are among the countries that have recently
rebuffed efforts of homosexual groups in their territories, activists
complained last week at an event called "Basic Freedoms in a Homophobic
World".* Some 80 countries outlaw sodomy or same-sex sexual acts. *

But lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups are less worried
about sodomy laws that are largely unenforced than laws that limit the
activities of LGBT groups. The space for discussion is being "closed down,"
warned Bruce Knotts of the Unitarian Universalist UN Office. The
Universalists co-hosted the event at the United Nations Church Center with
a coalition of organizations.

*Laws against targeting minors with information about the homosexual way of
life or equating it with "traditional" sexual behavior are sweeping through
Eastern Europe.* These, and recent *laws *on homosexuality in Africa, *are
arguably more about limiting the activities of western LGBT groups than
punishing homosexual acts, *Knotts observed.

Knotts, whose group partners with GLAAD for outreach to religious groups,
said the new laws violate the religious freedom of progressives, adding
that too often religious freedom is seen as a "right-wing" issue.

*Obstacles to LGBT advocacy are a disquieting to these groups*. Without
discussion, attitudes about sexuality cannot change, the panelists lamented.

*Knotts noted there is nothing more powerful than entertainment, sports
figures and other celebrities coming out in favor of LGBT rights*. He
predicts that there will be "martyrs" who must be "lifted up" like David
Kato, a Ugandan homosexual activist who became a symbolic figure after his
murder though male prostitute eventually confessed to killing Kato after
Kato refused to pay for sex.

*Islamic attitudes towards sex and family life are another overwhelming
obstacle to LGBT rights internationally.* But activists have not given up
on Muslims. Hossein Alizadeh, a panelist from an LGBT group in the Middle
East and North Africa, appeared optimistic.

Don't talk about sexual autonomy or human rights, he advised. Both are
associated with western decadence and are too political. The starting point
of the conversation should be justice and a debate framed within the
culture, not imposed from the outside.

Islam is the "centerpiece of identity" for Muslims, and the question is how
to reconcile faith with homosexuality, said Alizadeh. He described his
successful efforts to get the BBC and Voice of America, which broadcast in
Iran, to adopt guidelines prepared by his organization on how to talk about
LGBT issues, and pointed to a recent lesbian themed music video from
Iranian pop star Googoosh.

But the most urgent question LGBT advocates are asking is: what can western
governments do?

*The global community, through the United Nations, has mostly remained
silent on LGBT issues, only condemning violence against individuals who
identify as LGBT. Few countries want a full-scale move on traditional
attitudes towards sexuality.*

*Some argue that Obama's high profile advocacy on LGBT rights has backfired*,
and a more subtle approach is necessary. Others insist that *outside
pressure is the only way to go. Denmark and Norway cut government
assistance to Uganda over the recently enacted anti-homosexuality bill. And
the World Bank has put a $90 million grant to Uganda on hold after their
president signed a law on homosexual behavior. *

Panelists at the Church Center appeared to fall back on *using asylum laws
to get LGBT advocates out of hostile countries when their efforts fail.*
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