<div dir="ltr"><h2><font style="font-weight:normal">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. </font><br></h2><h2>
LGBT Groups Rethinking Strategies After International Setbacks </h2>
<a href="http://c-fam.org/en/issues/marriage-and-family/7757-lgbt-groups-rethinking-strategies-after-international-setbacks" target="_blank">http://c-fam.org/en/issues/marriage-and-family/7757-lgbt-groups-rethinking-strategies-after-international-setbacks</a><br>
<dl><dd>
By Stefano Gennarini, J.D. </dd></dl>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt">NEW YORK, March 7 (C-FAM) <b><u>Groups</u></b>
working for the normalization of homosexuality around the globe <u><b>are
asking themselves what they should do in the face of growing opposition
to their efforts.</b></u></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt">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”.<u><b> Some 80 countries outlaw sodomy
or same-sex sexual acts. </b></u></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><u><b>Laws against targeting minors with
information about the homosexual way of life or equating it with
“traditional” sexual behavior are sweeping through Eastern Europe.</b></u>
These, and recent <u><b>laws </b></u>on homosexuality in Africa, <u><b>are arguably more
about limiting the activities of western LGBT groups than punishing
homosexual acts, </b></u>Knotts observed.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><u><b>Obstacles to LGBT advocacy are a
disquieting to these groups</b></u>. Without discussion, attitudes about
sexuality cannot change, the panelists lamented.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><u><b>Knotts noted there is nothing more
powerful than entertainment, sports figures and other celebrities coming
out in favor of LGBT rights</b></u>. 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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><u><b>Islamic attitudes towards sex and
family life are another overwhelming obstacle to LGBT rights
internationally.</b></u> 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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt">But the most urgent question LGBT advocates are asking is: what can western governments do? </span></p>
<p><u><b><span style="font-size:10pt">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.</span></b></u></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt"><u><b>Some argue that Obama’s high profile
advocacy on LGBT rights has backfired</b></u>, and a more subtle approach is
necessary. Others insist that <u><b>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. </b></u></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:10pt">Panelists at the Church Center
appeared to fall back on <u><b>using asylum laws to get LGBT advocates out of
hostile countries when their efforts fail.</b></u></span></p></div>