Calling South African President Zuma in New York to Speak to AU for LGBT Human Rights

Melanie Nathan, January 10, 2012
President Jacob Zuma arrived in New York on Tuesday ahead of South Africa’s officially assuming the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for January.

“SA will utilize its presidency to continue exploring concrete measures for strengthening the relationship between the United Nations and regional organizations, in particular the African Union,” spokesman Clayson Monyela said in a statement.

Monyela said it was expected the South African delegation would convene a debate with the aim of adopting concrete measures to ensure greater coherence between the UN and the AU.

Zuma and Finland President Tarja Halonen, would co-chair the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s high-level panel on global sustainability at the UN headquarters in New York.

“We will certainly take advantage of these important occasions to advance our international relations policy objectives… with a view to promoting democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights,” Zuma was quoted saying in the statement. – (Sapa reported )

Many African Union countries  institutionalize anti-homosexuality laws and are in flagrant disregard of the basic human rights of  lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex citizen, enforcing harsh prison sentences against homosexuals.

President Zuma should heed his leadership under the mandate of the South African people who hold their all inclusive post-apartheid constitution close to heart.  The South African constitution prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and provides the way for full LGBTI equality.

South African and International LGBTI activists and organizations should be urging President Zuma to ensure the values he intends to promote with the AU includes the issue of the decriminalization of homosexuality in Africa, as a matter of human rights imperative.

While this may be seen as a sensitive issue for many AU countries which use sovereignty and tribal culture as their anti-homosexuality excuse,  perhaps Mr. Zuma is the perfect leader to convey the contrary message.

South Africa comprises of hundreds of different African tribes, all coming together as one South Africa, willing to abide international standards for full acceptance in the  global socio-economic environment.

Perhaps Mr. Zuma can educate his fellow African Union members with the scientific data which will show that no amount of anti-gay rhetoric can negate the simple fact that whether African or Western, humankind is subject to a spectrum of sexual orientations and that to criminalize or deny a person their natural born orientation is contrary to basic human rights.

The following are countries which are members of the AU, and those with * criminalize homosexuality – the list is not may not be exhaustive. Also some countries apply Sharia law.

Algeria* 2 years  Angola * not enforced  Benin  Botswana * not enforced  Burkina Faso  Burundi  Cameroon* 5 years  Cape Verde  Central African Republic  Chad  Comoros  Democratic Republic of the Congo  Republic of the Congo  Côte d’Ivoire  Djibouti  Egypt  Equatorial Guinea  Eritrea

Ethiopia unsure  Gabon  Gambia*14 years  Ghana  Guinea-Bissau  Guinea* 3 years  Kenya* 14 years  Lesotho  Liberia  Libya* 5 years  Malawi*  Mali  Mauritania* death penalty  Mauritius trying to repeal  Mozambique  Namibia* not enforced  Niger  Nigeria

Rwanda  Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic  São Tomé and Príncipe  Senegal  Seychelles changing law  Sierra Leone  Somalia  South Africa  South Sudan* 10 years   Sudan  Swaziland* harsh punishment  Tanzania* Up to life in prison  Togo unsure  Tunisia* 3 years  Uganda* seeking death penalty  Zambia* 14 years  Zimbabwe*

Note  the following countries have signed the United Nations Declaration which speaks to these Human Rights:
South Africa – provides full LGBTI equality and anti-discrimination laws
Sierra Leone
Mauritius -Still need to decriminalize
Seychelles – Still needs to decriminalize
Rwanda
Cape Verde
Gabon

CALL TO ACTION:   Contact President Zuma and ask him to ensure that LGBTI human rights are included in his Agenda.