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An International Place for LGBT Equality

By on July 19, 2010

Some major action toward international engagement on LGBT issues today, with a nod from President Obama — as the White House Broadway night was set to get under way.

From Talking Points Memo:

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission today won accreditation from the United Nations despite Republican efforts to defeat the group’s application. … [T]he resolution passed 23 to 13, with 13 abstaining.

“Today’s decision, we think, is an affirmation that the voices of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people have a voice in the UN,” said Sara Perle, a spokeswoman for IGLHRC. “It’s a clear message from [the council] that diverse voices cannot be silenced.”

Later in the day, the White House released this statement from Obama:

I welcome this important step forward for human rights, as the  International Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Commission (ILGHRC) will take its rightful seat at the table of the United Nations. The UN was founded on the premise that only through mutual respect, diversity, and dialogue can the international community effectively pursue justice and equality.  Today, with the more full inclusion of the International Lesbian and Gay Human Rights Commission, the United Nations is closer to the ideals on which it was founded, and to values of inclusion and equality to which the United States is deeply committed.

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