United Nations: Protection

The UN Human Rights Council has appointed its first independent investigator to help protect homosexual and transgender people worldwide from violence and discrimination.

The United Nations expert Vitit Muntarbhorn will have a three-year mandate to investigate abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people.

Mr Muntarbhorn is an international law professor at the Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, and has served on several UN bodies, including inquiries on Syria and as a special rapporteur on North Korea.

The UN agreed on the new role in June, after the 47-member council overcame strong objections by Saudi Arabia and other Muslim countries to adopt a Western-backed resolution by a vote of 23 states in favour and 18 against with six abstentions.

Human Rights Watch welcomed Friday's appointment, saying the UN council “made history”...

The Independent.

Well, it's certainly a better idea than thinking countries will like being bossed around by 'enlightened' America, but how is this going to work exactly?

United Nations: Stamps

The United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) today unveiled a set of six commemorative stamps to promote UN Free & Equal – a global UN campaign for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality launched and led by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). 

The new stamps, which celebrate the diversity of the LGBT community, mark the first time the United Nations has issued stamps with this theme. The set, which features two in English, two in French, and two in German, will be available as of tomorrow at UN Headquarters in New York, Geneva and Vienna. They can also be purchased online.

In an interview, the artist who designed them said he was very influenced by art from the first quarter of the 20th Century. Sergio Baradat, who is of Cuban background, explained that his style stems from his appreciation for French Art Deco and growing up in Miami...

United Nations News Centre. 

Take that global homophobia!

Totally Made-up Gay Award: Bill Clinton's Wife Honoured

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has won the first-ever Totally Made-up Gay Award, Fagburn can reveal.
The award was invented by Pride London the other day in the vain hope that she'll come over and pick it up.
"This is a prestigious award", a press release commented earlier.
Previous winners of the award include no-one. 
Ms (Mrs?) Clinton was awarded the award mainly because Pride London wanted some publicity.
Last year she gave a speech to a United Nations summit about The Gays which broke the world-record for banal platitudes. 
That's right, just one cruddy speech.
"Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights," Clinton, 5'7", said, adding; "Rights human gay are, gay human are rights."
In a mortal blow to sexism Pink Paper has listed her sole achievement in life as being "married to former US President Bill Clinton".
The exact number of LGBT people she has killed in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Pakistan is unknown. 
"We really hope this award will inspire the British gay media to reprint our press release," a spokesman for Pride London told Fagburn exclusively via a mass mail-out. 
"Media partners" Gay Star News said; "We obediently reprint any old shit we're sent, so this complete non-event is a gift to brain dead stenographers to power like us."
Hillary Clinton will be honoured at a "star studded gala dinner" at a 5-star hotel in London on July 5th. 
Though this is likely to be downgraded to the Neasden Travelodge closer to the night.
Stars expected to stud the gala may include Christopher Biggins, Beverley Knight and someone from Big Brother 3.
Tickets to see Hillary Clinton not pick-up her award are £250.