Gender madness or a fairer world? Trench warfare at the UN
Published: Saturday, Jul 6th 2024, 05:40
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At the United Nations, trench warfare over the rights of women and people of different sexual orientations is raging on more and more fronts. Some countries are trying to remove any reference to the protection of these rights from UN texts.
"I am deeply concerned about the attacks by authoritarian states and religious fundamentalist actors on the hard-won human rights standards for women and LGBTQI+ people," said the German ambassador, Katharina Stasch, to the German Press Agency. "The attacks undermine the fundamental principles of equality and human dignity that the United Nations stands for. We must take decisive action against these steps backwards."
LGBTQI+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex and queer people who do not identify with the traditional roles of men and women or social norms around gender and sexuality.
"Unholy alliance"
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, is concerned that established rights are being called into question. "What we have seen over the years is a sophisticated, very strategic, unholy alliance of different groups. For example, religious fundamentalists of all kinds, populists and those who stir up fear and division." He also denounces patriarchal and misogynistic attitudes.
The Human Rights Council as a stage for debate
The trench warfare is currently evident in the UN Human Rights Council. Negotiators say that every formulation with a gender reference is fought over for nights on end during negotiations on resolutions. Gender here refers to the special protection of women or people's gender identity.
Countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), above all Pakistan and Egypt, are considered to be the spokespeople pushing these discussions. Diplomats from both countries did not respond to requests for comment. Representatives of some African countries are also mobilizing against gender issues, according to reports in Geneva. They suddenly denounced colonial behavior with which Western countries wanted to impose their values on them.
Missionary organizations from the USA incited governments to oppose efforts to better protect LGBTQI+, diplomats report. The Vatican is also playing its part in pushing against gender issues. Russia is joining in to find new alliances in its isolation following the invasion of Ukraine.
German ambassador writes letter of protest
Even UN documents that have been waved through for years without any problems are now the subject of discussion, even in budget or personnel documents, say diplomats. Some even fear premature obedience from UN organizations. Ambassador Stasch and more than 20 colleagues have protested to the Director-General of the International Labor Organization (ILO), Gilbert Houngbo, for example.
In June, the reference to a long-published paper on LGBTQI+ rights in the workplace was quietly removed from a document. At the UN in New York, there have already been protests against the flying of the rainbow flag, which symbolizes tolerance towards all people who do not see themselves in the traditional role model of men and women.
Pressure also in Germany
Not only at the United Nations, but also in Germany, there is counter-pressure on the issue, according to the umbrella organization ILGA, which campaigns for these rights.
Populist and conservative wings of political parties are using criticism of the gender issue to gain votes, says ILGA spokesperson Julia Ehrt. This is embedded in the global shift to the right with a return to supposedly national, cultural values. "This dynamic is worrying. It only distracts from issues such as social justice," she said.
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