African GLBT
activists meet
to plot strategy
African GLBT activists and gay rights lawyers met in Cape Town, South Africa, for four days in early February to discuss legal strategies in the push for gay rights on the continent.
The meeting was organized by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Global Rights, Interights, and the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists.
It marked "the first-ever dialogue between lawyers who have worked on litigation related to LGBT rights and African LGBT leaders," IGLHRC said.
Forty-five activists attended from Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
"Lawyers, activist leaders and donors attending the meeting acknowledged the importance of impact litigation for repealing sodomy laws and challenging other discriminatory statutes and policies," IGLHRC said. "Such litigation, however, needs to be situated within the context of local, national and regional LGBT organizing."
The participants discussed the need for security for lawyers defending GLBT clients and causes. Many of the lawyers at the meeting said they have faced attacks on their reputations, attempts at disbarment and physical violence.
The group called for creation of a GLBT African legal fund and a training and support network for African lawyers working on sexual rights cases.
Moscow Pride sues
President Medvedev
With several lawsuits pending before the European Court of Human Rights against Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov for his repeated bans of gay pride events, Moscow Pride organizers now have filed a similar suit against Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
The new case stems from a May 2008 ban of a planned gay pride parade at Aleksandrovsky Garden next to the Kremlin, an area under federal control.
Federal officials failed to respond to the request to hold the parade and instead forwarded it to city officials, who automatically ban requests to hold gay events in public places.
Mayor Luzhkov has called gay pride parades "satanic" and "weapons of mass destruction."
"It's a pity that the president, even though he proclaimed that he would fight for human rights, did not interfere and put an end to the unlawful actions of Moscow officials," said pride organizer Nikolai Alekseev.
When Moscow gays have ignored the bans and staged unofficial pride events, they have been violently attacked by anti-gay protesters and police officers.
Group launches
Internat'l Business
Equality Index
The International Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce is urging major international corporations to participate in the first International Business Equality Index survey to measure how they are performing on "LGBTI" issues.
"The index is a unique tool allowing corporations to draw external comparisons, which illustrate how their competitors are doing, as well as internal comparisons that provide a better understanding of their own performance," the group said. "In this challenging time of economic uncertainty, participation in an index of such broad scope provides the exact edge that corporations might need to be ahead of the curve."
The deadline for completion of the survey is April 30. Results will be announced in late July at the World Outgames' International Conference on LGBT Human Rights in Copenhagen.
"This index sends a signal to international businesses that they have a responsibility to promote diversity and inclusion, and to ensure that LGBT employees have equal access to the same benefits and rights as all other employees," said Linda Freimane, co-chairperson of the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association ( ILGA-Europe ) . "It addresses the need for the inclusion of the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity during diversity training, and also the tackling of LGBT harassment in workplaces."
ILGA-Europe Co-chairperson Martin K.I. Christensen said the index will "serve as an educational tool as well as a yardstick."
"The intention is ... to reward the international corporations that have consistently adopted a positive outlook towards LGBT people's inclusion and equality, and at the same time use this opportunity to assist companies that may this time score a little lower to perform better in the future," he said.
Bolivia bans anti-gay
bias in constitution
Bolivia's new constitution, approved by 61 percent of voters last month, bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The constitution took effect Feb. 7.
According to New York-based Latino activist Andrés Duque, Article 14.II, titled "Fundamental Rights and Guarantees," reads, "The State prohibits and punishes all forms of discrimination founded on the basis of sex, skin color, gender, age, sexual orientation and gender identity, origin, culture, nationality, citizenship, language, religious beliefs, ideology, political or philosophical affiliation."
Duque said the document also defines marriage as between a man and a woman and allows Evo Morales, the first Bolivian president of indigenous background, to run for a second term and "to further establish a socialist vision for the country."
It was unclear at press time whether the new protections apply within the new parallel tribal justice system established by the constitution.
Some 60 percent of Bolivians may fall under the jurisdiction of the tribal system.
Residents of
Queensland support
same-sex marriage
Sixty percent of residents of the Australian state of Queensland support same-sex civil unions that grant all the rights of marriage, and 54 percent support simply opening marriage itself to same-sex couples, a Galaxy poll has found.
"Queensland now lags behind the rest of Australia and we call on all parties contesting the Queensland election in 2009 to make a clear commitment to remove the remaining discriminatory state laws," said Louise DuChesne of Action Reform Change Queensland.
The state's largest city is Brisbane.
—Assistance: Bill Kelley
