In addition to approving an Argentina-sponsored resolution against vulture funds yesterday, the UN Human Rights Council also approved a resolution calling for the end of violence against gays and lesbians despite opposition from Russia, African and Middle Eastern states.
The HRC will now keep the matter on the agenda and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, former Jordanian diplomat Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein to report back to the Council next year.
The resolution was drafted by Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia and received European support in order to garner 25 votes in the 47-member body. Italy and Ireland — with strong Roman Catholic traditions — approved of the resolution as it would help to reduce discrimination, while Pakistan, speaking on behalf of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, told the council the measure would be “detrimental to our Muslim societies, and especially our youth.”
Russia, which has taken a strong anti-homosexual stance in recent years, maintained its voting record on the matter while the People’s Republic of China abstained on the grounds that the matter was “too divisive.”