GENEVA, Switzerland -- The United Nations endorsed the rights of gay, lesbian and transgender people for the first time Friday, passing a resolution hailed as historic by the U.S. and other backers and decried by African and Islamic countries.
The declaration was cautiously worded, expressing "grave concern" about abuses suffered by people because of their sexual orientation, and it commissioned a global report on discrimination against gay people. Activists called it a remarkable shift on an issue that has divided the global body for decades, and credited the Obama administration's push for gay rights at home and abroad with helping to win support for the resolution.
"This represents a historic moment to highlight the human rights abuses and violations that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people face around the world based solely on who they are and whom they love," U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said in a statement.
Following tense negotiations, members of the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council narrowly voted in favor of the declaration put forward by South Africa, with 23 votes in favor and 19 against.
Backers included the U.S., the European Union, Brazil and other Latin American countries. Those against included Russia, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Pakistan. China, Burkina Faso, Kyrgyzstan and Zambia abstained; Libya was earlier suspended from the rights body.
The resolution expressed "grave concern at acts of violence and discrimination, in all regions of the world, committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity."
More importantly, activists said, it also established a formal UN process to document human rights abuses against gays, including discriminatory laws and acts of violence. According to Amnesty International, consensual same-sex relations are illegal in 76 countries worldwide, while harassment and discrimination are common in many more.
The prospect of having their laws scrutinized in this way went too far for many of the council's 47 member nations.
Speaking on behalf of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, Pakistan said the resolution had "nothing to do with fundamental human rights."
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