November 21, 2016

Organization of Islamic Cooperation and African Group States Vote to Oppose Appointment of UN Expert on LGBT Rights

On November 21, 2016, 77 UN member states, including 46 of the 55 member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), voted to challenge the appointment of an independent expert to investigate violence against the LGBT community. At a meeting of the UN General Assembly's Third Committee (comprised of all 193 UN member states), the 54 member states of the African regional group submitted a resolution which disputed the decision of the Human Rights Council to appoint an independent expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and attempted to delay its implementation. A group of Latin American and Western states submitted an amendment to the African group's resolution, which removed the language challenging the appointment of the expert. The amendment was adopted by a vote of 84-77-17. The resolution as amended was then adopted by a vote of 93 in favor, 3 against, and 80 abstentions. However, representatives of the OIC and African group stated that they disassociated themselves from the resolution and would not cooperate with the independent expert.
Date
November 21, 2016
Title
Resolution, “Report of the Human Rights Council,” A/C.3/71/L.52, amending Resolution A/C.3/71/L.46, UN General Assembly Third Committee
Original Source
http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/C.3/71/L.52
Attachment
Click here to view this document in MS Word/PDF format
Note
Adopted by the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly on November 21, 2016 by a vote of 84 in favor, 77 against (Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Comoros, Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guyana, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nauru, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Togo, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe), and 17 abstentions (Armenia, Barbados, Bhutan, Ecuador, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, India, Kazakhstan, Liberia, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Philippines, Rwanda, Somalia, Trinidad and Tobago).

Related Documents

Date Title
11/21/2016 Resolution, “Report of the Human Rights Council,” A/C.3/71/L.46
11/21/2016 Voting results for Resolution, “Report of the Human Rights Council,” A/C.3/71/L.46
11/21/2016 Voting results for Resolution, “Report of the Human Rights Council,” A/C.3/71/L.52, amending Resolution A/C.3/71/L.46
6/30/2016 Protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, A/HRC/Res/32/2