Rights Around the World

After Wednesday's post outlining why the struggle for LGBT rights in Uganda is important for the world, here's an article exploring rights around the globe.

LGBT Rights: the global struggle for queer freedom

Homophobic persecution and discrimination is rife in large parts of the world, and the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are still not recognised or protected by international law. Nonetheless, progress towards equality is being made thanks to the defiance and bravery of activists...

It goes on to say that the "total criminalisation of homosexuality contin­ues in nearly 80 countries." That's approximately 41% of the countries in the world.

It also explains that: "homophobic oppression is most extreme in the Islam­ist states that impose the death penalty for same-sex relations, in­cluding Saudi Arabia, Iran, Mauritania, Sudan and Yemen."

Of the 193 member states of the UN, only a handful have re­pealed nearly all major legal inequalities against LGBT people: the Netherlands, South Africa, Belgium, Spain, France, Brazil, Germany, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Portugal, Canada, New Zealand and, more recently, the UK.
 
Britain’s record was not always so positive. Until 1999, when legislative reform began, the UK had the largest number of homo­phobic laws of any country on earth – some of them dating back centuries. Thanks to an astute 20-year twin-track campaign of di­rect action protest and parliamentary lobbying, today the UK is one of the world’s most progressive countries on LGBT rights.

The article ends on an upbeat note:

In almost every country on earth, there are LGBT freedom movements – some open, others clandestine. For the first time ever, countries like the Philippines, Estonia, Columbia, Russia, Sri Lan­ka and China are hosting LGBT conferences and Gay Pride cel­ebrations. Via the Internet and pop culture, LGBT people in small towns in Ghana, Peru, Uzbekistan, Kuwait, Vietnam, St Lucia, Pal­estine, Fiji and Kenya are connecting with the worldwide LGBT community. The struggle for LGBT liberation has gone global. We’ve begun to roll back the homophobia of centuries. Bravo!

Which echos GayUganda's mention of how important support from the international LGBT community is. 

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