State-Sponsored Homophobia

Whereas no one should be discriminated against, nor persecuted, nor killed on the basis of sexual orientation, we all know that the chances of a total eradication of homophobia, or racism, or other forms of hatred, from humankind are not too high, to say the least. Probably, there will be always a few individuals infected with the virus of homophobic hatred, as there will be always rapists, torturers and murderers. What is unacceptable, however, is the idea of a State condoning, sanctioning and encouraging these practices, particularly when the same State proclaims to abide by the principles of the Human Rights Declaration. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, said in her historic speech on the occasion of the – equally historic – UN Statement signed in New York last December by 66 countries against the criminalization of homosexuality, thatthere are those who argue that because sexual orientation or gender identity are not explicitly mentioned in any of the conventions and covenants, there would be no protection. My response is that such a position is untenable in legal terms, which is confirmed by the evolving jurisprudence. The principle of universality admits no exception. Human rights truly are the birthright of all human beings.