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A French-backed U.N. Assembly took place this month, calling for global decriminalization of homosexuality and extending existing U.N. protections to mean that no one should be prosecuted for their sexuality or gender identification. The declaration will be formally put through the U.N. on Thursday, Dec. 18.

What is the Declaration Aiming to Accomplish?

The documentation, whilst not being a binding agreement in terms of international policy, will urge states through a 13-point structure to abandon laws that would prosecute a person based on sexuality or gender identity and also prevent them from being imprisoned, tortured, detained and put to death.

However, not all nations have signed the treaty, including many religiously conservative countries, but 57 states have backed the declaration, including all EU states, and French spokespeople are confident that of those yet to sign, at least a portion will do so.

The Vatican's Opposition to the Plan

In response, the Vatican issued a staunch criticism of the proposal, claiming that the initiative could be used to stigmatize those countries who refused to sign, and saying that the document was being used to push the same-sex marriage agenda.

As a consequence of this, on Dec. 6 there were large scale protests in St. Peter’s Square made by the two main Italian gay and lesbian advocacy groups Arcigay and Arcilesbica who, by candlelight and with nooses around their necks, claimed that the Vatican was using its indirect influence to allow prejudice against LGBT people to continue.

The Vatican Clarifies its Criticism on the LGBT U.N. Declaration

The Vatican spokesperson Frederico Lombardi responded by saying that the Catholic Church condemned all kinds of violence and discrimination “regarding homosexuals.... No-one obviously wants to defend the death penalty for homosexuals.”

The Vatican cites that it is the chief campaigner against the death penalty as a form of punishment, and would, under no circumstances, advocate violence or cruelty. It did however stipulate that it was reacting to the European initiative to take to the U.N. a declaration that was vague enough so as to allow, as Archbishop Migliore put it, “implacable discrimination” against heterosexual matrimony.

Hopeful LGBT Rights Groups Applaud the U.N. Initiative

Whilst there will be no vote in the U.N. as to the LGBT protection declaration at this time, gay-rights groups have stated that having this even debated in the General Assembly is a significant step, whilst an Organisation of the Islamic Council representative was apprehensive towards the declaration, as it was a possible &ldquorecursor to a resolution”, something which will no doubt garner worldwide attention during the 2009 session and in subsequent years.

Putting the Proposal into a Global Context

The Vatican’s position has further emphasized the current semantic battle as to whether the fight for gay rights is in fact a human rights issue. Furthermore, an alliance between the Vatican and Islamic leaders has been seen as a possible re-invocation of the “Holy Alliance” that was used in the past to defeat such documents as a proposal on abortion. This has been a worry to many supporters of the declaration.

Yet, in spite of this, many gay rights groups have said this is a small, quiet victory, in that the Vatican has publicly reiterated its opposition to corporal or capital punishment for homosexuals, and are further encouraged by the fact that states beyond the West have joined, such as Uruguay and Ecuador. They see this declaration as an important step in ensuring that all U.N. states return basic rights to all homosexual and transgender people that may be living in fear due to the current oppressive laws in their country.

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