UN to Iran: There Are No Excuses for Denying LGBT People Their Human Rights

[Felix]

Huffington Post
Hossein Alizadeh and Cary Alan Johnson
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hossein-alizadeh/iran-gay-rights_b_1116837.html

Iranian authorities have long tried to justify the mistreatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals under the ruse of cultural relativism. Under the Islamic Penal Code of Iran, sexual activity between people of the same gender is a crime punishable by death. The method of enforcing these laws is equally grotesque. According to documentation gathered by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, individuals are forced to confess to same-sex relations under conditions that amount to torture. Those targeted may be members of the political opposition falsely accused by the government, or they may be individuals who are assumed to be guilty simply by virtue of their sexual identity or self-expression.

[tekla]

Currently Iran is not listening to some heavily armed people telling them to stop making nuclear weapons - or else.  I doubt that a strongly worded letter from the UN is going to do much.

[Korlee]

Remember Team America World Police?  Ya... the sad part is the UN is really like that.  It accomplishes quite literally almost nothing.

[tekla]

It accomplishes quite literally almost nothing.

Shh, that was the point of it in the first place.  You want to take all the people who normally, if they get to actually do something make the world worse, and put them in a position where they never get anything done at all.

[Korlee]

It accomplishes quite literally almost nothing.

Shh, that was the point of it in the first place.  You want to take all the people who normally, if they get to actually do something make the world worse, and put them in a position where they never get anything done at all.

Sorry, but I think the end of the world would be exciting...especially with the right soundtrack... ;p

[tekla]

Forget it, they pawn it off on Three Doors Down or some washed up has been like The Who.

[Rain Dog]

The west needs to be much more assertive in setting standards for the rest of the world. All kinds of abuse is being justified under the guise of cultural differences. Human rights is a universal, not cultural principle and any culture or tradition of violating those rights is unacceptable and must be eliminated.

The big question is how. The last 10 years in Afghanistan has shown that bullets and bombs are useless in changing attitudes. Economic sanctions are too weak to change anything because we are so dependent on trade with the rest of the world, and the leaders don't give a damn if their people starve anyway. Colonialism is too expensive, even if people would accept it.

[Korlee]

The west needs to be much more assertive in setting standards for the rest of the world. All kinds of abuse is being justified under the guise of cultural differences. Human rights is a universal, not cultural principle and any culture or tradition of violating those rights is unacceptable and must be eliminated.

The big question is how. The last 10 years in Afghanistan has shown that bullets and bombs are useless in changing attitudes. Economic sanctions are too weak to change anything because we are so dependent on trade with the rest of the world, and the leaders don't give a damn if their people starve anyway. Colonialism is too expensive, even if people would accept it.

Genocide.

[Felix]

Forget it, they pawn it off on Three Doors Down or some washed up has been like The Who.

Wait a second. I can't believe I just breezed past this before. xD Really? I'm not usually the one running around talking up The Who, but you can't put those two bands on a parallel.

[Cindy]

 Through secret intelligence I got a copy of the letter the UN sent, it said:

'Stop it, you are very naughty boys'

Signed the UN.

[justmeinoz]

I got hold of one from a Mossad rubbish bin. Titled  "Draft copy- Operation Glowing Hole In The Ground."   

The historian Geoffrey Blainey wrote in "The Causes of War", that wars generally start because there is a difference of opinion on the true balance of power.  Saddam Hussein made that mistake, when he made everyone think he had WMD, and actually didn't.  Also known as  being an idiot in charge of an army.

Karen.