The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) [official website] on Friday provided criticized [press release] the recent Singapore Supreme Court [official website] ruling [JURIST report] to uphold a law [text] criminalizing consensual same-sex relations between adult men. The OHCHR stated that this particular criminal law prosecuting same-sex couples "violates a host of human rights guaranteed by international law, including the right to privacy, the right to freedom from discrimination and the right to freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention including protection for sexual orientation and gender equality." The OHCHR is a firm supporter gay rights and that all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals internationally should be treated with dignity and respect.

LGBT individuals have struggled both domestically and internationally against discriminatory laws [JURIST op-ed]. Earlier this week Human Rights Watch released a report in which it urged Jamaica to repeal laws criminalizing consensual same-sex relations [JURIST report] between adults and to remove the gender-specific definitions for sexual intercourse and rape. At the beginning of the year, human rights groups in Iran urged the president to end the prosecution of LGBT individuals [JURIST report]. Last September the UN released [JURIST report] a video calling for the end to LGBT discrimination in all countries. The UN has increasingly paid attention to this issue, as last year was the first time the UN held a ministerial meeting on LGBT rights [JURIST report]. Recently the US has focused its attention primarily on same-sex marriage [JURIST news archive]. However, in July US President Barack Obama signed an anti-discrimination executive order [JURIST report] aimed at ending LGBT employment discrimination.

 (Published by Jurist – November 01, 2014)