UNITED NATIONS: The UN Economic and Social Council voted Monday to accredit the US-based International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission after strong lobbying by the Obama administration. The group will now be able to attend UN meetings, submit statements and collaborate with both government and UN entities on human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, commission officials said. US President Barack Obama welcomed the vote as an "important step forward for human rights," saying with the group's inclusion "the United Nations is closer to the ideals on which it was founded, and to values of inclusion and equality to which the United States is deeply committed." The 54-member council, known as ECOSOC, approved the US-based group's application for consultative status by a vote of 23-13 with 13 abstentions. Many of those voting "no" — including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Russia and China — cited procedural reasons. But the US government and 14 members of Congress who supported the organization's application said they believe it had not been approved previously because the group promotes gay rights. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, which has offices in South Africa, Argentina and the Philippines, has been trying since 2007 to get consultative status with ECOSOC so it can work at the United Nations. ECOSOC serves as the main UN forum for discussing international economic and social issues. "We are thrilled," Jessica Stern, the commission's program director, told AP after the vote. "Given that more than 70 countries still have sodomy laws in effect and that homophobia is rampant around the world, this recognition by the international community, and the human rights standards that the UN represents, is invaluable to our work," Stern said. Britain's deputy UN ambassador Philip Parham, who also supported the application, said the organization "will add an important voice to our discussions at the UN, and represent an important constituency that has the same and equal right as all others to engage in our work." Of the 3,200 NGOs which enjoy consultative status, Stern said only nine are gay and lesbian groups. The international commission was the first American-based gay and lesbian NGO to apply in several years, she added. The group's accreditation is a victory for Obama, who has been chipping away at a long list of promises to gay voters, a strong source of support in the 2008 election. Obama recently pointed to anti-hate crime legislation, extending some benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees and extending visitation rights at hospitals to same-sex partners, but he told gay rights activists there was still a lot to do including health care benefits for same-sex partners and repealing the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military. Last month, the committee that accredits nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, decided to take "no action" on the group's application. Stern said Egypt, which proposed the successful "no action" motion, led the opposition to the commission's application. A telephone call to Egypt's UN Mission seeking comment on the vote was not returned. After the NGO Committee's "no action" decision, the United States decided to go directly to ECOSOC, which is holding its annual high-level meeting in New York. Before Monday's vote, US deputy ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo said the gay rights group met all the requirements for consultative status and in addition had answered 44 questions over three sessions of the NGO Committee and appeared in person on two occasions. For over 20 years, she said, the organization has been "dedicated to combating discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity ... (and) has also been a leader in the battle against HIV/AIDS." Delegations that claimed they supported the "no action" motion purely on procedural grounds and not because of the organization's support for gay rights were being "disingenuous," DiCarlo said, noting that the NGO Committee has refused to grant consultative status to any gay or lesbian organization for more than a decade.
