Gay rights e to the fore as Lebanon prepar to vote | CNN

Contents:

• LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• RISHI SUNAK APOLOGIS TO LGBT VETERANS FOR PAST ARMED FORC GAY BAN
• EVERYONE IS WELE: THE ONLY GAY HANGOUT THE ARAB WORLD
• GAY BEIT
• GAY RIGHTS E TO THE FORE AS LEBANON PREPAR TO VOTE
• EVERYTHG YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BEG GAY MLIM UNTRI

LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?

The mistry argued that LGBTQ events vlate ctoms, tradns and "prcipl of relign" Lebanon, where polil power is spl along fah l between Shie and Sunni Mlim, Christian, Dze and other threatsLebanon's LGBTQ muny 2018 sred a succs when a urt led that same-sex nduct is not unlawful, but sce then has seen more setbacks than Beit port blast heavily impacted an ner-cy district wh many gay-iendly spac, also stroyg the Helem offic which have only recently reopened.

RISHI SUNAK APOLOGIS TO LGBT VETERANS FOR PAST ARMED FORC GAY BAN

LGBTQ people have also featured disproportnately Lebanon's snowballg populatn exod that is generatg an epimic of queer mory "has suffered greatly over the past three years and is already ma hyper-vulnerable by the socenomic discrimatn has been facg, " said Zeidan, the latt cisn, he said, "is really exacerbatg that feelg of anxiety and that feelg of fear livg Lebanon" state move triggered an avalanche of homophobic slurs and threats om policians, relig thori and radil activists, as secury forc banned even private workshops and movie screengs. (New York) – Lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people Sat Vcent and the Grenad face bias-motivated vlence and discrimatn their daily life, Human Rights Watch said a report released today.

EVERYONE IS WELE: THE ONLY GAY HANGOUT THE ARAB WORLD

“The crimalizatn of gay sex giv tac state sanctn to the discrimatn and vlence that LGBT people experience their daily liv and pels many to look abroad to live eely and fulfill their dreams, ” said Cristian González Cabrera, LGBT rights rearcher at Human Rights Watch. Some said that fay rejectn was often uched moralistic terms, echog the homophobic rhetoric preached some church, which are a rnerstone of social life and shape social attus Sat Vcent and the Grenad. Image source, Getty ImagIn the latt sign of risg homophobia different Ain untri, a Kenyan opposn MP is leadg a mpaign for parliament to further crimalise the untry's small LGBTQ muny.

Gee Peter Kaluma's move after neighbourg Uganda adopted a tough new anti-gay law, rejectg threats by US Print Joe Bin to impose sanctns and travel rtrictns on "anyone volved ser human rights ab".

"We want to prohib everythg to do wh homosexualy, " Mr Kaluma tells me, addg that his bill will be much broar than the legislatn passed by Uganda's parliament and approved by Print Yoweri Meveni May. The Ugandan law is regard as one of the harsht anti-LGBTQ laws the propos life imprisonment for anyone nvicted of homosexualy, and the ath penalty for so-lled aggravated s, which clu havg gay sex wh someone below the age of 18 or where someone be fected wh a life-long illns such as the other si of the ntent, MPs Ghana earlier this month unanimoly voted favour of amendments to the untry's anti-gay legislatn, phg closer to beg enacted to law.

GAY BEIT

Though ls harsh than Uganda's new law, the Promotn of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu Bill propos a three-year prison sentence for anyone who intifi as LGBTQ and a 10-year sentence for anyone who promot homosexualy. Gay sex is already illegal Kenya, but the ernment n also be tolerant of gay people - for example, has given asylum to people om other Ain untri, cludg Uganda, who faced persecutn their home untri bee of their sexual orientatn. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Many Kenyans believe that gay rights are agast their relign - whether Christian or MlimAlthough the meetg Uganda was billed as an attempt to protect the "sovereignty" of Ain stat, was actually -sponsored by an Amerin Christian right-wg anisatn, Fay Watch Internatnal (FWI) Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian prit the Anglin Church and an amic at Boston Universy the US, says Ain untri are beg targeted by FWI and siar US-based anisatns, and that the impact of s lobbyg has been "horrible and humane" parts of Ai, fuellg what he lls "ant homophobia".

"It is one thg to say: 'I don't agree wh you beg gay', but we didn't have the ant one, where policians now are sayg: 'You go to jail for life, you go to jail for talkg about beg gay, you go to jail bee you're livg wh your fellow woman', " Dr Kaoma says. (Beit) – Lebane thori have unlawfully banned peaceful gathergs of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and tersex (LGBTI) people, the Coaln to Defend Freedom of Exprsn Lebanon said today.

” Over time, this rponse to homophobic chants gaed tractn and beme an effective unter-narrative, a way of rrectg the public rerd and shamg those who perpetuate homophobia and transphobia. Image source, Emma RileyImage ptn, Rad operator Emma Riley was discharged om the Navy for beg a lbian the 1990sRishi Sunak has apologised for the historil treatment of LGBT veterans who were sacked or forced out of the ary for beg PM lled the ban an "appallg failure" of the Brish was illegal to be gay the Brish ary until 2000 - wh thoands of veterans thought to be affected. Acrdg to the report, the Mistry of Defence said at the time that jtifitn for the policy clud "matenance of operatnal effectivens and efficiency" - but the report said there had been an "prehensible policy of homophobic bigotry" the armed forc.

GAY RIGHTS E TO THE FORE AS LEBANON PREPAR TO VOTE

It heard shockg acunts of homophobia, bullyg, blackmail, sexual asslts, "disgraceful" medil examatns, and nversn mak 49 remendatns to the ernment cludg:Affected veterans to be given an "appropriate fancial reward" pped at £50m overallThe rtoratn of medals that had to be hand back on dismissal or dischargeThe clarifitn of pensn rights The prentatn of a special veterans' badgeThe ernment said would rpond full after summer of the veterans affected watched the PM's public of them, Emma Riley, 51, was a Royal Navy rad operator for three years before she was arrted and discharged for beg a lbian after tellg a lleague her sexualy the early told BBC News she weled the report, and hoped would be put to place "swiftly. "Olympian Dame Kelly Holm, who served the army and me out as gay last year, lled the publitn of the report a "historic moment", while Cathere Dixon, a former army officer who is now vice chair at Stonewall, said was "an important step towards jtice" for those whose ary reers were "ed" bee of their sexualy. Many still have a crimal rerd to this also tails how some veterans faced a plete loss of e, while others were emed eligible to claim their pensn bee of their report more than 20 years after four servicemen and women, who were sacked for beg gay, won a se the European Court of Human Rights and overturned the armed forc chary Royal Brish Legn lled on the ernment to accept the report's remendatns chary's director general Charl Byrne weled both the report and Mr Sunak's "landmark apology", sayg many people who had dited their liv to the untry were "forced or felt prsured to leave the armed forc, and this mistreatment stroyed or shortened their reer".

(Beit) – Lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people and their rights  Lebanon are part and parcel of the natnwi protts that began on October 17, 2019, Human Rights Watch said today a web feature. Everyone is, a study bathed by the afternoon sunshe, Wael Hse, a 24-year-old gay man, is chattg wh Naya, a transgenr woman, ahead of Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOTB) on Thursday. ”Sce then Helem’s reputatn has spread beyond Lebanon throughout the Arab world and several siar anisatns have been set up, cludg the NGO Shams Tunisia, fightg for the crimalisatn of homosexualy.

He ed to be the manager of Bardo, Beit’s most famo gay bar, before jog Helem, an experience he says has opened his ey to the discrimatn faced by those om prived social backgrounds. Lebanon was the latt natn to jo the crackdown, wh Interr Mister Bassam Mawlawi issug a letter a week ago to Lebane secury forc orrg them to break up any events that "promote" letter, labelled "very urgent, " said that "after the spread of lls on social media to anize parti and events promotg homosexualy Lebanon… and nsirg the negative nsequenc brought by this phenomenon on dividuals and society" police and secury forc should "take the necsary measur to ban any celebratns, meetgs or gathergs aimg to promote this phenomenon and to report the rults back.

EVERYTHG YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BEG GAY MLIM UNTRI

The Mistry of Commerce posted a vio (below) on social media showg officials seizg rabow-lored products, cludg toys, handbags and accsori, which they said rried "symbols and nnotatns that enurage homosexualy and ntradict nature. "The Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn's 2020 report on "State Sponsored Homophobia" around the world noted that Kuwa, Sdi Arabia and Lebanon were among 69 natns that have laws banng homosexual Arabia, the report noted, was among six Uned Natns member stat where "the ath penalty is the legally prcribed punishment for nsensual same-sex sexual acts.

Around 2009, some Lebane judg began to realize that "fg those laws of nature do not only imply beg heterosexual, you n be homosexual by nature, ” said Elsy Sayegh of Mosaic anizatn. For example, they acced the anizers of the annual NEDWA nference of the Arab Foundatn for Freedoms and Equaly, [AFE, which works to advance lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr (LGBT) and other human rights] of promotg homosexualy and dg abe. They then proceed to note the personal tails of all nference participants om the hotel registry, cludg those who me om highly reprsive untri such as Egypt, where, 2017, police arrted over 100 people for beg gay or transgenr, and Iraq, where armed groups have murred LGBT people wh impuny.

The Beit Pri, ne days of activi aimed at celebratg lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr inti, was schled to ci wh the Internatnal Day Agast Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) on May 17, wh events cludg a queer poetry readg, a karaoke night, a discsn around sexual health and HIV, and a legal leracy workshop. In 2013, a small step forward me om the Lebane Psychiatric Society (LPS) and the Lebane Psychologil Associatn (LPA) when the medil bodi affirmed that homosexualy is not a disease, and that attempts to change a person’s sexual orientatn are both futile and harmful.

Third, by banng the e of Grdr on the public work and nfg to the private ter work (wifi), thori send a msage that gay affairs only happen behd closed doors and that public bate on the matter will be challenged. From polilly-homophobic prints, to hateful laws, to aggrsn, torture and killgs Chechnya and Europe, we mt always realize that rights are always agile and their ntuy pends on our ntuo effort to safeguard them. The difference this time around: For the first time Lebane history, electoral ndidat are promotg gay rights, markg the most high-level endorsement of lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr protectn the Arab world.

The vio featurg Rhayem and others like direct viewers to a webse that lists ndidat who have publicly lled for the crimalizatn of homosexualy, as well as those who have e out agast the move. “(LGBT activists) are tellg their stori, buildg allianc, workg across borrs, velopg natnal and regnal movements and fdg creative ways to bat homophobia and transphobia, ” the April 2018 report, tled “Audacy Adversy, ” says.