Call for decriminalisation of homosexuality

The secretary-general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, has condemned violence against LGBT citizens and called for homosexuality to be decriminalised globally.

Speaking recently on Human Rights Day, Mr Ban said that people were “not put on this planet to live in fear of their fellow human beings” and that human rights must trump cultural attitudes. He went on: “Personal disapproval, even society’s disapproval, is no excuse to arrest, detain, imprison, harass or torture anyone – ever.”

He urged people to work together to change attitudes. “Stigma and discrimination will end only when we agree to speak out. “That requires all of us to do our part. To speak out – at home, at work, in our schools and communities.”