On October 2, 2017, the Human Rights Council took a vote in Geneva  Switzerland to condemn countries that enforced the death penalty for LGBT.

This resolution wasn’t exclusively focused on LGBT executions. It implored countries to stop and to abolish this practice and make sure it isn’t considered as a possible punishment for: irreverence, cheating and consensual same-sex relations.”

The UN Human Rights Council in The Peace Capital revealed the final outcome of the vote. Of  all the countries that participated, 27 were in favor of the abolition of the death penalty while 13 were against. Among the later was the USA. The shock about the decision of Washington to vote NO brought disarray among human rights groups and their supporters. The perplexity wasn’t restricted to the United States. According to Marie-Claire Giroux, a LGBT defender and member of the community, since the USA voted against the abolition of the death penalty, It sends a clear message to the rest of the world that being gay is wrong and should be punished. 

A rainbow flag was shaken by LGBT supporters during a concert in Cairo, They were soon arrested because the police thought that it was inciting sexual deviancy. According to Miss Giroux, it is disturbing to know that at this very moment some people who are gay are imprisoned or killed because they decided to show or accept who they really are and that’s horrible. Sarah Hegazy, who is not gay, but was  one of the girls who was arrested in Cairo said that ”every person is free, as long as they don’t harm others”

Brave people defend the LGBT community by putting their lives at risk, facing prison terms and risking terrifying punishment. We can all hope that one day democratic countries won’t be siding with human rights abusers, and once again defend the human rights, including LGBT rights.

TRUMP & the USA

During his campaign, Trump promised that, if he was to be the new president of the country, he would defend the LGBT, and that he could do a better job than Hillary Clinton.

This latest decision is an unmistakable step back for the current administration. The Land Of Freedom hasn’t just conceded its commitment of defending human rights, they have changed sides in the battle.  “I find this worrisome that someone like Trump is at the head of the US, and that he can take such decisions for his country,” worried Miss. Giroux.

Written by Annie Létourneau and Sarah Turcotte. Editing by Maria Pena and Aude Turcot.