Irreverent or Irrelevant?: The United Nations and Gay Rights - Opinion

I found this very interesting essay on the dynamics of political and cultural issues surrounding gay rights and the United Nations written by Sami Zeidan a lebanese diplomat at the UN.

"...in drafting human rights instruments, it is common to avoid controversial language if it is not previously agreed upon. Sexual orientation is an excellent example of such language. For example, the draft final statement of the 1993 Vienna Conference on human rights had a paragraph on equality that condemned discrimination on listed grounds. When Canada proposed adding "sexual orientation" to the list, a heated debate ensued, resulting in a general, open-ended prohibition of discrimination, without a list. The advantage of this course of action is that consensus is achieved. However, upon implementation of such a general paragraph, several interpretations inevitably arise on the question of whether sexual orientation is implicitly included as a right protected from discrimination..."

Irreverent or Irrelevant?: The United Nations and Gay Rights - Opinion