International news briefs
Iceland to get first lesbian PM
In a world first, an openly lesbian woman has taken the highest office in Iceland.
Last week Minister for Social Affairs Jóhanna Sigurdardóttir took over as Iceland’s interim prime minister as the country struggles to find its feet after massive hits taken in the global financial crisis.
Both parties forming Iceland’s new coalition government have supported the appointment.
The move came following former Prime Minister Geir Haarde’s resignation after a huge public backlash over his government’s handling of Iceland’s deeply troubled financial situation. An election has been scheduled for May.
According to an opinion poll taken in December last year, Sigurdardóttir was the most popular minister with 73 percent of respondents saying they were satisfied with her work.
Sigurdardóttir lives with her partner, journalist Jonina Leosdottir. The pair become civil partners in 2002.
Lebanese group wins award
Helem, the first organisation in the Arab world to set up a gay and lesbian community centre, has won this year’s International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) Felipa da Souza Award.
Based in Beirut, Helem was founded in 2004 and works on behalf of GLBTI people in the Middle East.
IGLHRC executive director Paula Ettlebrick applauded the group for their courage and commitment to human rights for all.
One of the group’s major tasks has been advocating the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Lebanon. It also focuses on educating about HIV/AIDS prevention.
Helem’s community centre offers the local GLBTI community a wide range of services from HIV testing and counselling to workshops and publications about how to respond to harassment and arrest.
Helem board member and fund raiser Shadi Ghrawi said it was an honour to be singled out.
We hope it will help advance the struggle for human rights for LGBTI people in Lebanon, and throughout the Middle East.
Nigeria called to stop abuse
Amnesty International has spoken out against a bill currently before the Nigerian National Assembly which will not only outlaw gay marriage, but punish same-sex couples for being together.
Homosexuality is illegal in the African state (with a 14-year jail term), however, if the bill is passed, those found in a same-sex relationship could be imprisoned for up to three years. Anyone who witnesses, abets and aids the solemnisation of a same gender marriage could face five years jail or heavy fines.
The bill, which passed through the lower house on January 15, would allow authorities to raid public or private gatherings of people they suspect to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.
Amnesty International said the draconian laws will increase the risk of violence and other acts of discrimination against individuals who are suspected of being gay.
It is simply unacceptable to single out one group of people to be deprived of the rights we all enjoy, Amnesty International, Nigeria researcher Aster Van Kregten said.
Legalising discrimination is reprehensible in itself and can only promote acts of hatred.
In 2006 a similar bill was introduced but not passed.
The Nigerian Bar Association Human Rights Institute and Human Rights Watch have also urged Nigeria’s National Assembly not to enact the bill.
Mercy call to Senegal gov.
International health bodies have called on the government of Senegal to release nine men jailed for eight years because they are gay.
They were reportedly arrested in December at the home of a well known GLBT activist and convicted of indecent conduct and unnatural acts.
Although homosexuality is illegal in Senegal, the sentence is thought to be one of the harshest handed down.
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission’s Cary Alan Johnson told the BBC he was deeply disturbed by the case.
Leading AIDS groups, including the Society for AIDS in Africa and the International AIDS Society, have called on the Senegalese government to immediately release the men and drop all charges.
US lawyers turn to manual
US immigration lawyers have developed a new legal guide to help transgender immigrants in their quest to become US citizens.
Combining dual areas of transgender civil rights and immigration law, the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) has released the first immigration law practice manual for attorneys representing transgender clients.
The manual, Immigration Law and the Transgender Client, is co-authored by Immigration Equality and the Transgender Law Center (TLC).
AILA is a national association of over 11,000 attorneys and law professors who practice and teach immigration law.
Every day we hear from transgender immigrants who face incredibly complicated legal issues, the legal director of Immigration Equality, Victoria Neilson, said.
From obtaining corrected identity documents, to fighting for marriage recognition, to seeking asylum to escape persecution, transgender immigrants need well-trained legal counsel.
