UN praises Tasmanian advocate

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has paid tribute to Tasmanian gay activist Nicholas Toonen for his role in improving the rights of gay and lesbian people worldwide.

Toonen won a landmark case (1994 Toonen v Australia) in the 1990s brought before the the UN Human Rights Committee against Tasmanian law which criminalised homosexuality.

The UN Human Rights Committee’s decision found Australia was in breech of its international obligations and Tasmania’s laws violated Mr Toonen’s human rights.

Speaking in a video posted today, Pillay said Toonen had paved the way forward for GLBT people to live lives free of discrimination.

“The case… marked a watershed for wide ranging implications for the human rights of millions of people,” Pillay said.

The [UN] Human Rights Committee had made clear that the right to be free from discrimination applies to everyone gay or straight, lesbian or bisexual.”

Pillar said since 1994 more than 30 countries have taken steps to abolish homosexuality as a criminal offence, but said the debate will continue.

“Criminal sanctions remain in place in more than 70 countries exposing millions to the risk of arrest imprisonment, even in some cases, the death penalty,” she said.

“Not because they have harmed anyone else or pose a threat to others, but simply for being who they are and for loving another human being.

“This debate is unfolding in front of us, it goes to the heart of what we believe, it challenges us all to live up to the fundamental principle in which, in the end, all our human rights rest – the equal worth and the equal dignity of all human beings.”

Toonen said he was proud to have been involved in the advancement of human rights.
“It’s humbling that so many people around the world have benefitted from the decision in my case,” he said.

“The obvious message from the case was that gay rights are human rights, but equally important was the message that everyday people like me can take effective action to protect human rights.

“My case was very much a group effort and I want to acknowledge everyone who fought for gay law reform in Tasmania as well as the many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people around the world who continue to fight for their rights and their lives.”

Tasmania was the last Australian state to change its laws in 1997, but has since gone on the enact some of the most progressive relationship laws in the country.

In related news, peak GLBTI advocacy group the International LGBTI Association (ILGA) has been granted consultative status by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The recognition means ILGA will can attend UN meetings and provide information on the treatment of GLBT people, including speaking at the Geneva-based Human Rights Council.

PHOTO: (right to left) Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group spokesperson, Rodney Croome, Justice Michael Kirby and Nick Toonen at a dinner celebrating the repeal of Tasmania’s former anti-gay laws in Hobart in May 1997. Taken by Roger Lovell.