Portugal’s top court gives gay marriage green light
There is something to celebrate for gay couples in Portugal.
Having won parliament’s backing for same-sex marriage, the Constitutional Court has now given its green light to the measure.
The signature of Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva is now all that is needed to make the bill law. He sent it to the country’s top court last month, after expressing doubts over whether it was constitutional.
But the tribunal’s president Rui Moura Ramos explained why no problems were found with the proposal. While it does not fit the traditional concept of marriage, as outlined in the constitution, he said this concept is open and can evolve.
Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva has 20 days to either veto the legislation or sign it into law. If it is ratified, it would come into effect just ahead of a visit to the staunchly Roman Catholic country by Pope Benedict XVI.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
AFRICA AND HUMAN RIGHTS BY ARC. DESMOND TUTU
In Africa, a step backward on human rights
By Desmond Tutu
Friday, March 12, 2010
Hate has no place in the house of God. No one should be excluded from our love, our compassion or our concern because of race or gender, faith or ethnicity -- or because of their sexual orientation. Nor should anyone be excluded from health care on any of these grounds. In my country of South Africa, we struggled for years against the evil system of apartheid that divided human beings, children of the same God, by racial classification and then denied many of them fundamental human rights. We knew this was wrong. Thankfully, the world supported us in our struggle for freedom and dignity.
This Story
Love all God's children, straight or gay
How culture wars are won
It is time to stand up against another wrong.
Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people are part of so many families. They are part of the human family. They are part of God's family. And of course they are part of the African family. But a wave of hate is spreading across my beloved continent. People are again being denied their fundamental rights and freedoms. Men have been falsely charged and imprisoned in Senegal, and health services for these men and their community have suffered. In Malawi, men have been jailed and humiliated for expressing their partnerships with other men. Just this month, mobs in Mtwapa Township, Kenya, attacked men they suspected of being gay. Kenyan religious leaders, I am ashamed to say, threatened an HIV clinic there for providing counseling services to all members of that community, because the clerics wanted gay men excluded.
Uganda's parliament is debating legislation that would make homosexuality punishable by life imprisonment, and more discriminatory legislation has been debated in Rwanda and Burundi.
These are terrible backward steps for human rights in Africa.
Our lesbian and gay brothers and sisters across Africa are living in fear.
And they are living in hiding -- away from care, away from the protection the state should offer to every citizen and away from health care in the AIDS era, when all of us, especially Africans, need access to essential HIV services. That this pandering to intolerance is being done by politicians looking for scapegoats for their failures is not surprising. But it is a great wrong. An even larger offense is that it is being done in the name of God. Show me where Christ said "Love thy fellow man, except for the gay ones." Gay people, too, are made in my God's image. I would never worship a homophobic God.
"But they are sinners," I can hear the preachers and politicians say. "They are choosing a life of sin for which they must be punished." My scientist and medical friends have shared with me a reality that so many gay people have confirmed, I now know it in my heart to be true. No one chooses to be gay. Sexual orientation, like skin color, is another feature of our diversity as a human family. Isn't it amazing that we are all made in God's image, and yet there is so much diversity among his people? Does God love his dark- or his light-skinned children less? The brave more than the timid? And does any of us know the mind of God so well that we can decide for him who is included, and who is excluded, from the circle of his love?
The wave of hate must stop. Politicians who profit from exploiting this hate, from fanning it, must not be tempted by this easy way to profit from fear and misunderstanding. And my fellow clerics, of all faiths, must stand up for the principles of universal dignity and fellowship. Exclusion is never the way forward on our shared paths to freedom and justice.
The writer is archbishop emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Desmond Tutu
Friday, March 12, 2010
Hate has no place in the house of God. No one should be excluded from our love, our compassion or our concern because of race or gender, faith or ethnicity -- or because of their sexual orientation. Nor should anyone be excluded from health care on any of these grounds. In my country of South Africa, we struggled for years against the evil system of apartheid that divided human beings, children of the same God, by racial classification and then denied many of them fundamental human rights. We knew this was wrong. Thankfully, the world supported us in our struggle for freedom and dignity.
This Story
Love all God's children, straight or gay
How culture wars are won
It is time to stand up against another wrong.
Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people are part of so many families. They are part of the human family. They are part of God's family. And of course they are part of the African family. But a wave of hate is spreading across my beloved continent. People are again being denied their fundamental rights and freedoms. Men have been falsely charged and imprisoned in Senegal, and health services for these men and their community have suffered. In Malawi, men have been jailed and humiliated for expressing their partnerships with other men. Just this month, mobs in Mtwapa Township, Kenya, attacked men they suspected of being gay. Kenyan religious leaders, I am ashamed to say, threatened an HIV clinic there for providing counseling services to all members of that community, because the clerics wanted gay men excluded.
Uganda's parliament is debating legislation that would make homosexuality punishable by life imprisonment, and more discriminatory legislation has been debated in Rwanda and Burundi.
These are terrible backward steps for human rights in Africa.
Our lesbian and gay brothers and sisters across Africa are living in fear.
And they are living in hiding -- away from care, away from the protection the state should offer to every citizen and away from health care in the AIDS era, when all of us, especially Africans, need access to essential HIV services. That this pandering to intolerance is being done by politicians looking for scapegoats for their failures is not surprising. But it is a great wrong. An even larger offense is that it is being done in the name of God. Show me where Christ said "Love thy fellow man, except for the gay ones." Gay people, too, are made in my God's image. I would never worship a homophobic God.
"But they are sinners," I can hear the preachers and politicians say. "They are choosing a life of sin for which they must be punished." My scientist and medical friends have shared with me a reality that so many gay people have confirmed, I now know it in my heart to be true. No one chooses to be gay. Sexual orientation, like skin color, is another feature of our diversity as a human family. Isn't it amazing that we are all made in God's image, and yet there is so much diversity among his people? Does God love his dark- or his light-skinned children less? The brave more than the timid? And does any of us know the mind of God so well that we can decide for him who is included, and who is excluded, from the circle of his love?
The wave of hate must stop. Politicians who profit from exploiting this hate, from fanning it, must not be tempted by this easy way to profit from fear and misunderstanding. And my fellow clerics, of all faiths, must stand up for the principles of universal dignity and fellowship. Exclusion is never the way forward on our shared paths to freedom and justice.
The writer is archbishop emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
VATICAN AND GAY SEX SCANDAL
The Vatican has been hit by a gay sex scandal after allegations that a chorister had procured male prostitutes for a papal gentleman-in-waiting.
The chorister, 29-year-old Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, was sacked after police heard him talking on a wiretap to Angelo Balducci, a Gentleman of His Holiness.
Papal gentlemen-in-waiting are called upon to act as ushers at the Vatican for major occasions.
Balducci, who was also a construction consultant to the Vatican, as well as being a senior government employee, is said to given Ehiem a description of the men he wanted and it has been reported that Ehiem may have procured a number of male prostitutes for him.
Balducci was being investigated by police over allegations of corruption when the claims of gay sex were revealed. He is alleged to have steered government contracts towards preferred bidders.
Excerpts of the wiretaps and police documents were published in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
They showed that the pair had been in regular contact before Balducci was arrested last month and that they had discussed gay sex.
According to the newspaper, police said they were part of an organised male prostitution network and one of the men referred to was a student for the priesthood.
Baldacci remains in custody after being arrested last month. His lawyer has refused to comment and the Vatican has not released any statement on the claims.
A news magazine called Panoramas is due to publish an interview with Ehiem tomorrow. According to the Guardian, Ehiem will say: “”He [Baldacci] asked me if I could procure other men for him. He told me he was married and that I had to do it in great secrecy.”
The Catholic Church sees homosexuality as a sin and “intrinsically disordered”, while the Pope has spoken out against it a number of times.
The scandal is the latest to rock the Vatican, after investigations found endemic abuse of children in church-run institutio
The chorister, 29-year-old Thomas Chinedu Ehiem, was sacked after police heard him talking on a wiretap to Angelo Balducci, a Gentleman of His Holiness.
Papal gentlemen-in-waiting are called upon to act as ushers at the Vatican for major occasions.
Balducci, who was also a construction consultant to the Vatican, as well as being a senior government employee, is said to given Ehiem a description of the men he wanted and it has been reported that Ehiem may have procured a number of male prostitutes for him.
Balducci was being investigated by police over allegations of corruption when the claims of gay sex were revealed. He is alleged to have steered government contracts towards preferred bidders.
Excerpts of the wiretaps and police documents were published in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
They showed that the pair had been in regular contact before Balducci was arrested last month and that they had discussed gay sex.
According to the newspaper, police said they were part of an organised male prostitution network and one of the men referred to was a student for the priesthood.
Baldacci remains in custody after being arrested last month. His lawyer has refused to comment and the Vatican has not released any statement on the claims.
A news magazine called Panoramas is due to publish an interview with Ehiem tomorrow. According to the Guardian, Ehiem will say: “”He [Baldacci] asked me if I could procure other men for him. He told me he was married and that I had to do it in great secrecy.”
The Catholic Church sees homosexuality as a sin and “intrinsically disordered”, while the Pope has spoken out against it a number of times.
The scandal is the latest to rock the Vatican, after investigations found endemic abuse of children in church-run institutio
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Kenyan police raid 'gay wedding' and arrest five men
Police in Mtwapa, just north of the Kenyan coastal town of Mombasa, say they have arrested five men whom they accuse of being homosexuals.
District officer George Matandura said two of the men had been found with wedding rings, attempting to get married, in Kikambala beach resort.
The other three men were handed to the police by members of the public; two of them had reportedly been beaten.
Homosexuality is illegal in Kenya but arrests are extremely rare.
Crowds gathered outside the police station where the men were taken in protest at the presence of alleged homosexuals.
The wedding was reportedly due to take place at a private villa in the resort, but locals heard of the plans and alerted the police, who raided a house and arrested the men.
'Repugnant' behaviour
"We are grateful to the public for alerting the police. They should continue co-operating with the police to arrest more," Mr Matundura said.
"It is an offence, an unnatural offence, and also their behaviour is repugnant to the morality of the people."
We shall use all means to curb this vice
Sheikh Ali Hussein
Council of Imams and Preachers
The district officer said the five, aged between 20 and 35, would "undergo a medical examination before we charge them with homosexuality," the AFP news agency reported.
"We will move swiftly and close down bars which condone gays, lesbians, prostitution and drug abuse in their premises," Mr Matundura added.
A member of a Kenyan gay rights organisation condemned the arrests and said it had appealed to the Human Rights Commission to step in.
But the marriage allegedly planned was condemned by Muslim and Christian clerics.
"We cannot allow these young boys to ruin their future through homosexuality," Sheikh Ali Hussein of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya told AFP.
"We shall use all means to curb this vice."
Bishop Lawrence Chai, of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, said: "This is immoral and we shall not allow it, especially here in Mtwapa."
The five men are due to appear in court soon.
Media coverage
On Thursday, two other men abandoned their plans to get married at a seaside villa in the same area after local authorities complained.
The couple and their guests fled the coastal city when word spread that the police, government officers and members of the public were looking for them.
Apart from in South Africa, homosexual behaviour is illegal across Africa.
Four months ago a Kenyan gay couple married in London - an event which received wide media coverage inside Kenya.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
UGADAN ANTI - HOMOSEXUALITY BILL: ANGLICANS AGAINST THE BILL
The country’s Anglicans yesterday added their voice against the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. Like the Catholics before them, the Church of Uganda officially rejected the Bill.
They proposed that instead of the death penalty for gays who seduce boys - as the Bill put forward by Ndorwa West David Bahati demands – the law should be changed to ensure that vulnerable boys are properly protected.
Archbishop Luke Orombi, in his first public comments on the controversial Bill, however said they do not recognise homosexuality as “a human right”.
“The Church of Uganda believes that homosexual practice is incompatible with the Scripture,” the prelate said in a statement issued yesterday, citing a resolution of the 1998 Lambeth Conference in Britain.
He added: “At the same time, the Church of Uganda is committed at all levels to offer counseling, healing and prayer for people with homosexual disorientation, especially in our schools and other institutions of learning.”
“The Church is a safe place for individuals, who are confused about their sexuality or struggling with sexual brokenness, to seek help and healing. As a Church; we affirm the necessity of appropriate amendments within the existing legislation...”
Mr Bahati, who tabled the Bill last year, yesterday insisted in comments to Christians and pastors fellowshipping at Christian Life Church in Bwaise, a city suburb, that he is not giving up.
“As a Member of Parliament, I have a constitutional right to move a Private Member’s Bill and will not be shaken by any external forces because I have the support from within my country,” he said, adding: “Many Ugandans are behind me and we have to fight this battle jointly.”
However, the latest foray by Church of Uganda, which until last year played host and spiritual home for breakaway conformist American clerics/Anglicans disenchanted over acceptance of homosexuals in the Episcopal Church, deprives MP Bahati of the second biggest bloc after the Catholic Church here earlier raised objections to capital punishment embedded in the Bill.
According to Mr Bahati, the Bill seeks to legitimise marriage only as a union between a man and woman, penalise homosexuals, prohibit and or disown pro-gay treaties and freeze licensing of promoter organisations.
Some provisions of the Bill, including the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality, borderless jurisdiction and criminalisation of counseling of gays, have been criticised both locally and internationally, especially by human rights activists
US President Barack Obama, among other powerful western leaders, last week derided the Bill as “odious”, two months after President Museveni urged Parliament to go slow on it due to associated foreign policy sensitivity.
Sanctions plea
Yesterday’s statement sent to media houses by Church of Uganda’s Communications Director Amanda Onapito, specifically suggests changes to Sections 128-147 that variously touch on sexual-related offences such as indecent assault, homosexuality and defilement to ensure “proportionality” in sanctions.
“The ideal situation would be one where necessary amendment is made to existing legislation to also enumerate other sexual offences such as lesbianism and bestiality,” the statement, already endorsed by the House of Bishops, reads in part.
“This would not require a fresh Bill on homosexuality per se but rather an amendment to the existing provisions which would also change the title to something like: The Penal Code Unnatural Offences Amendment Bill.”
The Anglican Communion has in recent years stood on the edge of division on the issue of gays in the congregation with liberals backing their accommodation while conservatives detest the practice as “sinful and unbiblical”.Church of Uganda has sided with the conformists, helping organise the 2008 Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem after boycotting the Lambeth Conference in London over Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan William’s perceived tolerance of gays.
Meanwhile, a man in Isingiro District in western Uganda was remanded in custody after being accused of sodomising a 13-year-old boy.
The prosecution told the court that the 27-year-old had waylaid the boy as he returned from grazing goats and threatened to stab him before forcing him into sex against “the order of nature”.
The magistrate in Mbarara said the evidence in the file was “too scanty to proceed” and he adjourned the hearing.
Ends
They proposed that instead of the death penalty for gays who seduce boys - as the Bill put forward by Ndorwa West David Bahati demands – the law should be changed to ensure that vulnerable boys are properly protected.
Archbishop Luke Orombi, in his first public comments on the controversial Bill, however said they do not recognise homosexuality as “a human right”.
“The Church of Uganda believes that homosexual practice is incompatible with the Scripture,” the prelate said in a statement issued yesterday, citing a resolution of the 1998 Lambeth Conference in Britain.
He added: “At the same time, the Church of Uganda is committed at all levels to offer counseling, healing and prayer for people with homosexual disorientation, especially in our schools and other institutions of learning.”
“The Church is a safe place for individuals, who are confused about their sexuality or struggling with sexual brokenness, to seek help and healing. As a Church; we affirm the necessity of appropriate amendments within the existing legislation...”
Mr Bahati, who tabled the Bill last year, yesterday insisted in comments to Christians and pastors fellowshipping at Christian Life Church in Bwaise, a city suburb, that he is not giving up.
“As a Member of Parliament, I have a constitutional right to move a Private Member’s Bill and will not be shaken by any external forces because I have the support from within my country,” he said, adding: “Many Ugandans are behind me and we have to fight this battle jointly.”
However, the latest foray by Church of Uganda, which until last year played host and spiritual home for breakaway conformist American clerics/Anglicans disenchanted over acceptance of homosexuals in the Episcopal Church, deprives MP Bahati of the second biggest bloc after the Catholic Church here earlier raised objections to capital punishment embedded in the Bill.
According to Mr Bahati, the Bill seeks to legitimise marriage only as a union between a man and woman, penalise homosexuals, prohibit and or disown pro-gay treaties and freeze licensing of promoter organisations.
Some provisions of the Bill, including the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality, borderless jurisdiction and criminalisation of counseling of gays, have been criticised both locally and internationally, especially by human rights activists
US President Barack Obama, among other powerful western leaders, last week derided the Bill as “odious”, two months after President Museveni urged Parliament to go slow on it due to associated foreign policy sensitivity.
Sanctions plea
Yesterday’s statement sent to media houses by Church of Uganda’s Communications Director Amanda Onapito, specifically suggests changes to Sections 128-147 that variously touch on sexual-related offences such as indecent assault, homosexuality and defilement to ensure “proportionality” in sanctions.
“The ideal situation would be one where necessary amendment is made to existing legislation to also enumerate other sexual offences such as lesbianism and bestiality,” the statement, already endorsed by the House of Bishops, reads in part.
“This would not require a fresh Bill on homosexuality per se but rather an amendment to the existing provisions which would also change the title to something like: The Penal Code Unnatural Offences Amendment Bill.”
The Anglican Communion has in recent years stood on the edge of division on the issue of gays in the congregation with liberals backing their accommodation while conservatives detest the practice as “sinful and unbiblical”.Church of Uganda has sided with the conformists, helping organise the 2008 Global Anglican Future Conference in Jerusalem after boycotting the Lambeth Conference in London over Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan William’s perceived tolerance of gays.
Meanwhile, a man in Isingiro District in western Uganda was remanded in custody after being accused of sodomising a 13-year-old boy.
The prosecution told the court that the 27-year-old had waylaid the boy as he returned from grazing goats and threatened to stab him before forcing him into sex against “the order of nature”.
The magistrate in Mbarara said the evidence in the file was “too scanty to proceed” and he adjourned the hearing.
Ends
Saturday, January 16, 2010
RWANDA PAVES WAY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS RESPECT FOR LGBTI
Rwanda paves the way for universal respect
of human rights in Africa by refusing
to criminalise homosexuality
In December 2009, the lower House of the Rwandan Parliament was set to vote upon a revised Penal Code, Article 217 of which would have made homosexuality a criminal offence for the first time in the East African nation.
Following a strong mobilisation from diplomats and human rights activists in the region, Tharcisse Karugarama, Minister of Justice, declared that the Rwandan government "cannot and will not in any way criminalize homosexuality", reaffirming that sexual orientation was "a private matter and each individual has his or her own orientation – this is not a State matter at all".
Michael Cashman MEP, Co-president of the European Parliament's Intergroup on LGBT Rights, enthusiastically congratulated Rwandan authorities on their decision: "In a context increasingly repressive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in African countries, Rwanda did the right thing by refusing to criminalise homosexuality. This is yet another example of Rwanda being a role-model for African nations."
Mr Cashman further added: "With this courageous decision, Rwanda is paving the way for everyone's human rights to be respected in the region. The European Parliament's Intergroup on LGBT Rights calls on other African nations to follow the lead of Rwanda, and abide by Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights."
Homosexuality is currently a criminal offence in several African countries, and punished by death in Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan, and potentially Uganda.
of human rights in Africa by refusing
to criminalise homosexuality
In December 2009, the lower House of the Rwandan Parliament was set to vote upon a revised Penal Code, Article 217 of which would have made homosexuality a criminal offence for the first time in the East African nation.
Following a strong mobilisation from diplomats and human rights activists in the region, Tharcisse Karugarama, Minister of Justice, declared that the Rwandan government "cannot and will not in any way criminalize homosexuality", reaffirming that sexual orientation was "a private matter and each individual has his or her own orientation – this is not a State matter at all".
Michael Cashman MEP, Co-president of the European Parliament's Intergroup on LGBT Rights, enthusiastically congratulated Rwandan authorities on their decision: "In a context increasingly repressive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in African countries, Rwanda did the right thing by refusing to criminalise homosexuality. This is yet another example of Rwanda being a role-model for African nations."
Mr Cashman further added: "With this courageous decision, Rwanda is paving the way for everyone's human rights to be respected in the region. The European Parliament's Intergroup on LGBT Rights calls on other African nations to follow the lead of Rwanda, and abide by Article 2 of the African Charter on Human and People's Rights."
Homosexuality is currently a criminal offence in several African countries, and punished by death in Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan, and potentially Uganda.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
QUEER ALLIANCE NIGERIA -STRATEGIC PLANS
QUEER ALLIANCE NIGERIA
Our rights… Our lives
OUR IDENTITY
THE VISION: The vision of Queer Alliance Nigeria is basically towards a non discriminatory Nigerian society especially on the grounds of sexual orientation and any other grounds.
THE MISSION: Queer Alliance Nigeria is a human rights and health advocacy / support group for the LGBTI community in Nigeria. Our mission statement is to facilitate an enabling environment for the liberation of LGBTI Nigeria through advocacy, education and publications. To provide health related information / services to the LGBTI community in Lagos and Nigeria.
Queer Alliance intends to achieve this mission through collaborations with other LGBTI organizations and human rights outfits, thereby creating and environment where the human rights of LGBTI persons are respected and recognized as members of the Nigerian society.
Queer Alliance will work for the establishment of a socially ordered community where sexual orientation shall not constitute a barrier to the attainment and enjoyments of all fundamental human rights and liberation that are entitled to us as human beings irrespective of sexual orientation. The establishment of a good and excellent working relationship with funds providers, LGBTI members and LGBTI advocacy groups in Nigeria.
We shall also strive to collaborate with other stakeholders in human rights advocacy in areas of mutual interest both home/abroad.
CORE VALUES:
INTEGRITY: Consistent, committed and transparent in our decisions and conduct. Fulfilling our mission and conducting ourselves in a way that is true to our identity.
DIVERSITY: We shall seek to learn from the different ways of life in our community and the Nigerian society at large, opinions as represented by LGBTI persons in Nigeria themselves. We respect ad actively encourage the participation of LGBTI and non-LGBTI alike in order to achieve our aims.
PARTICIPATION: We seek to create a dynamic environment, where everyone can get involved in the building up of the community and the Nigerian society at large.
DIALOGUE: Engage in dialogue rather than debate whose outcome might produce strife.
QUEER ALLIANCE TOP 5 PRIORITIES
1. Human rights advocacy and activism for the LGBTI community in Nigeria.
2. Advocating for the health needs of LGBTI persons in Nigeria and provide services where possible appropriately.
3. Publications:
(a) Produce quarterly magazine that features, health, religion, romance amongst others that is aimed at educating the LGBTI community and the Nigeria society at large on homosexual.
(b)Maintaining a weblog with information as regards sexuality and other social matters and probably upgrade it to a website.
(c) Production of tracts /leaflets that is aimed at supporting the “coming out” process.
4. Empowerment: Empowering the less educationally qualified LGBTI persons on building income and resources to sustain their livelihood and leadership skills for educationally qualified LGBTI persons.
5. Research for better advocacy for the fundamental human rights of LGBTI persons in Nigeria.
STRATEGIC PLANS (2010 – 2013)
OUR ACTIONS (IDAHO AS DEADLINE)
ACTION 1: HUMAN RIGHTS / REFORM
TARGETS:
By September 2010, we shall strive to have in place a relationship with the legal Defense and Assistance Project in order to provide assistance to LGBTI persons who are being persecuted by legal entities. At the moment there is an institutional relationship with the Independent Project for referrals and further action.
By IDAHO 2011: To have an LGBTI human rights committee in place (collaboration with other LGBTI rights org) thereby developing a human rights strategy based on LGBTI right violations.
By IDAHO 2012: To have formed a relationship with religious progressive in Nigeria as regards sexuality, human rights and religion.
By IDAHO 2013: To have formed a partnership arrangement with the National Human Rights Commission on advocacy for LGBTI persons in Nigeria / and other LGBTI organizations or supportive groups. Also Queer Alliance would have developed working relationships with lawyers from within the LGBTI community, in order the legal services being provided for persons who are been persecuted by legal and social entities.
ACTIONS 2: HEALTH AND RELATED SERVICES.
TARGETS:
By December 1st 2010: Queer Alliance Nigerian website would be launched and dully operational with a health page that will provide information on heath and gag friendly health services centres.
By IDAHO 2010: Queer Alliance would have established an institutional relationship with the Presidency Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief of 68 military Hospital Yaba for referral services on HIV prevention, care and treatment.
By December 2010: Queer Alliance Nigeria would have trained 25 MSM/WSW peer educators and sexual health promoters from the 6 geopolitical zones of the country in order that all LGBTI persons be reached with the message of HIV prevention care and treatment.
By IDAHO 2011: Queer Alliance Nigeria would have taken a step further in providing for the health made of WSW on grounds of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment.
By IDAHO 2012/13: Queer Alliance Nigeria in partnership with doctors who are LGBTI or LGBTI friendly would take a step further in trying to create or have in place an exclusively LGBTI health centre on a part-time basis for members of the LGBTI community.
ACTION 3: EMPOWERMENT
By IDAHO 2010: Queer Alliance Nigeria would have come up with implementable empowerment programs in vocational skills building for members of he LGBTI community who are less educational ualified and economical undependable for onward implementation before the year in question runs out.
By December 2011/IDAHO 2012: Queer Alliance Nigeria in collaboration with other LGBTI organizations would have taken the initiative if not educated the first National Queer youth Empowerment summit that in targeted at all members of the LGBTI community in Nigeria with emphasis in leadership skills development.
ACTION 4: PUBLICATION
TARGET:
By Dec 2010: Queer Alliance Nigeria would use journalism as a tool for activism by having a website which would be fully operational with information on sexuality, human rights, health and amongst other with strong emphasis placed on educating the Nigeria public on LGBTI issues.
By IDAHO 2011: When Queer Alliance Nigeria website would have been operational, we shall use the internet to place advocacy and campaign messages for the liberation of the LGBTI community. Messages as regards human rights and sexual orientation would be prominently highlighted on the website.
By IDAHO 2012: Queer Alliance Nigeria issued take the bold step towards the establishment o an LGBTI journal that will feature health, romance, religion, entertainment among other issues but which will be distributed (not for free neither for profit) in the community.
ACTION 5: CAPACITY BUILDING.
TARGET:
By Dec 2011: Queer Alliance Nigeria would have undergone the process and be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission as a non profit organization with the name CENTRE FOR HEALTH AND SEXUAL RIGHTS if not Queer Alliance for registration’s sake.
Before IDAHO 2011: Queer Alliance Executive Director shall have undergone a Human Right, Training or Fellowship either locally or abroad to enable him carry out the functions of the office.
By IDAHO 2012: Two other volunteers/staff of Queer Alliance who are committed to its vision and mission statement would also have undergone a training in human rights.
By Dec 2011: Queer Alliance Nigeria would support and be instrumental in forming the Lagos LGBTI choir, that will be on its way to staying the first performance.
By 2013: Queer Alliance would have identify other possible source of funding locally in order to complement donors effort.
In the meantime, the sole responsibility of running the organization rests with the management team whose function is over sited and coordinated by the board of trustees. The head of the organization shall be the Executive Director but who reports to the Board of Trustees and whose actions and office is monitored by the Board.
Our rights… Our lives
OUR IDENTITY
THE VISION: The vision of Queer Alliance Nigeria is basically towards a non discriminatory Nigerian society especially on the grounds of sexual orientation and any other grounds.
THE MISSION: Queer Alliance Nigeria is a human rights and health advocacy / support group for the LGBTI community in Nigeria. Our mission statement is to facilitate an enabling environment for the liberation of LGBTI Nigeria through advocacy, education and publications. To provide health related information / services to the LGBTI community in Lagos and Nigeria.
Queer Alliance intends to achieve this mission through collaborations with other LGBTI organizations and human rights outfits, thereby creating and environment where the human rights of LGBTI persons are respected and recognized as members of the Nigerian society.
Queer Alliance will work for the establishment of a socially ordered community where sexual orientation shall not constitute a barrier to the attainment and enjoyments of all fundamental human rights and liberation that are entitled to us as human beings irrespective of sexual orientation. The establishment of a good and excellent working relationship with funds providers, LGBTI members and LGBTI advocacy groups in Nigeria.
We shall also strive to collaborate with other stakeholders in human rights advocacy in areas of mutual interest both home/abroad.
CORE VALUES:
INTEGRITY: Consistent, committed and transparent in our decisions and conduct. Fulfilling our mission and conducting ourselves in a way that is true to our identity.
DIVERSITY: We shall seek to learn from the different ways of life in our community and the Nigerian society at large, opinions as represented by LGBTI persons in Nigeria themselves. We respect ad actively encourage the participation of LGBTI and non-LGBTI alike in order to achieve our aims.
PARTICIPATION: We seek to create a dynamic environment, where everyone can get involved in the building up of the community and the Nigerian society at large.
DIALOGUE: Engage in dialogue rather than debate whose outcome might produce strife.
QUEER ALLIANCE TOP 5 PRIORITIES
1. Human rights advocacy and activism for the LGBTI community in Nigeria.
2. Advocating for the health needs of LGBTI persons in Nigeria and provide services where possible appropriately.
3. Publications:
(a) Produce quarterly magazine that features, health, religion, romance amongst others that is aimed at educating the LGBTI community and the Nigeria society at large on homosexual.
(b)Maintaining a weblog with information as regards sexuality and other social matters and probably upgrade it to a website.
(c) Production of tracts /leaflets that is aimed at supporting the “coming out” process.
4. Empowerment: Empowering the less educationally qualified LGBTI persons on building income and resources to sustain their livelihood and leadership skills for educationally qualified LGBTI persons.
5. Research for better advocacy for the fundamental human rights of LGBTI persons in Nigeria.
STRATEGIC PLANS (2010 – 2013)
OUR ACTIONS (IDAHO AS DEADLINE)
ACTION 1: HUMAN RIGHTS / REFORM
TARGETS:
By September 2010, we shall strive to have in place a relationship with the legal Defense and Assistance Project in order to provide assistance to LGBTI persons who are being persecuted by legal entities. At the moment there is an institutional relationship with the Independent Project for referrals and further action.
By IDAHO 2011: To have an LGBTI human rights committee in place (collaboration with other LGBTI rights org) thereby developing a human rights strategy based on LGBTI right violations.
By IDAHO 2012: To have formed a relationship with religious progressive in Nigeria as regards sexuality, human rights and religion.
By IDAHO 2013: To have formed a partnership arrangement with the National Human Rights Commission on advocacy for LGBTI persons in Nigeria / and other LGBTI organizations or supportive groups. Also Queer Alliance would have developed working relationships with lawyers from within the LGBTI community, in order the legal services being provided for persons who are been persecuted by legal and social entities.
ACTIONS 2: HEALTH AND RELATED SERVICES.
TARGETS:
By December 1st 2010: Queer Alliance Nigerian website would be launched and dully operational with a health page that will provide information on heath and gag friendly health services centres.
By IDAHO 2010: Queer Alliance would have established an institutional relationship with the Presidency Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief of 68 military Hospital Yaba for referral services on HIV prevention, care and treatment.
By December 2010: Queer Alliance Nigeria would have trained 25 MSM/WSW peer educators and sexual health promoters from the 6 geopolitical zones of the country in order that all LGBTI persons be reached with the message of HIV prevention care and treatment.
By IDAHO 2011: Queer Alliance Nigeria would have taken a step further in providing for the health made of WSW on grounds of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment.
By IDAHO 2012/13: Queer Alliance Nigeria in partnership with doctors who are LGBTI or LGBTI friendly would take a step further in trying to create or have in place an exclusively LGBTI health centre on a part-time basis for members of the LGBTI community.
ACTION 3: EMPOWERMENT
By IDAHO 2010: Queer Alliance Nigeria would have come up with implementable empowerment programs in vocational skills building for members of he LGBTI community who are less educational ualified and economical undependable for onward implementation before the year in question runs out.
By December 2011/IDAHO 2012: Queer Alliance Nigeria in collaboration with other LGBTI organizations would have taken the initiative if not educated the first National Queer youth Empowerment summit that in targeted at all members of the LGBTI community in Nigeria with emphasis in leadership skills development.
ACTION 4: PUBLICATION
TARGET:
By Dec 2010: Queer Alliance Nigeria would use journalism as a tool for activism by having a website which would be fully operational with information on sexuality, human rights, health and amongst other with strong emphasis placed on educating the Nigeria public on LGBTI issues.
By IDAHO 2011: When Queer Alliance Nigeria website would have been operational, we shall use the internet to place advocacy and campaign messages for the liberation of the LGBTI community. Messages as regards human rights and sexual orientation would be prominently highlighted on the website.
By IDAHO 2012: Queer Alliance Nigeria issued take the bold step towards the establishment o an LGBTI journal that will feature health, romance, religion, entertainment among other issues but which will be distributed (not for free neither for profit) in the community.
ACTION 5: CAPACITY BUILDING.
TARGET:
By Dec 2011: Queer Alliance Nigeria would have undergone the process and be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission as a non profit organization with the name CENTRE FOR HEALTH AND SEXUAL RIGHTS if not Queer Alliance for registration’s sake.
Before IDAHO 2011: Queer Alliance Executive Director shall have undergone a Human Right, Training or Fellowship either locally or abroad to enable him carry out the functions of the office.
By IDAHO 2012: Two other volunteers/staff of Queer Alliance who are committed to its vision and mission statement would also have undergone a training in human rights.
By Dec 2011: Queer Alliance Nigeria would support and be instrumental in forming the Lagos LGBTI choir, that will be on its way to staying the first performance.
By 2013: Queer Alliance would have identify other possible source of funding locally in order to complement donors effort.
In the meantime, the sole responsibility of running the organization rests with the management team whose function is over sited and coordinated by the board of trustees. The head of the organization shall be the Executive Director but who reports to the Board of Trustees and whose actions and office is monitored by the Board.
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