Critics slam the U.N. for appointing Uganda's "anti-gay" minister to
top leadership role
LINDSAY ABRAMS
Salon - 6 hours ago
SUNDAY, JUN 1, 2014 5:25 PM UTC
The appointment is being called "the very antithesis of what the U.N.
is supposed to embody"
Photo: Ugandan Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa(Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
The United Nations is getting hit with some serious backlash over the
inauguration of Uganda's foreign minister as the head of its general
assembly, the Guardian reports.
Sam Kutesa's appointment to the year-long post comes just months after
Uganda's president, Yoweri Museveni, signed a draconian
anti-homosexuality act that promises life sentences for "repeat
homosexuals" along with prison time for those who provide services to
gay people or who help them avoid detection.
Kutesa's role heading up the U.N. will be largely figurative, yet it's
hard to ignore the symbolic significance of having a cabinet member in
a government that's responsible for some of the world's most vile
anti-gay lays serve as the figurehead of a council responsible for
instituting political, economic, humanitarian, social and legal
actions throughout the world.
The criticism, per the Guardian, encompasses that perception, and also
takes aim at Kutesa's own history of alleged corruption:
New York senator Kirsten Gillibrand said: "It would be disturbing to
see the foreign minister of a country that passed an unjust, harsh and
discriminatory law based on sexual orientation preside over the UN
general assembly." In the UK the rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has
called on the government to intervene. "David Cameron and William
Hague should be lobbying the UN to block Kutesa's appointment on the
grounds that his political record is inconsistent with UN principles,"
he said.
…A Change.org petition calling on the Obama administration to revoke
Kutesa's visa to enter the US and thus prevent him taking up the
presidency has attracted almost 3,000 signatures. It was written by a
Ugandan, Milton Allimadi, who edits the New York-based site Black Star
News. Allimadi said that Kutesa represented "the very antithesis of
what the UN is supposed to embody globally – peace, security and human
rights for everyone".
Asked recently what he thought about the petition, Kutesa said: "I'm
not bothered by that, because it's incorrect. It's a lie."
…Cissy Kagaba of the Anti-Corruption Coalition Uganda in Kampala said
that Kutesa's elevation to such a prominent UN role was sending the
wrong message: "It says that people who have been linked to alleged
corruption can still represent their country, and that will make the
fight against it much more difficult."
Lindsay Abrams is an assistant editor at Salon, focusing on all
things sustainable. Follow her on Twitter @readingirl, email
labrams@salon.com.
http://www.google.ca/gwt/x?gl=CA&hl=en-CA&u=http://www.salon.com/2014/06/01/critics_slam_the_u_n_for_appointing_ugandas_anti_gay_minister_to_top_leadership_role/&source=s&q=Critics+slam+the+U.N.+for+appointing+Uganda's+"anti-gay"+minister+to+top+leadership+role+Salon.com
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