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Israel Education Ministry to recognise gay and lesbian youth group
Israel's Education Minister is set to announce his ministry's recognition of the Israeli Gay Youth Organization (IGY), at the organisation's annual fundraising event in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, reported the Ha'aretz newspaper.

Following its offical recognition, IGY - which conducts activities for gay youths between the ages of 15-18 and 18-21 - will receive government support. The non-profit group was founded in 2002 and is active in 16 cities across the country.

The 1,500-member organisation will also receive funds as the Justice Ministry is expected to approve changes to the education minister's support regulations. The Education Ministry also intends to increase the support mentioned in the regulations from NIS 200,000 (US$47,800) to NIS 1 million.

Education Minister Yuli Tamir had met gay and lesbian community activists several times about their request to cooperate with the ministry.

Although one of the criteria for receiving state funds is submitting a membership list including identity numbers and addresses to the ministry, the regulation was later changed in view of IGY members' potential fear of disclosing identifying details. Now it stipulates that when a list of members cannot be submitted for justified reasons and for special considerations, the organisation would be considered on the basis of other criteria.

Itay Pinkas, a Tel Aviv councilman and one of the initiators of the move to recognise IGY, said "gay youth groups have been operating for 15 years already but have not been recognised until now. This is a big step forward. It's not only the financial support, but having a girl or boy know that the Education Ministry recognises their organisation. Now they too can feel they have a place in the education system."

Israel is generally tolerant of homosexuality, and the country's secular metropolis, Tel Aviv, is home to a thriving gay community. Israel recognises same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. A rare gathering of 150 gay Arab activists for a conference entitled "Home and Exile" is slated to be held in Haifa in northern Israel on March 28. The meeting is called by Asawat, a Haifa-based Palestinian lesbians' organisation, to mark its five-year anniversary.


Human rights experts set out global standards for sexual rights and gender equality
International human rights experts call for action worldwide against discrimination and abuse of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people with the groundbreaking "Yogyakarta Principles."

A group of 29 international human rights experts have launched a groundbreaking set of principles on sexual orientation, gender identity, and international law, announced the Human Rights Watch and the Center for Women's Global Leadership on Monday.

The landmark document, known as the Yogyakarta Principles after the Indonesian city where it was adopted last November, establish basic standards for how the United Nations and governments should end violence, abuse, and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, and ensure full equality.

The Yogyakarta Principles were developed in response to well-documented patterns of abuse around the globe. These abuses, perpetrated because of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, have affected millions.

"Human rights are for everyone, without reservation," said Sonia Onufer Corr�a of Brazil, who co-chaired the experts' group, in a statement. "Yet women, men and persons whose sexuality does not conform with dominant norms face rape, torture, murder, violence, and abuse because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. These Principles affirm that human rights admit no exceptions."

The experts launching the principles include a former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as UN independent experts, members of UN treaty bodies, judges, activists, and academics. Human Rights Watch was part of a secretariat supporting the work of the experts who developed the principles. The Center for Women's Global Leadership was a member of the advisory committee to the secretariat.

The full text of the "Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity" is available at: yogyakartaprinciples.org.


UK House of Lords vote 168-122 for gay equality
The House of Lords voted late on the night of March 21 to block a new law that bans anti-gay discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services.

As part of the new Equality Act, the Sexual Orientation Regulations will make it unlawful to discriminate against lesbian and gay people in the provision of services ranging from healthcare to hotel rooms and will come into effect April 30 everywhere except in Northern Ireland, where it already has come into force.

Upset by the new regulations, the Catholic Church has threatened to close its seven adoption agencies rather than comply and place children with gay couples. In response, the government granted the church-run adoption agencies 21 additional months to come into compliance with the law or transfer its knowledge and expertise to the secular sector and shut down its agencies.

Communities Secretary Ruth Kelly, who is herself a Catholic and has often been accused by critics of siding with the Catholic Church, hailed the laws as a "major step forward."

"It cannot be right in a decent, tolerant society that a shopkeeper or restaurant can refuse to serve a customer because they are gay."

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