{"id":8342,"date":"2014-05-20T00:01:28","date_gmt":"2014-05-19T23:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitedexplanations.org\/english\/?p=8342"},"modified":"2014-05-18T17:21:22","modified_gmt":"2014-05-18T16:21:22","slug":"what-are-the-worst-countries-in-the-world-to-be-gay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedexplanations.org\/english\/2014\/05\/20\/what-are-the-worst-countries-in-the-world-to-be-gay\/","title":{"rendered":"What are the worst countries in the world to be gay?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know that there are countries where being gay is punishable with the death penalty?\u00a0 Yes, although homosexuality has been legal in countries like France, Monaco and Luxembourg, since 1791, 1793 and 1795 respectively, there are still a number of countries where, well into the 21st century, it is still a crime to be homosexual.\u00a0 Just 22 years ago, in May 1992, the World Health Organization officially determined that homosexuality was not to be considered a mental illness.\u00a0 More recently, on December 18th<\/sup>, 2008, under a French\/Dutch initiative backed by the European Union, the UN’s declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity<\/a> was approved.\u00a0 The first time the UN took a stance on LGBT rights was in 1994, with the Human Rights Committee supporting the favorable verdict in the Toonen vs. Australia<\/a> case.<\/p>\n

Today, according to the ILGA<\/a> (International Lesbian and Gay Associations), there are still 76 countries that consider it illegal to practice homosexuality \u2013 with 10 punishing it by death<\/a> (Sudan, Mauritania, Nigeria, Qatar, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Iran and Iraq).\u00a0 In contrast, a total of 54 countries have laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace.\u00a0 Additionally, 16 countries have legislation underway<\/a> on gay marriage, two of which (Mexico and the United States) leave its approval to regional governments. Australia and Colombia are also taking steps towards national legalization.\u00a0 Strangely, in some countries (like Malawi, Singapore, Turkmenistan, Guyana, Jamaica, Lesotho, Belize and Swaziland, among others), homosexuality is prohibited for men but legally acceptable for women.<\/p>\n

Last February, at the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia was harshly criticized by pro-gay and human rights groups for criminalizing homosexuality<\/a>.\u00a0 The recent rise in violence by Russian neo-Nazi groups chasing, attacking and torturing people for being – or just appearing to be – homosexual caused alarm around the world.\u00a0 One of the strongest critics of the Russian government was the Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion, which launched a video that rapidly went viral.<\/p>\n