The U.S. and Iran Show Their True Colors—And They're Not a Rainbow
by John Taraborelli
[Note: This article first appeared in The Agenda #15]
As tensions mount over Iran's nuclear ambitions and Sudan's President Bashir is denied his seat at the African Union's rotating presidency due to his regime's perceived complicity in the genocide in Darfur, it is reassuring to to see a brief moment of unity in increasingly unstable international relations. On January 26, the New York Times reported on a vote in the United Nations that demonstrated rare solidarity between the United States, Iran, Sudan, Zimbabwe and Cuba. Perhaps this is a sign that all hope is not lost for peace and cooperation between these disparate and often contentious nations.
The vote on Monday, January 23 was to decide whether consultative status to the U.N. Economic and Social Council would be granted to two gay rights groups. Nearly 3000 nongovernmental organizations are afforded this status, which allows them to distribute documents at council meetings.
Iran moved to deny this status to the Danish National Association for Gays and Lesbians, and the Belgium-based International Lesbian and Gay Association. The United States, along with the three other nations mentioned above, supported Iran's recommendation in a rare example of unity between the world's foremost proponent of freedom and democracy, a fundamentalist Islamist theocracy, a war-ravaged nation currently standing idle before the worst human rights catastrophe on the planet, and two countries the U.S. State Department has criticized for their repressive treatment of homosexuals.
Mark Lagon, a State Department official, made it clear that the decision was not based on opposition to gay rights, but "the controversial history of the International Lesbian and Gay Association-an affiliate of the North American Man/Boy Love Association." NAMBLA, which openly condones pedophilia, was publicly expelled by the group more than a decade ago. There was apparently no official State Department line on whether the Danish group advocates sex with little boys, but better safe than sorry.
This all-too-rare harmony between states whose relations are often tenuous at best gives hope for the future. Many large problems loom on the horizon of international affairs, but this vote proves that even nations at odds with each other can, through dialog and mutual support, allow reason to prevail. These five states, despite their geographic, political, and economic disparities, have managed to weave together the common moral threads that bind us all-in this case, single-minded intolerance, antiquated social mores, and blinding hatred of minorities. If such a minor decision as this can bring the Untied States, Iran, Cuba, Sudan and Zimbabwe into concert, imagine what the future holds for weightier issues like terrorism and nuclear proliferation.
Find out More:
United Nations Economic and Social Council
International Lesbian and Gay Association