During a press conference prior to the opening of the 64th UN General Assembly, the new President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, Ali Abdussalam Treki of Libya, was quoted calling homosexuality “not really acceptable.” International homosexual and human rights groups were swift to respond
The comment came in response to a journalists question about his position regarding the “Declaration for the Universal Decriminalisation of Homosexuality,” passed last December. Treki said:
That matter is very sensitive, very touchy. As a Muslim, I am not in favor of it . . . it is not accepted by the majority of countries. My opinion is not in favor of this matter at all. I think it’s not really acceptable by our religion, our tradition.
It is not acceptable in the majority of the world. And there are some countries that allow that, thinking it is a kind of democracy . . . I think it is not.
The backlash in the homosexual rights community was immediate and pronounced. Members of the human rights organization, EveryOne Group are appealing to the General Secretary and the Security Council to have Treki removed from office and his statements stigmatized.
In the U.S., Republican House Representative, Ileana Rosa-Letinen of Florida, released a statement attacking Treki and the UN:
The anti-gay bigotry spewed by this Qaddafi shill demonstrates once again that the UN has been hijacked by advocates of hate and intolerance. Likewise, the leadership of the UN Development Program is held by the Iranian regime, which denies the presence of gays in Iran even as it murders them and other innocent citizens.
The International Lesbian & Gay Association (ILGA), one of the leading international homosexualist lobby groups, also released a statement saying, “The worrying and serious implications of this attitude, coming from the new head of an institution which is supposed to regard human rights – all human rights – as the most sacred value, cannot be overstated.”
The UN declaration Treki was responding to was made official in December of last year and is currently signed by 66 of the UN’s 192 member states, Libya not included. U.S. President Barack Obama signed the declaration this March. Those opposed to the declaration express concern that it would pressure countries into adopting or expanding same-sex marriage and further efforts to normalize homosexuality.
From this perspective, Treki’s concern seems legitimate and non-inflammatory. Yet those who have been using the UN to promote their radical agenda clearly have reason to respond vehemently to the President of the UN undermining the universality of such initiatives.