Religious Objections to AIDS Strategy Branded “Evil”

Lesbian and gay humanists have roundly condemned the United Nations for watering down a commitment to fight the AIDS pandemic in order to pacify religious objectors.

All mention of how the disease specifically affects gay men was removed from the document at the insistence of Islamic governments – most vocal of which were Egypt, the Gulf States and Malaysia. The move has been condemned by the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association (GALHA) as “nothing short of evil”.

In a strongly-worded letter to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, GALHA says that it was wrong that a coalition of Islamic and US religious interests had effectively removed from the declaration all specific mention of homosexuals and sex workers – two of the groups at high risk from AIDS.

In the letter, GALHA’s secretary, George Broadhead, says: “To compromise such an important document to satisfy irrational religious objections is nothing short of evil. People are entitled to hold religious views, but they are not entitled to insist that those views cost the lives of innocent people. AIDS is a global pandemic that is having devastating consequences, particularly for developing countries. We can no longer pussyfoot around the real human issues in order to satisfy religious bigotry. Gay men and those working in the sex industry are at particular risk from this virus, and their lives are at risk from ignorance and lack of resources. We are astounded that religious leaders who purport to be defenders of morality can stand in the way of the essential work that is needed to tackle this disease. AIDS is related to sex and there is no escape from that fact. We cannot pander to religious sensibilities that try to deny this truth, or accept the implicit message that those who do not heed religious strictures on sex somehow deserve their fate.

“We call on the UN to ignore the protests of these sectarian interests and to courageously confront AIDS in the only way that can possibly be effective – by admitting that it is mainly a sexually transmitted disease, and that sex is a human activity that doesn’t always obey religious teachings. We need to be frank, honest and open about the truth of human sexuality. This is something hard-line religion is incapable of doing. Therefore, religious ‘sensibilities’ should have no part to play in the fight against AIDS.”

Terry Sanderson, a spokesperson for GALHA said: “Religion has condemned homosexuality down the ages and still does. In some Islamic countries, homosexual activity is still a capital offence and executions are frequent. This persecution is now being extended into the arena of AIDS with the admittedly reluctant complicity of the UN. With Catholic objections to the use of condoms – even as a protection from disease – and barbaric punishments carried out in some Islamic states, lesbian and gay people must be protected from the onslaught, and the UN must find the courage to do this.”