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Discusses the ongoing denial of human rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual, & transgender people around the world, which has implications for their health. While the United Nations offer some support for LGBT human rights, it is not a perfect forum for claiming those rights because of the threat of opposition from various sectors, including the Vatican &, recently, the US. References. Adapted from the source document.

A discussion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, & transgender (LGBT) rights as human rights examines articles of the International Convention on Civil & Political Rights that indicate all groups should be protected against discrimination. LGBT rights were most likely not intended to be included when human rights were first established since LGBT behavior was considered criminal at the time. Changes in thinking about LGBT rights are illustrated through rulings in various cases that came before European & American courts. Attention is given to the importance of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women that was ratified by most of the world's countries with the notable exception of the US. The wide range of religious attitudes towards LGBT rights & human rights includes acceptance of LGGBT rights as part of general human rights; support of human rights but not LGBT rights, & a refusal to accept human rights as relevant. The challenge to international rights posed by cultural relativism & religious extremism is discussed. References. J. Lindroth

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has allowed countries to bring their response to HIV/AIDS to an unprecedented scale, resulting in innovative projects that reach otherwise underserved communities with HIV prevention, treatment, and care. But in regions and countries where sex workers, men who have sex with men, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons are criminalized or stigmatized, organizations that are led by or work with these groups face challenges participating in Global Fund processes and accessing funding. This article explores the potential of the Global Fund to create space for the participation of these groups in decision-making and to increase their access to resources; examines barriers that hinder their participation; and proposes measures to overcome them. Adapted from the source document.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has allowed countries to bring their response to HIV/AIDS to an unprecedented scale, resulting in innovative projects that reach otherwise underserved communities with HIV prevention, treatment, and care. But in regions and countries where sex workers, men who have sex with men, or lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons are criminalized or stigmatized, organizations that are led by or work with these groups face challenges participating in Global Fund processes and accessing funding. This article explores the potential of the Global Fund to create space for the participation of these groups in decision-making and to increase their access to resources; examines barriers that hinder their participation; and proposes measures to overcome them. Adapted from the source document.

There is a wide spectrum of sexual acts, practices and identities worldwide. The existing language of sexual rights has emerged largely in relation to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. In turn, this language seems to cater primarily to LGBT or similar such identities. Heterosexuals may be excluded, as well as indigenous same sex practising or transgender people who do not identify as LGBT, such as the hijras of South Asia. The challenge is to make human rights accessible to all. There is therefore a need to expand the human rights discourse beyond narrow notions of identities, to secure a firm foundation for sexual rights. The author takes the example of the British colonial law, Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code 1860, which makes illegal 'carnal intercourse against the order of nature'. This law remains in force in India and is a source of constant human rights violations. Although a literal reading of the law does not explicitly condemn any particular sexual identity, homosexual or heterosexual, in effect it criminalises all forms of consensual same sex activity. Due to its own lack of focus on identities, Section 377 is a fitting test-case for a broader and newly proposed human right: the right to sexual autonomy.(IDS Bull/GIGA)

The final symposium contribution maintains that the current lack of an independent left in the US has left the Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender (LGBT) movement in the US facing a dead end that has given politicians an "official pass to maintain homophobic & oppressive policies." The only way out of the dilemma is said to be a "U-Turn" that involves the rebuilding of a national movement for LGBT liberation based on the theoretical tools provided by Marxism. Adapted from the source document

The article theorizes and presents normalization as a movement-level strategy available to social movements dealing with an internal threat. By defining themselves against an internal threat's abnormality through a process of normalization, social movement organizations assert how they and the movement operate within socially and politically respectable parameters. Drawing on ethnographic, interview, and newspaper data, I show how mainstream South African lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) movement organizations deployed normalization to marginalize and expel an internal threat, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance, between 1998 and 2006. Adapted from the source document.

After almost three decades of work to address HIV and AIDS, resources are still failing to adequately address the needs of the most affected and marginalized groups in many societies. In recognition of this ongoing failure, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund) has approved a sexual orientation and gender identities (SOGI) Strategy. The Strategy is designed to help its investments more effectively reach men who have sex with men; transgender populations; male, female, and transgender sex workers; and women who have sex with women. The Global Fund financing model is unique and based on ideas of broad partnership. It emphasizes the importance of country-ownership while ensuring that work is appropriately targeted, evidence-based, and rooted in principles of human rights. The classic international development tension of pursuing a rights-based agenda, while also supporting strong country ownership, has moved the Global Fund into a more substantive technical, advocacy, and policy arena, resulting in the creation of the SOGI Strategy, which emphasizes the needs of marginalized groups. A strong commitment to participation and consultation was crucial during the development stages of the Strategy. Now, as the Strategy goes live, it is clear that progress will only be achieved through continued and strengthened partnership. The diverse partners -- in particular the governments and other stakeholders in recipient countries that helped develop the Strategy -- must now commit to stronger collaboration on this agenda and must demonstrate bold leadership in overcoming the considerable technical and political challenges of implementation that lie ahead. Adapted from the source document.

Strousmas experiences as a lesbian woman in contemporary Israeli society & involvement with the grassroots organization Jerusalem Open House are examined. After discussing Strousmas familys reaction to her sexuality & the potential connections between military enlistment & same-sex sexuality, the sundry difficulties addressed by Jerusalem Open House are addressed, eg, promoting community building among lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, & transgender people of different age groups. Attention is subsequently directed toward discussing Strousmas religious conservatism, the problems engendered by the religious & sexual diversity of Israeli cosmopolitan society for producing social change, the involvement of Palestinians with Jerusalem Open House, & Strousmas future plans after receiving an advanced degree. In addition, a short explanation for why the Jerusalem Open House Board delayed the Jerusalem WorldPride events to August 2006 is provided. J. W. Parker

In recent years in Latin America, the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people have received greater institutional attention, and legislative gains have been made across the continent. Using a typology of legal frameworks, this article explores trends, challenges and prospects for advancing efforts to address discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in Latin America. It argues that deepening and adequately understanding LGBT rights and how they can be protected and promoted at multiple levels is an indispensable task for legal authorities, professionals and civil society. By proceeding in this direction, a fruitful dialogue can be established between law-making and jurisprudence, public policies, and civil society initiatives. This dynamic can help overcome an exclusionary and stigmatising culture in relation to LGBT, as well as resistance to freedom of sexual expression. (IDS Bull/GIGA)