Topic: LGBT Rights
Country: South Africa
Delegate Name: Christine Huynh
School: Forest Hills Northern High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All South Africa position papers GLIMUN 2018 committees
The need to recognize the rights of LGBT people is becoming increasingly important. As of 2018, there are 73 countries where homosexual activity is rendered illegal and are criminalized for their own beliefs and values. Currently, 8 countries apply the death penalty to those that are homosexual. Although select nations have shown decriminalization, they still face ongoing violence and discrimination every day according to Amnesty International including imprisonment, rape, and other brutal actions.
South Africa’s Apartheid regime in which lasted from 1948-1994 was a great travesty of the nation. This oppressive government believed in a uniform society with the same ideologies and believed obtainment of a utopia would be possible only by control. The Immorality Act of 1957 established that those who don’t follow criteria of Afrikaner culture would be altogether a completely different, restricted and illegal race. However, reaching the 1970s and 1980s, the autocratic government’s control on South Africa’s nation became more isolated and South Africa became gaining their independence. There was immense spreading and strengthening of LGBT movements and gay rights groups, including Post-apartheid legislations passed in favor of LGBT peoples. Sexual freedom was included as a fundamental right in South Africa’s new constitution: “No person shall be unfairly discriminated…on one or more of the following grounds…colour, sexual orientation…” (Sanders, 1997: 105). South Africa passed the 1998 Employment Equity Act that ensured that employers could not discriminate employees based on sexual orientation. Another important legislation passed was the Union Bill on December 1, 2006, which legalized same-sex marriage, making South Africa the first African nation to do this. In parallel to the world, homophobia and discrimination still persist in South Africa, further proving the need for government protection from discrimination.
The response from the government of South Africa to the right of persons and past state-enforced discrimination and exclusion in May of 2015 is as follows: “(3) The State may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth. (4) No persons may unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds in terms of subsection (3). National legislation must be enacted to prevent or prohibit unfair discrimination”.South Africa calls for the end to this violence and discrimination; to uphold the unalienable rights of all, and de-criminalize, ban discrimination and educate the public. South Africa urges the focus of this debate on the rights of individuals and the authoritative implementation of protection of LGBT peoples rights and beliefs. International law is to protect the rights of everyone. There must be implementation and protection of the rights of the LGBT community.
