LGBT groups banned from UN AIDS conference by request of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation

By John Mack Freeman

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has requested that the United Nations ban several GLBT groups from an upcoming conference on HIV and AIDS. Via Towleroad:

Though no official reason was given for the ban, nearly all of the groups denied access to the event were linked to LGBT rights.

US ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power has protested the decision, noting that the disallowed groups “appear to have been chosen for their involvement in LGBTI, transgender or youth advocacy.”

“Given that transgender people are 49 times more likely to be living with HIV than the general population, their exclusion from the high-level meeting will only impede global progress in combating the HIV/AIDS pandemic,” Power added.

And more via PinkNews:

No reason was given for the decision to ban the groups – but Ambassadors from the US, the EU and Canada have all slammed the decision, which they say is aimed at stopping LGBT groups including African Men for Sexual Health and Rights and Ishtar Men Who Have Sex With Men, and the Asia Pacific Transgender Network.

NGOs from across Egypt, Guyana, Jamaica, Peru and Ukraine are banned as well as pan-African groups.

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