17 Aug Russian anti-gay propaganda law violates international human rights agreements
A UN human rights panel has ruled that a Russian regional law banning gay propaganda among minors is in violation of a legally binding international treaty on human rights.
Russia introduced nationwide legislation banning “the promotion of non-traditional relationships to children” in 2013. The law has been criticized by rights activists as well as the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
The UN Human Rights Committee ruled last month that the anti-gay propaganda law in Russia’s Arkhangelsk region was “ambiguous, disproportionate and discriminatory,” citing a Russian court case in which the law had been used to prosecute Kirill Nepomnyashchy, a gay rights activist.
An Arkhangelsk court had charged Nepomnyashchy with an administrative offence for displaying a poster reading “Homosexuality is a healthy form of sexuality. This should be known by children and adults!” in a picket against the law outside a children’s library in 2012.
The UN committee ruled that Nepomnyashchy had been discriminated against on the basis of sexual orientation, violating his rights under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Here you can download the UN human rights panel ruling:
References from the website The Moscow Times