Tag: olympics

In Addressing Olympic Committee, UN Chief Decries Attacks On Gays

In an address to members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned discrimination and attacks against LGBT people. “We must all raise our voices against attacks on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex people,” Ban said. “We must oppose the arrests, imprisonments and discriminatory restrictions they face.” The run-up… Read more »

Orthodox Church of Russia: Homosexuality must be banned and excluded from society

Russia’s powerful Orthodox Church has proposed a referendum on banning homosexuality. On Friday, spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin pointed to polls showing more than a third of Russians view homosexuality as an illness. “There is no question that society should discuss this issue since we live in a democracy,” Mr Chaplin told the online edition of the… Read more »

Gay-Rights Advocates Prepare For The Sochi Olympics

Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Sochi this past weekend to inspect and oversee preparations for the Winter Olympic Games, which are now just a month away. He has made no secret of his plan to use the Games as a showcase for modern Russia. International human-rights and L.G.B.T. activists, however, are focussed on raising… Read more »