International Definition of Marriage!

Hello Middle East delegates,

This year in SALMUN the resolution for our country United Arab Emirates will be about the international definition of homosexual marriage, so our goal is to create a international law for homosexual marriage, and most countries already have laws that is against homosexuality and marriage.

Countries in the Middle East caucus:

UAE- banned homosexual behavior and marriage

Palestinian Authority- banned homosexual male in country

Egypt – Has no law prohibiting

Israel - Has no law prohibiting

Lebanon - Prohibits

Syria - Prohibits

The following countries had banned homosexual behavior:

The countries with an * do not consider female/female homosexuality illegal.

The following countries have laws that ban homosexual behavior:
Afghanistan
Algeria
Angola
Antiqua and Barbuda
*Bahrain
*Bangladesh
Barbados
Belize
Benin
Bhutan
Botswana
*Brunei
Cameroon
*Cook Islands
Djibouti
Dominica
Eritrea
Ethiopia
*Gambia
*Gaza
Ghana
*Grenada
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
*Guyana
*India
Iran
*Iraq
*Jamaica
*Kenya
*Kiribati
*Kuwait
Lebanon
*Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
*Malawi
*Malaysia
Maldives
Mauritania
*Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
*Myanmar
*Namibia
*Nauru
*Nepal
Nicaragua
*Nigeria
*Niue
Oman
*Pakistan
*Palau
Panama
*Papua New Guinea
Qatar
*Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Sao Tome and Principe
Saudi-Arabia
Senegal
*Seychelles
*Sierra Leone
*Singapore
Solomon Islands
Somalia
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Swaziland (female/female-unclear)
Syria (female/female-unclear)
*Tanzania
Togo
*Tokelau
*Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (plans to repeal the law)
*Turkmesistan
*Tuvalu
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
*Uzbekistan
*Western Samoa
Yemen
*Zambia
*Zimbabwe

Countries Whose Laws do not Explicitly ban Same-sexual Behavior, but have some laws which have been used to punish gay and lesbian behavior:

Costa Rica
Democratic Republic of Congo
Egypt
Indonesia

States in USA

Twenty-six states have a constitutional ban restricting marriage to one man and one woman. Those states are:

Alabama
Alaska
Arkansas
Colorado
Georgia
Kansas
Kentucky
Idaho
Louisiana
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Wisconsin
California

The following states have laws that ban gay marriage and limit marriage to one man and one woman (but it is not in their constitutions):

Arizona
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Hawaii
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Maine
Maryland
Minnesota
New Hampshire
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
Vermont
Washington
West Virginia
Wyoming

Delegates from the Middle East,

Lebanon would like to emphasize its position towards homosexuality, Lebanon stands out as a more tolerant space for homosexuality in the region compared to Saudi Arabia for example where homosexuality is often punished by beating and imprisonment. Lebanon’s homosexuals enjoy the first association for gay people in the Middle East, called the Helem Foundation. In addition to that, Lebanon also has gay bars and nightclubs but as in most other places in the world they do suffer descrimination and prejudice when exposed publicly and that's not a policy issue any more but society's.

Lebanon_Eden wrote:

Delegates from the Middle East,

Lebanon would like to emphasize its position towards homosexuality, Lebanon stands out as a more tolerant space for homosexuality in the region compared to Saudi Arabia for example where homosexuality is often punished by beating and imprisonment. Lebanon’s homosexuals enjoy the first association for gay people in the Middle East, called the Helem Foundation. In addition to that, Lebanon also has gay bars and nightclubs but as in most other places in the world they do suffer descrimination and prejudice when exposed publicly and that's not a policy issue any more but society's.

Hi delegate of Lebanon.
The delegate may need to research more on what is being told...
as the delegate may not know you are in favor of my resolution since your own country discriminates homosexual acts and behavior and has banned this acts as many other countries in the Middle East due to our Islamic religion and due to each country's policy on this.
Here follows a link showing the REAL POSITION OF LEBANON TOWARDS THIS ISSUE.
so i believe the delegate could read this article to get better informed.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=25789

the deletage of UAE would also like to emphasize that on this article a homosexual citizen from Lebanon had been beated by 4 guys and no one around him helped, when he gave charges on the police, the officer laughed instead of helping.
so the delegate of UAE would once more like to state that we are agains this racist acts publicaly humiliating and beating these people but we just want to ban homosexual marriage and put polygamy to those countries that accept it according to its religions or state law.



http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=25789

The delegate of Syria would like to remind the other delegates that such country has a law against the relationship among men, for it is an act against the order of nature, which states a man and a woman should procreate together. Therefore, this law can have a penalty of a three-year prison sentence.

the question of for our resolution has changed to:
International Definition of Marriage

California has passed to ban same sexual marriage.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/us_elections_2008/7711127.stm

Delegate of UAE,

the delegate is sorry for the miss understanding, but would like to infrom that it have been stated that Lebanon stands out as a more tolerant space for homosexuality in the region not as being infavor of gay marriage or homoseuality in general.. The delegate has just stated in the other discution on the homoseuality issue its position and invites the delegate of UAE and all others, to read it and clarify Lebanon's position on the issue.

Egyptian goverment is already dealing with homosexuals in a way our goverment sees fit. we consider homosexual condct imoral and a corruption of the islamic morals wich our country upholds! And so my country will vote in favor of this resolution!

May Ala be with you

Delegates, ISRAEL is the nation that stands out as the more tolerable and in favor of homosexual marriage even though it is not legal yet in the country, but recognized if the couple did marry in another country. Israel believes that by prohibiting rights to same-sexual couples and demonstrating protest and distaste agaisnt them is a form of discrimination, and that only because the delegate SAYS it is agaisnt the torture and penalties for homosexuals it doesn't mean that it is "fair". Besides, the Middle Eastern nations INCLUDING the UAE have countless recent cases of torture including death penalties for homosexuals.

sorry delegate of israel but its hard to control every act of a citizen in UAE...keeping in mind that homosexuals are treated with discrimination worldwidely and have been badly treated with tortures as the delegate said...
KEEPING IN MIND THAT ISRAEL ALSO HAS CITIZENS THAT MISTREAT HOMOSEXUALS AND THIS WOULD BE CONTRADICTORY FOR THE ISRAEL DELEGATE TO SAY THAT MY COUNTRY HAS PEOPLE THAT ACT THIS WAY BECAUSE IT HAPPENS WORLDWIDELY SO THERE IS NO PURPOSE FOR ISRAEL TO BLAME THIS OR THAT COUNTRY WHETHER IT MISTREAT HOMOSEXUALS OR NOT!!!

It is completely unreasonable for the delegate to use this argument since it is a FACT that the percentage of acceptance of homosexuals in Israel is much higher than in the UAE. So, its not only the government but also the citizens that are supported from the government's views agaisnt homosexuals to torture them.

Percentage, delegate of Israel? Can you please specify?
Yes delelgate, Israel is the nation among this region that is the most "liberal" as you may say, however I believe Israel itself does not favor the marriage of a gay couple, isn't indeed? The UAE's resolution is referring to the definition of MARRIAGE, civil and religous, and not the act of living together as couple. Palestine is aware that the gay community has spread world widely, but it is extremely agains this promiscuous and deliberal act of sin! The delegate would just like to remind Israel the topic being discussed!