Updated / Wednesday, 16 Dec 2020
09:54
Mary McAleese said the joint statement represented a small step towards countering (homophobia)
Almost 400 global religious leaders and representatives, including anti-apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu and former Irish president Mary McAleese, have called for countries to overturn bans on same-sex relations and end LGBT+ conversion therapy.
Sixty-nine United Nations member states still outlaw gay sex, according to the 2020 State-Sponsored Homophobia report released by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA World).
Only Brazil, Ecuador, Malta and Germany have instituted forms of nationwide bans on conversion therapy, which aims to alter a person s sexual orientation or gender identity.