Sex-Orientation References Cut in Deference to Vatican, Muslims

BEIJING — In a last-minute concession to the Vatican and some Islamic countries, delegates to the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women today dropped all references to sexual orientation in the final platform of the conference.

The move was a defeat for lesbian and gay activists who wanted the delegates from 180 countries to take a stand against discrimination against non-heterosexuals. The Vatican and some other countries, led by Sudan, opposed any reference to such relationships.

“To accept and legalize deviant sexual orientation and to recognize them is out of the question,” said Ahmed Abdel Halim, a delegate from Sudan. “We know that murder exists, should that make it legal?”

The United States and the European Union supported the inclusion of sexual orientation in the discrimination section of the conference “Platform for Action.” But after a bitter debate that lasted until the early hours, final drafting committee chairwoman Patricia Licuanan of the Philippines ordered all four references dropped from the final document, which was formally approved at 4:44 a.m. today.

At least 22 of the more than 180 national delegations at the conference have said they will take exception to some parts of the document, drafted to set a course for the women’s movement for the next decade.