Belarus leads group of about 17 nations to block LGBT rights in U.N. cities plan: sources
By Paola Totaro LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A group of up to 17 countries led by Belarus has blocked a plan to include the rights of gay, lesbian and transgender communities in a new urban strategy drawn up by the United Nations, according to sources close to negotiations. Canada, backed by the European Union, the United States and Mexico, had pushed for including the recognition of LGBT people and an acknowledgment of homophobia in a key policy paper to be finalised at a major UN conference in Ecuador next week. The UN’s ‘New Urban Agenda’ is a non-binding agreement…