UN spousal benefits for gays in dispute

UNITED NATIONS -- A bloc of more than 50 Islamic states, backed by the Vatican, sought yesterday to halt UN efforts to extend spousal benefits to partners of some gay employees.

The initiative was proposed less than two months after UN Secretary General Kofi Annan moved to award benefits to partners of gay employees who come from countries where such benefits are provided, such as Belgium and the Netherlands.

The same group is also preparing to oppose a resolution, sponsored by Brazil and supported by the European Union, at the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva that calls for nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, diplomats said. The Vatican and other conservatives maintain that the Brazilian resolution and Annan's new benefits policy would provide gays with protections never envisioned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The United Nations has already recognized polygamy, a common practice in the Islamic world, as a legitimate form of marriage and permits employees to divide their benefits among their wives. But the decision to expand that right to same-sex partners has fueled intense opposition. Iran's representative, Alireza Tootoonchian, speaking on behalf of the 56-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, said there was "no justifiable basis" for awarding benefits to same-sex couples. He demanded that the UN clarify its position. The OIC is "seriously concerned about extending the scope of the family definition for the purposes of entitlements," he said.