The U.N. votes to appoint its first global monitor for LGBT rights

The United Nations Human Rights Council voted Thursday to create a role for a global LGBT rights monitor, the first position of its kind in the U.N. The person will be an "independent expert" who works as a watchdog for "violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity." The resolution passed in a vote of 23 to 18, with six nations abstaining, and it marks a major step toward the international community recognizing LGBT rights as legal, universal rights.

Pakistan led the opposition to the resolution on the behalf of the majority of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, with Albania being the only OIC member to support the resolution. The IOC managed to pass amendments highlighting the respect for local values, "religious sensitivities," and domestic policies, BuzzFeed reports. The bloc also managed to add an amendment disapproving of countries that take up "coercive measures" in order to influence local policies, such as when the U.S. changed its aid to Uganda following an anti-LGBT law that was passed there in 2014.

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