The declaration, which is non-binding, was co-sponsored by France and the Netherlands. The 192 member states of the UN were almost evenly divided on the declaration: It passed with support from 66 countries. However 57 were opposed and 69 abstained.
The European Union of 27 countries, Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and 34 other countries -- including most of the countries of Latin America -- supported the declaration. The 56 predominately Muslim countries belonging to the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and a few other countries either abstained or voted against the declaration. China, Russia, and the United States abstained.
The United States was notable as the only western country not voting for the declaration. The vote was taken a few weeks before the end of the Bush administration; the US's vote may have been different if it had been held during the incoming Obama administration.
Opposition to equal rights for homosexuals and transgendered persons is one of the very few principles over which the predominately Muslim countries belonging to the Islamic Conference of States (ICS) and the Vatican can agree.
Source: Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
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