Erdogan said he would have liked to discuss it with UN
Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Turkish media reported on Thursday. Turkish
government - led by Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted AK Party - has toughened
its stance on LGBTQ freedoms.
"One
of the issues that bothers me the most ... is that when entering the United
Nations General Assembly, you see the LGBT colors on steps and other
places," Erdogan was quoted as saying by broadcaster Haberturk and others.
"How many LGBT are there in the world right now?
However much right they have on these steps, those against LGBT have as much
right as well," said Erdogan, who has frequently labeled members of the
LGBTQ community as "deviants" and particularly toughened his
rhetoric during his election campaign this year.
However,
some UN diplomats suggested Erdogan might have confused the 17 different colors
associated with the Sustainable Development Goals - and decorating parts of UN
headquarters, including steps, for a summit that was held earlier this week -
with the rainbow Pride colors associated with LGBTQ rights.
While Guterres has been a vocal supporter of LGBTQ rights
and spoken out about discrimination, there are no rainbow Pride colors at UN
headquarters promoting LGBTQ rights.
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by world
leaders in 2015 with a deadline of 2030, are a global "to do" list
that includes wiping out hunger, extreme poverty, battling climate change and
inequality, and promoting gender equality.
