India has abstained at the UN Human Rights Council voting in Geneva to appoint an independent expert to look into cases of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, a resolution which was passed by a narrow margin.
In a 23-18 vote with six abstentions, the 47-member Human Rights Council called for the creation of a three-year position for an independent expert to look into wrongdoing against gays, lesbians and transgender people.
Defending India's decision, external affairs ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup in New Delhi said India took the decision considering the "legal" reality in the country.
"The issue of LGBT rights in India is a matter being considered by the Supreme Court (SC) under a batch of curative petitions filed by various institutions and organisations. The SC is yet to pronounce on this issue.
"As such we had to take this into account in terms of our vote on the the UN resolution to institutionalise the office of an independent expert to prevent discrimination against the LGBT persons," Swarup told reporters.
Two curative petitions are currently going on at the country's apex court, the Supreme Court, to outlaw section 377 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), that criminalises homosexuality.
The expert is expected to be appointed at the next meeting of the Geneva-based body in September.
The resolution was strongly supported by Latin America and the West, while many African and Middle Eastern countries joined China to vote against it.
The expert's duties will include assessing international human rights laws, raising awareness of violence based on sexual orientation and engaging in dialogue with member states and other stakeholders.
The decision to create the post comes weeks after Afghan-origin Omar Mateen massacred 49 people at a gay bar in Orlando, Florida.
Meanwhile, India's abstention from the UN vote met with angry reactions from LGBT rights activists, who termed it as "shameful, condemnable and heartbreaking".
Founder of Naz Foundation, which has filed a curative plea in Supreme Court on decriminalising homosexuality, Anjali Gopalan said, "It is really unfortunate that we abstained. On one hand we want to be considered a very progressive nation yet when it comes to protecting the rights of our people we don't want to do it."
Rejecting the explanation of MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup, who said India abstained from voting because the matter is sub-judice, Gopalan said, "What happened in UN has nothing to do with the case in Supreme Court, which is looking at decriminalising homosexuality. The UN vote is on documenting violence. So, what is the problem with saying yes.
The decision to abstain really shows our mindset." Chairman of Mumbai-based Humsafar Trust Ashok Row Kavi said, "I condemn the decision to abstain as it shows that India is against universal human rights. We have signed the human rights charter but we have gone against it by abstaining."
However, he says there is a silver lining, "This time India abstained, which is a step forward from last time when it voted against rights for same sex couples. This time we abstained which could mean that on a later date India can change its stance."
He was referring to India's vote last year against the UN Secretary General's decision to extend marriage benefits to LGBT couples or same-sex couples.
Bollywood stylist Rishi Raj, who is a vocal supporter of LGBT rights, dubbed India's move as "heartbreaking".
"As heartbreaking as it is I am not surprised because this goes on to show the hypocrisy that we are dealing with in our country. To draw a link between the SC case and UN vote is an excuse to not touch anything remotely LGBT...
"It is this pink elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about. This also goes on to show that our country has no plan of evolution for LGBT rights, definitely till this government is in power," he said.
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