Gays are not considered to be “real people” – that’s what Omar Shalaby, Egypt’s chief diplomatic representative to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, told the assembly last week.

According to a transcription of Shalaby’s presentation, he said:

“Concerning the highly controversial notion of sexual orientation, we can only reiterate that it is not part of the universally recognised human rights.

“We call on Mr Kiai [UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and association] not to undermine the credibility and legitimacy of his important work in the eyes of real people who actually need it, especially in regions where such concepts are rejected by both its Christian and Muslim inhabitants like the Middle East.”