Over 200 militants in Geneva were on Monday participating in the World Conference of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA). The conference takes place at the CICG conference center very close to the Palais des Nations. Yves Matteis, local politician and one of the organizers of the ILGA event, told that 80 countries still penalize homosexuality and that in 9 countries it can lead to the death penalty. Matteis also underlined that discrimination is still rampant in Switzerland. He says that his partner was fired from a local company a couple of months after the two of them went to a cocktail organized by his firm. The ILGA conference is open to the public and will take place until the 3rd of April. The conference held at the same time as the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, an international forum that ILGA representatives say never recognized homosexual rights.

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