Council of Europe executive committee to support gay rights

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe plans to issue a formal declaration in support of GLBT rights and to engage the entire organization in combating discrimination against GLBT people.

Activists called the move groundbreaking. The committee is composed of the foreign ministers of the CoE's 47 member nations.

The ministers will address the need to ensure respect for the human rights of GLBT people, instruct an intergovernmental expert committee to examine measures to avoid discrimination against gay couples, and instruct …