An “historic” decision has been reached at the UN to appoint an Independent Expert on violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT), supporters of the move said Thursday.

In a marathon debate at the Human Rights Council that saw no less than 11 amendments to the draft resolution, including one trying to remove its title, the final text saw 23 Member States vote in favour of it and 18 against. There were six abstentions.

One of the countries that proposed the resolution was Chile, and its Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva, Ambassador Marta Mauras, explained to Daniel Johnson why the vote was so significant.

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