At the African Union summit in the first week of February 2012, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon made a brief but noteable mention of discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Though the portion of the speech dedicated to this topic was only a couple of sentences long, it was significant for those of us who have been following the rapid changes in the application of universal human rights to LGBT people, particularly at the U.N.
However, the feminist online publication Gender Across Borders argues in an article that the west has to take a step back when criticising pan-African nations and recognise the effects of its colonial legacy on the continent. To read the article go here