Tutu gay

South Africa's Nobel peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu says he will never worship a "homophobic God" and will rather go to hell. The retired archbishop was speaking at the launch of a UN-backed campaign in South Africa to promote gay rights. Despite same-sex relationships being legal in South Africa, it had some of the worst cases of homophobic violence, UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said.

Archbishop Tutu, 81, is a long-standing campaigner for gay rights.

Archbishop Tutu 'would not worship a homophobic God'

He retired as Archbishop of Cape Town inbut has remained the moral conscience of the nation, correspondents say. Same-sex relationships are illegal in more than a third of countries around the world and punishable by death in five, Ms Pillay said. In Africa, homosexual acts are still a crime in 38 countries, according to the rights group Amnesty International.

Archbishop Tutu said the campaign against homophobia was similar to the campaign waged against racism in South Africa. For me, it is at the same level," he added. Ms Pillay said gay and lesbian people in South Africa had some of the best legal safeguards since apartheid ended inbut they still faced brutal attacks.

Last month, a lesbian was found dead, having been sexually assaulted with a toilet brush. The UN would push for gay rights to be recognised in countries where they are illegal, Ms Pillay said. So we have lots of work to do," she added. Archbishop Tutu won the Nobel peace prize in for campaigning against white minority rule in South Africa.

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