AKIPRESS.COM - The United Nations voted on Tuesday to extend staff benefits to all same-sex couples it employed. The UN General Assembly budget committee voted 80 to 43 in favor of the proposal, International Business Times reports.

There were 37 abstentions and 33 non-votes. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, China and India were among the nations that voted against the measure. "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not support the expansion of benefits for same-sex couples because Saudi Arabia believes these relationships are morally unacceptable," a Saudi diplomat told the committee.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon had said in July that the UN planned to extend employment benefits to all its staff, regardless of orientation. Previously, their eligibility depended on the laws of their country of nationality, but the UN will now recognize all same-sex marriages among its staff, though the marriage should have been performed in a country where it is legal.