ILGA Euroletter 30

ILGA Euroletter 30, January 1995

The Euroletter is published by the Eurosecretariat of the national danish organisation for gays and lesbians (LBL) Knabrostraede 3, DK-1210 Copenhagen K. Tel. + 45 33 13 19 48 Fax + 45 33 91 03 48 in cooperation with Gay and Lesbian International Lobby.
Editors: Steffen Jensen, Ken Egelund Thomassen, Peter Bryld and Lisbeth Andersen.

In this issue:

Next issue: 31

Application for NGO status within the Council of Europe

At ILGA European regional conference in Helsinki December 1994 it was decided that the application for NGO status within the Council of Europe shall be sent off.

The application has been ready for some time and the final version will be brought in a future Euroletter.

New legislation in European countries

In Spain a new law on urban rents comes into force the first of January. The law recognises the right of subrogation to all non- married couples according to the following formula: "in favour of the person who has been cohabiting with the lessee in a similar affective relationship to that of a spouse, regardless sexual orientation, for at least the two previous years. Congratulations to Spain!

In The Netherlands a new act on equal treatment offers legal protection against discrimination. The law prohibits direct and indirect discrimination on the grounds of religion or creed, political orientation, race, sex, nationality, heterosexual or homosexual proclivity and marital status. The following areas are covered by the law: work performed under an employment contract (recruitment, selection, salary, promotion, dismissal or any other employment condition), entry into, and advancement in, a free profession, supply of information on the choice of schools and professions, trade in goods and services.

The Council of Europe and what it can do for gay men and lesbians

By Alexandra Duda, lglf Cologne

With its aim of achieving equal rights for gay men and lesbians, the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) has been working with human rights institutions ever since it was founded in 1978. Especially, inter-governmental organisations, such as the Council of Europe (CoE) or the United Nations have proven an appropriate field to address lesbian and gay issues. This is not because those organisations are on average less homophobic than individual governments (they rather consist of them), but because they have committed themselves publicly to formulate, safeguard and enforce to a certain degree human rights standards. Discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation runs contrary to those principles.

The Council (founded in 1949) currently has 32 member states with Romania as the last one being admitted in September 1993 and pursues the following aims:

to protect and strengthen pluralist democracy and human rights
to seek resolutions to the problems facing European society
to promote awareness of a European cultural identity.

The CoE Human Rights Mechanism

The European Convention on Human Rights sets out the "inalienable rights and freedoms of each individual and obliges states to guarantee their enjoyment by everyone within their jurisdiction". Member states must sign and are urged to ratify the Convention following their admission. Many have, however, made reservations to the guarantee of certain rights.

If a citizen of a member country thinks that his/her rights guaranteed by the Convention had been violated and his/her case has been rejected by the Supreme Court of that country, he/she can lodge a complaint with the European Commission of Human Rights; if a friendly settlement cannot be achieved, the case is referred to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. The Court delivers final judgments binding on the states concerned while proper implementation is monitored by CoE bodies.

ILGAs activities to achieve its aim

to lobby CoE officials and national governments to include sexual orientation in future anti-discrimination documents (incl. an Additional Protocol to the Convention)
to be granted NGO status (the first application has been rejected in 1989)
to support gay men and lesbians in their struggle for justice at the European Court (test cases)
to put pressure on governments of countries that apply for membership to abolish anti-homosexual legislation as a pre-condition for entry.
to educate government officials and human rights experts about the forms and consequences of discrimination (expert meetings, seminars).

What ILGA has achieved so far The deliberative body of the CoE, the Parliamentary Assembly, has repeatedly considered sexual orientation issues and called upon the member states as well as the Committee of Ministers (the decisionmaking body) to recognize equal rights for gays and lesbians:

Recommendation 924 (1981)

to abolish criminalizing legislation and the persecution of people engaged in homosexual acts between consenting adults
to equalize ages of consent
to destruct and cease collection of records on homosexuals (pink lists)
to assure equal treatment with regard to employment, job security, pay
to cease all compulsory medical action or research designed to alter the sexual orientation of adults
to ensure that custody and visiting rights of homosexual parents are guaranteed

Motion for a Recommendation (1990)

to elaborate an Additional Protocol on discrimination based on sexual orientation
to encourage member states to alter/adopt relevant legislation
to grant NGO status to ILGA

Written Declaration # 227 (1993)

The Assembly is asked to consider anti-homosexual legislation and practice in the new democracies applying for membership in their decision on admission.

Admission of Romania (Opinion # 176 1993)

The Assembly in its opinion on Romania's admission requested that the country abolish Article 200 of the Penal Code so that it "will no longer consider as a criminal offence homosexual acts perpetrated in private between consenting adults".

The European Court decided in Dudgeon vs. Great Britain (1981), Norris vs. Ireland (1988) and Modinos vs. Cyprus (1993) that a ban on homosexual acts between consenting adults violates Article 8 of the Convention, the right to privacy.

ILGAs activities in the CoE are concentrated and orchestrated in a Working Party for CSCE, CoE and EU consisting of about 15 ILGA member organisations in various countries who communicate and coordinate their actions via the EUROLETTER.

Albania

The prime minister of Sweden Ingvar Carlsson has send this letter as a response to a fax from Bj|rn Skolander of Uppsala:

"Thank you for your fax giving information about violations against gays in Albania. It is, as you know, only four years since the communist regime in Albania fell, and the country could begin the arduous road away from oppression and isolation from the surrounding world. Seen from this perspective it must be said, that Albania has made important progress.
Still the country, however, has a long way to go before democracy and the respect for human rights has been consolidated. During this latest year alarming reports have come regarding human rights violations in Albania, especially concerning general imperfections of the functioning of the legal system, but also in form of authorities' violations against certain groups in the Albanian society, including homosexuals.
The Swedish government has on several occasions demanded, that this unsatisfactory state of affairs has to be dealt with. The government has also asked the Swedish Embassy in Rome, which is responsible even for Albania, to investigate the circumstances regarding the specific case of violation, which is referred to in your fax.
Sweden will even in future, in international forums and through bilateral contacts, try to influence Albania to improve its respect for human rights, including the situation of gays. At the preparation of Albania's application for membership of the European Council the respect for human rights will of course be dealt with thoroughly." (Translated by Bjorn Skolander).

ILGA's EU policy

The following resolutions were passed at the Helsinki conference are:

ILGA should take an active and coordinating role in promoting lesbian and gay rights within the policies of the European Union. ILGA should influence the institutions of the European Union in order to gain full equality for lesbians and gays in the European Union as well as in all member states.

ILGA should work for the inclusion of an anti discrimination clause covering sexual orientation in a new or revised treaty, in accordance with the European Parliament resolution of 1994 (Roth report)

ILGA should work for the redefinition of the term 'legal spouse' to include homosexual relationships with or without registered partnerships.

ILGA should work for the inclusion of gays, lesbians and their children in the concept of family, including the right to family life. Furthermore ILGA should work for

recognition of same sex partnerships
abolishing of discriminatory provisions in the partnerships laws
adoption possibilities for gays, lesbians and same sex couples
the right to artificial insemination for lesbians
the right to joint custody and authority for same sex parents.

ILGA should work for the adoption of EU measures to effectively combat sexual orientation based discrimination, notably in the field of employment.

Important votes in the European Parliament

Two votes in the European Parliament in this weeks session (12-16 december 1994) are of importance of the lesbian and gay community.

Winding up a debate initiated by the PPE (European christian democratic peoples party) on the closure of the UN Year of the Family European Parliament with a majority of 314 over 72 adopted last wednesday a resolution on policies concerning the family and family units in the European Union.

A compromise resolution was drafted by Lizzy Groener,(German) on behalf of the Socialist Group, Mrs. Lenz (German) and Bartho Pronk (Dutch) on behalf of the PPE, Nel van Dijk(dutch, chair of the EP Committee on Women's Rights) on behalf of the Greens, Mrs. Leperre-Verrier (French) on behalf of the Radical Group (ARE) and Mr Gonzelves Alvarez (Spanish) and Sornosa, Aramburu, Sierra, Pailler, Castellina, Elmalan, Theonas and Papayannakis on behalf of the Confederal group of the European United Left.

Another compromise resolution was drafted by Forza Europa, the Gaullist RDE and Europe of the Nations, all groups from the right side of the house. The first text was a rather balanced one including remarks relevant for gay and lesbian couple. In its considerations leading to the conclusive it refers to the changes that occurred in family structures, implicity including same sex relationships. The compromise includes in its conclusions several paragraphs of interest to gay and lesbian rights:

6. "Further considers that family policy should include the recognition of different households, including non-traditional and alternative families without any form of discrimination;"

12. "Underlines the need to adapt family legislation to the changes that have occurred in the function and structure of the modern family at the national as well as the European level;"

14. "Urges the Commission to present proposals to eliminate the restrictive provisions in the common agricultural policy where 'legal spouses' are concerned;"

15. "Urges the commission to pay equal attention to all durable forms of "zusammenlebens"( cohabitation (heinv)) with regard to the fight against poverty, support of handicapped people, employment initiative and the development of human resources"

The voting

The compromise resolution of the extreme right wing was voted out with simple vote by rising hands(no record available). In the final vote paragraph 6, that was an important element in the compromise fell out after a draw vote of 191/191 with 9 abstentions. Remarkable that the Dutch liberals from both VVD and D66 with the exception of Gijs de Vries, Chair of the Liberal Group in the Parliament, voted against, abstained or did not take part at all. This vote took place after an intervention of the Chair, Mrs. Pery (French Socialist), dealing with major translation errors in the German, Italian and French texts, thus confusing the debate. After this break of compromise the left side voted out a major paragraph from PPE origin, dealing with financial reliefs for families of a more traditional character. ( 173 for 225 against 8 abstentions, and 155 for and 200 against, 37 abstentions).

The final vote on the amended compromise, that now included the paragraphs 12,14 and 15, was adopted with 314 for and 73 against.

The whole of the Green Group, several socialists from Denmark and Belgium, the whole liberal group minus two, and the extreme right voted against or abstained. The Greens and a minority of socialists did so as the important paragraph 6 had fallen out. Remarkably the Forza Italia faction minus one voted in favour so supporting the rather progressive elements it contains.

However the final result is rather positive as the intention of the right side of the house to call for a restoration of the traditional nuclear family with exclusive heterosexual character was blocked.

The Italian Forza Europa claimed a major victory next day in the Italian press, obviously not realizing they in fact gave in on their major point on the family as society's cornerstone.

European Parliament in session in Strasbourg also adopted a urgent resolution condemning Russia for its legislation concerning HIV testing for foreigners visiting the country.

Lesbians and gay men in the ethnic minorities

At the Helsinki conference of ILGA the following resolution was passed:

The EU working party should consider approaching the European Union for specific funding for projects in the first instance to review the position regarding lesbians and gay men within the ethnic minorities, and in the second, the response of lesbian and gay organisations to the need of ethnic minorities.

Members of the working party are asked to comment on this resolution and forward proposals how we shall deal with it.

New members of European Parliament

The new Swedish, Finnish and Austrian members of the European Parliament should be informed about ILGA's policy and attitudes towards the EU. Member groups of the EU working Party in Sweden (RFSL), Finland (SETA) and in Austria (HOSI) are asked to contact their members in order to inform them about ILGA and its policies.

FQRD Page d'accueil
Sommaire
ILGA