EU members against ILGA inclusion in OSCE document
The Austrian foreign ministry has told that a reason for the non inclusion of gay/lesbian concerns in the final document from the Budapest OSCE meeting was that the EU member states could not agree upon it. The matter was discussed between the EU member states at the meeting, but they could not agree. Who can find out which country(ies) were against?Relevant OSCE Meetings in 1995
- "Building Blocks for Civic Society; Freedom of Association and NGO's" in Warsaw 4 - 7 April 1995.
- Drafting Human Rights Legislation in Ashgabat 23 - 25 May 1995.
- Seminar on Tolerance in Budapest 23 - 27 May 1995.
- Implementation Meeting on Human Dimension Issues in Warsaw 2 - 19 October 1995.
12th Annual IGLYO Conference, Manchester (UK)
IGLYO is holding its 12th annual conference this year in Manchester (UK).In the first week of August 100, young lesbians, gays and bisexuals will come together and discuss a variety of topics.
The theme of the conference is *Celebrating Diversity*.
Workshops include topics like racism, disability, religion, HIV/Aids, how to run exchange projects, introduction to the European Youth Structures and many more. There also will be wide range of creative leisure workshops including a trip to the British countryside.
Date: July 30, 1995 - August 06, 1995
Place: University of Salford (Manchester, UK)
Costs: approx 230 DM (German Marks)
Participants: any lesbian, gay, bisexual youth under 27 years of age.
For more information and to shortlist your name please write to the address below.
IGLYO Main Secretariat
PO Box 542
NL-1000 AM Amsterdam
the Netherlands
This event is sponsored by the European Youth Foundation (Council of Europe) and the 1Commission of the European Union (pending)
IGLYO Coming-Out Training Course
IGLYO is offering a one week coming-out training course at the European Youth Centre in Strassbourg, France.The course is aiming at young Europeans working in the field (either in their youth group or in another agencies).
The course is open to anyone from a Council of Europe country (plus Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Albania).
Participants have to be under 28 years of age.
Date: October 01, 1995 - October 07, 1995
Costs: approx 225 FF (French Francs) this includes full board
accommodation PLUS travel reimbursement!
Those who work qualify for compensation of loss of earnings.
For more information please write to the address below and we'll send you information as soon as it becomes available.
IGLYO Main Secretariat
PO Box 542
NL-1000 AM Amsterdam
the Netherlands
This event is sponsored by the European Youth Foundation and European Youth Centre of the Council of Europe.
Application for NGO status with the Council of Europe
Finally ILGA has sent off the application for NGO status with the Council of Europe. It is send by Hans Hjerpekjon to the Secretary General of The Council of Europe:
Dear Mr. TarschysOn behalf of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), I hereby submit ILGA's application for NGO Status with the Council of Europe.
ILGA was founded in 1978 with the aim of working for the liberation of lesbians and gay men from legal, social, cultural, and economic discrimination.
Membership in ILGA is open to groups of lesbians and/or gay men and others who support its aims. Individuals can apply for associate membership. In the early years after its foundation ILGA's membership was almost entirely European but the present membership now includes groups from every continent, and from most of the member states of the Council of Europe.
Throughout its history ILGA has taken a keen interest in the work of the Council of Europe as it affects lesbians and gay men, particularly regarding the promoting of human rights. ILGA groups assisted those members of the Parliamentary Assembly whose report led to recommendation 924 and resolution 756 (1981) based on the Voogd report, of the Thirty-third Session, on discrimination against homosexuals. Other groups have actively assisted individuals in bringing complaints under the European Convention on Human Rights.
ILGA groups also liaised with the experts who produced papers for the Council of Europe's 15th Criminological Research Conference on "Sexual Behaviour and Attitudes and their Implications for Criminal Law", held in 1982.
At this point member groups are assisting members of the Parliamentary Assembly in drawing up an additional protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights, prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Finally, ILGA member groups have assisted the Swiss Institute of Comparative Law in Lausanne with the "Comparative Study on discrimination against persons with HIV or AIDS".
The advent of AIDS has had grave implications for homosexuals and will continue to do so for many years to come. Apart from issues of health, it has enormous implications in the area of human rights. ILGA is a unique organisation for the Council of Europe to obtain the perspective of lesbians and gay men in discussing international proposals which affect us.
ILGA representatives participated in the interregional meeting "Human rights at the dawn of the 21st century", organised by the Council of Europe in advance of the World Conference on Human Rights, in january 1993.
Attitudes towards homosexual men and women vary greatly in the different countries of the Council of Europe, from those which have anti-discrimination laws designed to secure full legal and social equality and partnership laws, to others which continue to outlaw all homosexual conduct.
In 1981 in the case Dudgeon vs. the United Kingdom the European Court on Human Rights decided that a ban on homosexual activities contradicts with stipulations in the European Convention on Human Rights by violating the right to privacy (article 8). The government of the United kingdom had to comply by abolishing the ban.
In October 1989 the European Court of Human Rights upheld its position in the case Norris vs. Ireland and urged the Republic to repeal the respective law. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe as the monitoring body repeatedly urged the government to abolish the ban. On 24 June 1993, the Irish Parliament complied.
On 22 April 1993 the European Court of Human Rights upheld its earlier position in the case Modinos vs. Cyprus that a ban on homosexuality interferes with the private life of citizens. Mr. Modinos was paid compensation.
Opinions are evolving with increasing knowledge and we believe that as part of its historic role in protecting human rights, the Council of Europe will continue to provide the focal point for determining human rights standards as they affect European lesbians and gay men in years to come. As the organisation which most represents homosexual opinion throughout the member states of the Council of Europe, if not the world, we consider that we ought to contribute to that evolution by assisting in it as far as we are able. In that spirit, and to that end, we therefore submit this application.
In July 1993 ILGA obtained consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
With this letter I am sending you 30 copies of a file containing ILGA's constitution, a list of its European member organisations, a leaflet about ILGA, a report on its recent activities and a declaration of ILGA's acceptance of the principles set out in the Preamble and Article 1 of the Council of Europe.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require further information or clarification of any matter. I would be most grateful if you could keep me informed of the progress of this application.
Letter to the CoE Commission against Racism and Intolerance
The Working Party on the Council of Europe has sent the following letter to the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance.
Re: Combatting intoleranceDear Madam/Sir
We, the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), a worldwide umbrella group of organisations fighting for equal rights for lesbians and gay men, with member groups in most Council of Europe member states, are writing to your Commission to draw your attention to the phenomenon called homophobia which is a sibling to racism, xenophobia, anti-semitism, and sexism and part of general intolerance against minorities and therefore should be covered by your mandate.
The Vienna Declaration (Vienna Summit in October 1993) describes the mandate of your committee as to cover the review of member States' legislation, policies and other measures to combat racism, xenophobia, anti-semitism and intolerance, to propose further action at local, national and European level, and to formulate general policy recommendations to member States.
In this context, we want to stress that homophobia is not only the result of general attitudes in the population nourished for centuries by wide-spread prejudices. Homophobia is also a product of state-ordained discrimination and suppression which may find their expression in anti-homosexual legislation. In order to stop intolerance against lesbians and gay men, it, therefore, is a precondition to stop all legal discrimination against homosexual women and men and to guarantee them equal rights.
Unfortunately, the criminal codes of several member States of the Council of Europe still discriminate against lesbians and gays, such as those of Austria, Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Liechtenstein, and the United Kingdom. Austria and Liechtenstein even limit the fundamental freedoms or their homosexual citizens by prohibiting any positive information on homosexuality and the founding of homosexual associations. Such law provisions are clear violations of the European Human Rights Convention. All six countries mentio ned discriminate against gay men by fixing a higher legal age of consent compared to heterosexuality.
Such legislation also contradicts several international rulings and recommendations such as Recommendation 924/1981 of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe or the Resolution on equal rights for homosexuals and lesbians in the EC adopted by the European Parliament in February 1994. Such legislation is also contradictory to the decision of the United Nations Human Rights Committee in the case Toonen vs. Australia which ruled that the rights of lesbians and gays to privacy and equality are guaranteed by the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Committee noted that the reference to "sex" in articles 2 and 26 of the Covenant is to be taken as including sexual orientation.
The Warsaw 1993 Implementation Meeting on Human Dimension Issues of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe also stated that CSCE commitments in the area or non-discrimination cover homosexuals as well.
Thus, all relevant European and international human rights platforms such as the Council of Europe, the United Nations, the European Parliament, and the OSCE are in unison that discrimination based on sexual orientation is a clear breach of fundamental human rights.
We, therefore, appeal to your Commission and all its expert members to take up the question of homophobia, to discuss it in detail and to come up with clear recommendations to end state-imposed discrimination against lesbians and gay men as a means to combat prejudice and intolerance against minorities. We also want to stress that state authorities and governments may give positive impetus to stop hatred and discrimination by outlawing and banishing any such behaviour by means of anti-discrimination provisions which would protect minorities from discrimination based on their specifics such as race, being a foreigner, or sexual orientation.
We urge your Commission not to neglect the aspect of homophobia in its work and to include clear statements to protect gays and lesbians from intolerance. We would like to offer you our assistance in this task.
We look forward to your appreciated reply and remain,
Petition for an amendment to the EU Staff Regulations
The group Egalite is in the process of getting signatures on a petition to the European Parliament:We, the undersigned, being officials or other servants of the institutions of the European Union,
A. whereas over the past ten years numerous other lasting forms of partnership have developed alongside the traditional nuclear family, and whereas these also include same-sex, long-term relationships,
B. whereas recognition of homosexual partnerships as a social reality has already prompted a umber of EU Member States to pass relevant legislation and/or adapt existing leg provisions accordingly, or introduce relevant initiatives, to wit:
In Denmark since 1 October 1989, the law on registered partnerships has given partners living in homosexual relationships the same rights and obligations as married heterosexual couples (other than the right of adoption).
In Sweden, a legal process for registering same-sex partners was introduced on 1 January 1995, thus according such partnerships the same legal status as civil marriages. Partners thus enjoy the same rights as married heterosexual couples (other than the right of adoption and the right to a church wedding).
In Finland, the State recognizes homosexual relationships for the granting of legal privileges.
In the Netherlands, the situation is as follows:
The registry offices in 70 municipalities have already introduced registers in which couples living together may register. This was one of the reasons why in July 1994 the government introduced a draft bill in the lower Mouse to secure national legislation giving non-marriage-based partnerships the same legal status as marriage-based partnerships (with the possible exception of the right of adoption). In a number of professions (civil service, health care, education, industry [e.g. KLM]), legislation has been passed giving unmarried partners living together the same financial and social rights as married partners. After five years of living together, the provisions of the law of succession for married couples apply fully to cohabiting partners.
In France, the picture is as follows: In June 1992, a bill was introduced in the National Assembly incorporating a new legal institution into the Civil Code, the "contrat d'union civile" [contract of civil union]. This legal institution should be open to all persons in long-term, nonmarriage-based relationships, irrespective of the sex of the partners, giving such relationships the same status as marriage in many respects. Under the terms of the provisions that entered into force in August 1993, long-term relationships between unmarried persons are recognized de facto for social security purposes. This means that a person living with a dependent partner in a long-term relationship has the right to the reimbursement of sickness and health care costs for that partner.
In Spain, the picture is as follows: 35 towns and the regions of Valencia and Asturia have set up registers which are also open to cohabiting homosexual partners. In December 1994, parliament asked the government to pass a law on long-term registered relationships (including homosexual relationships). This law is currently being drafted by the Spanish government. On I January 1995, a new rent law entered into force, giving all cohabiting unmarried partners, regardless of their sex, the legal right to take over a tenancy or lease. This was the first legal recognition of homosexual relationships at national level.
In Germany, the Federal Constitutional Court declared in its Decision of 13 October 1993 that the marriage of homosexual partners was not permissible. however, Paragraph IIc clearly addresses the question of whether discrimination against longterm homosexual relationships is not a violation of the Basic Law and whether legislation should not be passed or changes made to the law to end all such discrimination.
In Belgium, bills were introduced in 1993 that should give partners in long-term registered relationships the same legal rights as married partners.
In a Decision of June 1989, Italy 's Constitutional Court asked the legislature to draw up provisions for the legal recognition of partnerships other than marriage,
C. whereas the principle of non-discrimination is a fundamental principle of the European Union,
D. whereas homosexual EU officials living with their partners in a long-term relationship suffer twofold discrimination, firstly because they are denied the general right to marry and secondly because their employer, the EU, fails to recognize a legally regulated institution that gives their long-term partnership the same status as marriage (as, for example, in Sweden and Denmark); and whereas, because Ion -term homosexual relationships are not covered by the EU Staff Regulations, homosexual EU officials are not granted the same financial and social benefits as married EU officials in a heterosexual partnership,
E. whereas in reaction of 4 July 1994 to petition 845/93, the European Commission stated that it intended merely to end discrimination against homosexual employees for recruitment and career development purposes, thereby implying that discrimination against long-term homosexual relationships akin to marriage (such as the above-mentioned types of financial and social discrimination) would continue unchanged in other areas,
F. whereas by adopting this position, the Commission is not only at odds with social developments, but is also clearly ignoring the avowed intention of the European Parliament to combat all forms of discrimination and strive for the equal treatment of homosexuals; whereas the European Parliament has formulated this intention in various decisions, most recently in its Resolution of 8 February 1994, in which it calls on the Commission to "combat any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in its own staffing policy",
G. whereas no further initiatives can be expected from the Commission in view of the answer given above,
H. whereas the petition in no way calls for preferential treatment merely the equal application f existing rights,
CALL ON THE PARLIAMENT
1. To make us of its new right of initiative under Article 138b, second paragraph, of the EC Treaty and instruct the relevant committee to draw up a legal institution under which EU officials living with their partners in a long-term homosexual relationship be accorded the same status as married officials and thus under the Staff Regulations enjoy the same financial and social rights as married officials.
2. To submit this legal institution to the European Commission under the same Article, calling on it to make a relevant proposal for amending the Staff Regulations.
Copyright ILGA,
1995
Copyright Gais et Lesbiennes Branchés,
1995
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