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One of the points in the Declaration "Calls on the member States to ensure that all persons belonging to different segments of their population be accorded equal respect and consideration in their constitutions, legislation and administration and that there be no subordination, explicit or implied, on the basis of ethnicity, race, colour, language, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national or social origin or belonging to a minority;".
The sexual orientation part was included by initiative of Danish parliamentarians and it was passed by a vast majority in spite of protests from Bulgarian members of the assembly. The assembly does not - as other OSCE bodies work on the principle of consensus.
It is a huge victory for The International Gay and Lesbian Association, ILGA, who for years has lobbied OSCE bodies to get sexual orientation included in the language of the human dimension part of OSCE.
The conclusion is that partnerships from one of the countries will be recognized in the other countries as well. This means that if for instance a Swedish registrered couple moves to Denmark or Norway then their partnership will have the same legal effect here as in Sweden.
The head of the Czech Republic Parliament, Milan Uhde, and the minister of the interior, Jan Rumi, support extending marriage rights to gays and lesbians under a registered-partnership law, reported the Prague gay magazine SOHO Revue.
"There's no reason why gays can't marry," Rumi said. Uhde said he "carefully considered" the arguments in favour of partnership presented by the gay group SOHO, thinks the arguments are "important" and forwarded the material to two Parliamentary committees.
The partnership bill will be considered this year when Parliament rewrites Czech family law.
The International Lesbian and Gay Association's recent 10th annual conference for former East Bloc nations was a "grandiose scandal," reported the Moscow newspaper Segodnia.
When the 100-plus delegates arrived at the end of May in Kiev, Ukraine, no one was there to meet them. And when they finally found the conference site the next day, one hour out of town, they were evicted.
The organizers, the straight chairman of the Ukrainian Catholic Youth League and his girlfriend, apparently made off with the registration fees, a $10,000 grant from the World Health Organization, and a donation from the Lifestyles condom company.
Immigration officials detained and interrogated two British delegates, both named Peter Norman, for failure to register with the Department of Visas and Registration of Foreigners. One of the Normans was believed to have signed a letter guaranteeing payment to the conference site, a spa.
ILGA's one employee, Andy Quan, a Canadian who works in ILGA's Brussels office, was horrified at the mess and promised to sue the organizers. He also promised, despite ILGA's financial quagmires, to make efforts to reimburse the stunned delegates.
At the conference's end, the exasperated attendees voted to agree that the conference had never taken place.
Legislative process in the Netherlands is famously slow. It normally takes ten years from idea to Statute book. Registered partnership is firmly on the political agenda since 1991. So a law by 1997 would be quite fast. Anyhow, it now seems that the government will announce in its LETTER to parliament (now expected to be sent in September 1995) that it will introduce a new bill on registered partnership. This BILL could then hardly reach parliament before 1996. It would then take at least one year (and probably two) to have the Bill debated and approved by both houses of parliament. LAW by 1998?
EGALITE (Equality for gays and lesbians in the European Institutions) are happy to inform you on a small victory for the staff of the EU Parliament, thanks to the help of some Parliament members.
The Administration distributed a note to the staff on Wednesday July 5 giving some social benefits to non-married partners. For the first time these partners (including gays and lesbians) are - entitled to take a language course - entitled to an annual pass for admission to the Parliaments buildings and restaurants.
The applicants must fill in a "Declaration of domestic partnership" (nearly a marriage declaration) to obtain these benefits. It may sound as a very small victory, but for those who are familiar with the staff policy of the European Institutions, this is a big step, and it might open the door for further equal rights.
Unfortunately this only covers the staff of the European Parliament and not the other institutions such as Commission, Council etc. The group EGALITE will in September ask for a meeting with the Commission on the problems on equal rights for all staff and in all fields. (We are only entitled to discuss the staff regulations in the Institutions, but of course we also work for general recognition of these rights for all citizens in the EU).
In the discussions over the constitution, the church got its way on wording describing the relationship between church and state. Now it says it wants constitutional provisions that protect the rights of the unborn and that make clear that homosexuals have no right to teach in public schools.
Tadeusz Pieronek, general secretary of the Polish Bishops Conference, who represents the moderate wing of the church, said draft wording that was intended to protect the rights of homosexuals was unsatisfactory to the church. ``Does it mean we will legalize lesbian and gay marriages and then we will have to allow them to take important posts and bring up children?'' the bishop asked.
The ILGA working party on the EU has sent the following statement to ECAS and asked it to be handed to the group discussing free movement: Free movement of people. The idea of a borderless Europe where you can go wherever you want to live and work, is a beautiful one, but in the practical world the free movement is limited by many things: language, culture, money, family relations etc.
And you may add than one of the most moveable groups of people in fact is gay men - so why claim that homosexuals do not have the same possibilities of free movement as other groups?
It is right that gay men moves around a lot. This is probably caused by the fact that many gay men do not have stable family relations and/or social networks - yet. But I think this is rapidly changing as the social acceptance and visibility of homosexuals are increasing. It is much easier to establish a homosexual family when there is less pressure from the surroundings and when you do not have to hide.
What are the obstacles for lesbians and gay men to our free movement? It is obvious that as long as some member states do discriminate us we cannot move around and enjoy the same rights as other citizens.
For instance, a Danish or Swedish registered couple cannot move to another EU member state and obtain the same rights as a married couple - as they can in Denmark and Sweden. Even though there is a provision of bringing a spouse with you if you as an EU citizen go to another EU country to have a job, your same sex spouse is not in general permitted to stay in the country. We know of one positive exception to this: A Danish lesbian who got a job in the Netherlands, was allowed to bring her partner.
When formally registered spouses cannot be brought, then of course other same sex partners can either. This is a main obstacle for the free movement of gay people.
The concept of family One of the basic elements of society in all the member states is the family. And the family is traditionally considered as man, woman and children. Any other grouping of people living together are some places seen as a threat against the concept of family and against society itself.
I think, that if we shall obtain full equality and be respected and considered as citizens of the society, we must challenge the concept of family. We must work for a new definition of the family, we must introduce the homosexual family consisting of man and man or woman and woman with or without children. It is essential that we not only obtain legal recognition of the homosexual family, but also a social and cultural recognition of our families. I am well aware that this is a hard job - and it will demand much work, openness and visibility.
What can the EU do? Not even within the EU institutions homo- sexual families are accepted. A Danish registered couple - of which one is an employee of the EU - has been denied the same salary provisions as married couples.
A first and simple demand to the EU must be that partnerships are recognized not only within the EU institutions but also in other member states. In the Roth resolution from February 1994 the European Parliament has included such a recommendation and now we are waiting for the Commission to back it.
The EU must recognize that about 10 % of its citizens belong to the homosexual minority and act accordingly in order to obtain the same legal, social and cultural standards for us as for all other citizens.
As we have been object to discrimination, neglection and marginalising for many years throughout Europe, there are needs and reasons for special support to the gay and lesbian community.
It is important that lesbian and gay men are visible. And visibility demands personal strength, safe and confident surroundings and empowerment of our selves. We ask the European Community to support our community in order to gain that.
If we want to create a united Europe we must establish the same high standards for all European citizens, we must put an end to discrimination of all kind.
The EU member states must be forced to end all discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation - also in the labour market, to introduce the same age of consent for all people, to recognize homosexual couples on an equal footing with heterosexual couples.
And the EU itself must take a stand on countries - member states and other - that continue to discriminate on the ground of sexual orientation.
Copyright ILGA,
1995
Copyright Gais et Lesbiennes Branchés,
1995
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