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The anti-discrimination legislation in the Finnish Penal Code and The
Constitution was changed in 1995 to include discrimination based on
sexual orientation.
The Penal Code explicitly mentions "sexual orientation" as a
prohibited reason for discrimination in offering public or commercial
services or giving access to public meetings. The law also prohibits
agitation against national, racial, ethnic, religious or other such
group of people. In this way also sexual minorities are protected.
The third relevant paragraph explicitly mentions "sexual orientation"
as a prohibited reason for discrimination in relation to hiring of a
employee or the working conditions of employees. The sentences for the
above crimes vary from fine to max. 2 years of prison.
The Finnish Constitution nowadays prohibits discrimination on the
basis of sex, age, origin, language, opinion, health, disability or
other reason characteristic of an individual. The sexual orientation
is mentioned in the Governments bills preparatory works as an example
of an other reason characteristic of an individual.
Progress on the Implementation of Human Rights for Lesbians and Gay
Men The issue of non-discrimination based on sexual orientation has
been discussed within the work of the OSCE on several occasions, such
as the FollowUp Meeting in Helsinki (1992), the Human Dimension
Seminars on "Tolerance" (1992), "Free Media" (1993), and on"Building
Blocks for Civic Society - Freedom of Association and NGOs" (1995), as
well as in the Budapest Review Conference (1994) and the joint
OSCE/Council of Europe lnternational Seminar on Tolerance in Bucharest
last May. This topic was also discussed two years ago at the (first)
OSCE Implementation Meeting and eventually included in its Final
Report adopted unanimously in the Final Plenary by all delegations.
The relevant paragraph reads as follows:
Participants pointed out to groups which were not "national
minorities" but which nonetheless suffered discrimination, including
women, homosexuals, migrant workers, and conscientious objectors.
It was pointed out that CSCE commitments in the area of
non-discrimination cover homosexuals as well. Suggestions were made
that discriminatory State policies against homosexuals, and
criminalizing legislation, should be eliminated,
In July 1993, the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE, in its 4th
(annual) session in Ottawa, adopted a Resolution which called on
member States
On March 31, 1994 the United Nations Human Rights Committee ruled that
the rights of lesbians and gay men to privacy and equality were
guaranteed by the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee ruled that criminal laws
prohibiting homosexuality among consenting adults violate Article 1?
of the ICCPR. Additionally, the UN Human Rights Committee noted in its
decision that the reference to "sex" in article 2 (I) and 26 (of the
lCCPRR) is to be taken as including sexual orientation. For us in the
lesbian and gay rights movement, this is the most important decision
to date in the international human rights law.
Another recent landmark achievement was the adoption of the Resolution
on equal rights for homosexuals and lesbians in the EC by the European
Parliament on 8 February 1994. In this Resolution, the EP, the only
democratically elected institution of the European Union, calls on all
Member States to repeal all anti-homosexual law provisions and to end
any discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and calls on
the Commission of the EU to present a draft Recommendation on equal
rights for lesbians and homosexuals which should, as a minimum, seek
to end, among other things such as the discrimination by criminal law
provisions, the barring of lesbian and homosexual couples from
marriage or from an equivalent legal framework, and any restriction on
the right of lesbians and homosexuals to be parents or to adopt or
foster children.
Anti-discrimination legislation explicitly including "sexual
orientation" has been adopted in Finland this year. In a May 1993
ruling, the Canadian Supreme Court stated that the country's Charter
of Rights and Freedoms also prohibits discrimination based on sexual
orientation.
Proposals to include "sexual orientation" as a non-discrimination
category in the new constitutions are debated in Poland and Germany.
In 1994, Greenland and Sweden have joined Denmark and Norway in
enacting "registered partnership" laws recognizing same-sex
relationships. Similar laws are proposed and debated in Iceland,
Finland, Spain, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic. In March
1995, the Hungarian Constitutional Court ruled unconstitutional the
definition of common-law marriages restricting them to those formed
between adults of different sex only. The Court ordered Parliament to
change the existing law on common-law marriages or to enact new
legislation which would give the same common law rights to same-sex
couples by March 1, 1996.
Actions to be taken Despite these positive developments in various
OSCE member states, continuing legal and social discrimination against
gays and lesbians have to be observed in other OSCE countries.
To our knowledge, the penal codes of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Romania, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan and more than 20 States of the USA still provide for a
total ban on homosexual activity.
Discriminatory ages of consent still exist in the penal codes of
Austria, Cyprus, Hungary, Liechtenstein and the United Kingdom.
The penal codes of Austria and Liechtenstein prohibit positive
information on homosexuality, thus violating the fundamental freedom
of thought and expression. In Austria, this Jaw has also led to the
confiscation of AIDS prevention material for gay men, thus
contributing to the further spread of this pandemic.
The penal codes of Austria and Liechtenstein prohibit the founding of
homosexual organisations, thus violating the fundamental freedom of
association.
We therefore appeal to those countries to take their commitments under
the CSCE process seriously and to bring their legislation in line with
the human rights standards already prevailing in the OSCE region.
The following extract from the official report on the preparations for
the InterGovernmental Conference on the Revision of the European
Treaties next year indicates that the inclusion of a broad
anti-discrimination Article, including "sexual preference" among the
grounds on which discrimination would be prohibited, is already widely
supported. However, some member-States Governments appear to be
opposed to any such extension of the Treaties beyond narrow "economic"
issues. ILGA member groups in those EU member-States should therefore
start lobbying their government now.
Extract from the "Progress Report from the Chairman of the Reflection
Group on the 1996 Intergovernment Conference (SN 509/1/95 (Reflex 10)
Rev.1) - Madrid, 1 September 1995:
Topic 4. The Citizen and the Union
There was general support for the amendments listed in the two
previous sub-paragraphs; the same does not apply to the following, at
least on a first reading:
In response to the majority view, some members point out that adoption
of European citizenship is perceived as a threat to national identity
in some member-States, and that, unless that perception is corrected,
they do not think it appropriate to develop either the content or the
essence of the concept. They also regard Community accession to the
European Convention on Human Rights as unnecessary and, furthermore,
do not see the usefulness of including a Charter of Human Rights in
the Treaty, since all the memberstates already guarantee them in their
territory. Among those who support this view, some would however
accept a Bill of Rights in the preamble to the Treaty.
Up to the Intergovernmental Conference in 1996 the future development
of the European Union it is very important that ILGA keeps up a
constant pressure on the governments of the member states in order to
create an understanding for the importance of including a non
discrimination clause in the threaty - and that it includes sexual
orientation as an area of non discrimination.
Members of ILGA's EU working party on the EU - and other ILGA member
groups in EU member states - are invited to lobby their governments
about this, using the following guidelines.
As start of this lobbying towards EU institutions ILGA has got the
opportunity to deliver a speech at a meeting in the European
Parliament about the upcoming intergovernmental conference. The
co-secretary general Inge Wallert will represent ILGA at the
gathering.
ILGA is working 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 is working for the redefinition of the term 'legal spouse' to
include homosexual relationships with or without registered
partnerships.
ILGA is working for the inclusion of gays, lesbians and their children
in the concept of family, including the right to family
life. Furthermore ILGA works for
Late Monday parliament's lower Chamber of Deputies voted changes to
the penal code, punishing homosexuality with up to five years in jail
if it stirs a "public scandal" and with up to seven years if it
involves under-age persons.
The changes, which parliament's upper Senate passed last year, have
yet to be promulgated by President Ion Iliescu before they take
effect.
Homosexuality is still widely frowned upon in the Balkan
country. Treatment of homosexuals is among issues which aroused
protests from human rights groups, despite substantial improvement of
the situation in Romania after the 1989 collapse of communist rule.
A recent survey by the London-based human rights group Amnesty
International said 11 Rumanians were imprisoned under Romania's old
penal code, which made homosexuality a crime.
In communist times, secret police used the issue to persecute
dissidents who were often sent to jail on gay charges. Punishment for
homosexuality was jail sentences of up to seven years.
Critics say the new rules are still ambiguous, with homosexuals facing
long jail sentences if witnesses declare they are offended by their
public gestures.
Amnesty has urged the Council of Europe to "ensure that Romania
implements the reforms recommended by the Parliamentary Assembly to
bring Romanian law and practice in line with European standards."
The Chamber of Deputies on 12 September voted to ease Penal Code
provisions on homosexual acts, Romanian media reported. These will now
be punished only if they are committed in public, in cases of rape, or
in incidents involving those under the age of consent. The opposition
was split on the vote, with the National Peasant Party Christian
Democratic opposing the amendment. The daily Curierul national on 12
September reported that the Association of Christian Orthodox Students
in Romania pledged to continue a drive to gather signatures opposing
homosexual relationships among consenting adults. It has so far
gathered nearly 200,000 signatures and needs 500,000 to have the
matter submitted to a national referendum.
The gay Bucharest Acceptance Group (BAG) says that the new clause
actually permits police to jail almost any gay and lesbian at whim.
BAG explained: "Comments by members of parliament during the long
debate made it perfectly clear what the purpose of the revision was:
to enact a cosmetic change while making it punishable for gays or
lesbians to develop any public or political identity. The only
existing definition of 'public scandal' in Romanian law dates from
1938, and identifies it as 'any act which becomes known to more than
two persons who disapprove of it.'
"Moveover," BAG said, "new language added to paragraph 5 of Article
200 drives the point home: 'proselytizing, associations, or any form
of propaganda' for homosexuality will be punishable by a stiff prison
term.
In the coming weeks European Parliament is discussing the budget for
1996. The Green Group has proposed amendments in order to support
several gay initiatives.
The proposals concern the budget on social affairs: Barto Pronk (dutch
christian democrat) is rapporteur for the budget and proposes measures
to assist families.
The Green amendments read:
1. To amend the heading of the budget line into: Measures to assist
families and family units 'Family units' was the compromise
formulation made up last year december to include other households
then 'normal' ones when talking about the family.
2. Pronk proposes 2.5 Mio ecus for a range of measures.
One of them reading: information in particular the regular production
and presentation of demographic data and information on measures
relating to the family (structure of households, female employment,
birth rates, information and awareness concerning the protection
children etc) to be carried out using information from the network of
experts set up by the commission and from the studies produced on
specific subjects.
The Green propose the following amendments (text after amendments):
information in particular the regular production and presentation of
(delete demographic) data and information on measures relating to the
family (structure of households, the consequences of changing family
legislation in some member states, female employment, birth rates,
information and awareness concerning the protection children etc) to
be carried out using information from the network of experts set up by
the commission and from the studies produced on specific subjects.
3. A further amendment on the money allocated to this budget line. The
Greens propose to take out 500.000 ECU of the 2.5 Million of Pronks
proposal and to transfer it to budget line B3-4012 on Measures to
achieve equality between women and men.
500.000 ecu to be used on the European Level for organisations,
actions and studies related to discrimination in workplaces on the
basis of sexual orientation and other problems in this field.
THE HAGUE. Last week, as expected, justice
parliamentary undersecretary Mrs. Schmitz in a letter to Dutch
parliament presented the government's ideas on laws concerning
relationships, adoption and family. The main point from her letter
termed the "Nota Leefvormen" is that she does not favour the opening
up of marriage to gays, as was hoped by gay lobbying groups. Also she
does not advocate adoption by single parents of a foreign child
contrary to a ruling in a Dutch court this spring allowing the
adoption of a Brazilian girl by a single Dutch woman. As, in her
view, adoption by single parents and gay couples would lead to
negative reactions from other, especially third-world, countries where
most children adopted in Holland come from, she proposes to allow
adoption in these cases only when the adopted child is Dutch. But as
only some 40 Dutch children are put up for adoption each year with
demand much higher and Dutch law states that the natural mother has to
agree with the family adopting the child it is expected that the
natural mother of the child will in the vast majority of cases prefer
the child to grow up with a heterosexual married couple.
Organisations working in the field of adoption welcomed the
restrictions fearing non- cooperation from other countries from which
some 700 children are adopted in Holland each year. The N.V.I.H.-COC
(Dutch gay liberation movement) in a first reaction termed the idea of
not allowing gay couples to adopt "unacceptable", as the welfare of
the child only depends on growing up in a stable home, whether this be
provided by a single parent, a gay or a heterosexual married or
unmarried couple. The COC is glad that via single parent adoption an
indirect possibility is created for gay couples to adopt.
Marriage will, in the government's plan, not be opened up to
gays. Although in favour of giving the same rights to registered gay
and straight partnerships as married couples Mrs. Schmitz stops short
of opening up marriage altogether, in this case following the official
party line of the Social Democrat Party PvdA.
The COC in its first reaction is pleased to see that at last the
government put the legal situation of gay couples on the agenda and
expressed hope that unlike in the case of the law on equal treatment
the proposals would quickly lead to changes in legislation. The COC is
disappointed at the decision not to open up marriage to gays, thereby
perpetuating a discriminatory situation and unnecessarily complicating
the process of law-making. This point of view can be termed
remarkable, as the COC until recently rejected the idea of
partnership-registration and gay marriage, as merely an "emulation of
straight marriage". The COC's final reaction, according to
COC-lobbyists will be "highly critical" of the government's plans. A
survey this spring by "De Gay Krant" showed a majority of the Dutch
population favouring adoption by gay couples and making it possible
for gay couples to marry instead of "registering their relationship"
with hardly any legal consequences.
Political Parties Favour Gay marriage THE HAGUE. Contrary to the ideas
expressed in Mrs. Schmitz letter to parliament regarding partnership
registration it looks like a majority in Dutch parliament will be in
favour of opening up marriage to gay couples, with possible
restrictions only in the field of parental rights (a gay couple's
child often stems from an earlier straight relationship) and
adoption. Coalition partners VVD (Liberals) and D'66 (Social Liberals)
and the opposition Green party, together holding 60 seats in the
150-seat Dutch lower house, have declared themselves in favour of
opening up marriage to gays.
Much depends on the Social Democrat PvdA (37 seats), which officially
favours a separate registration of gay and straight unmarried
couples. It is quite likely however that enough Labour-MP's will
oppose the government plans to tip the balance in parliament, in
effect telling Mrs. Schmitz, also a member of the PvdA, to do her
homework again. Mrs. Schmitz, who when she was mayor of Haarlem
showed herself a pragmatic and energetic politician, is said to be
willing to meet the wishes of parliament. The discussion in parliament
will probably not to lead up to a single new bill, but will lay the
foundation for a number of changes in current legislation.
The Christian fundamentalist parties and the right-wing CD (together
10 seats) are expected to resist any changes in the laws, although
this spring the fundamentalist SGP did put forward the idea of
registering unmarried couples but only so that their social benefits
could be cut to the level of married couples, without giving them any
of the rights of married couples. The idea was not taken seriously.
The opposition CDA (Christian Democrats, 34 seats) is generally
positive towards the government plan, with the exception of allowing
single parents to adopt.
Reactions from Abroad ROME. The vatican "Osservatore Romano" sharply
criticized the ideas put forward by Mrs. Schmitz, especially her idea
to improve partner-registration for gay couples and her ideas on
single-parent adoption, fearing the approval of gay lifestyles will
undermine the "natural traditional family model". Lawmakers should
not merely follow social changes and Holland should not try to play a
leading role in Europe in this field.
The French Atlantic port city of Saint-Nazaire started issuing
registration certificates to gay couples Sept. 14, reported Reuter.
Deputy Mayor Maxime Batard said the document will help gays obtain
benefits now available to unmarried heterosexual couples - such as
access to national health care for a non-working partner, family
travel fares and rent subsidies.
"All we have sought to do is give homosexuals the same rights as other
citizens," Batard said. "If it can get things moving on a national
level, that would be pretty good."
National authorities will now have to decide whether to go ahead and
open up such programs as the socialized-medicine system.
The Belgian cities of Gent and Antwerp quietly created partnership
registration for gay and lesbian couples in September.
No legal rights are conferred by the registration but the move has
important symbolic impact in the historically conservative Flandern
region, gat activists said.Anti-discrimination Law in Finland
By Rainer Hiltunen,
vice-chairman of the National Gay and Lesbian Organisation - SETAILGA Input to OSCE Meeting
By Kurt Krickler
Written presentation to the OSCE Implementation meeting on Human
Dimension Issues 1995, submitted by ILGA
...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...
Achievements on the international level
In the past two years since the last Implementation Meeting, we have
witnessed remarkable progress and important achievements in the
recognition of the human rights of lesbians and gay men both on the
international and national levels:Achievements on the national level
Since the 1993 Implementation meeting, total bans on homosexuality
were repealed from the law books of Albania, Belarus, Cyprus,
Kazakhstan, Moldova, and Serbia. Discriminatory ages of consent were
reduced In the United Kingdom and completely abolished in
West-Germany.Anti-discrimination clause in the new EU Treaty?
By Alan Reekie
Part 1. European Citizenship
A. Basic points
In the opinion of some, the principle of equality between men and
women should have general application, and not be restricted as
currently to the economic sphere (Article 119); it should also be
worded in a positive way in the Treaty and not simply as the result of
a ban on discrimination.
As regards the way in which such rights might be embodied in the
Treaty, two possibilities were considered:
From the point of view of individual protection, it was clear that
only accession by the Community to the European Convention and
inclusion of a Bill of Rights in the enacting terms would confer a
full guarantee, either by the Luxembourg and Strasbourg Courts in the
first case or only by the Luxembourg Court in the second.ILGA's lobbying towards the EU
By Steffen JensenILGA's General Policy toward the European Union
ILGA is taking an active and coordinating role in promoting lesbian
and gay rights within the policies of the European Union. ILGA will
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 works for the adoption of EU measures to effectively combat
sexual orientation based discrimination, notably in the field of
employment.
EU Policy Areas of Interest of ILGA
Free movement of people
The most obvious obstacle for lesbians and gays in the three
directives on the Free Movement of persons is the use of the wording
'legal spouse' as the only acknowledged relationship.
Family policy
ILGA is addressing the problems linked with children coming from
lesbian and gay relationships, insemination, adoption and the
like. The ongoing strongly ideological offensive of the religious and
political right can not only be answered to by bringing forward
practical solutions. The family concept has changed in most European
Union member states and the conservative positions are superseded by
the developments in society. Many institutions use already the wording
family for a broad range of relationships of various nature. It would
be wise to take a stand in the ideological debate by including our
concepts in a new family ideology.
Employment Rights
ILGA is working towards the following changes
The inclusion of sexual orientation in the new Commission staff
regulations is also important to ILGA.
Health Policy/HIV AIDS
As gay men still are the one group most influenced by HIV and AIDS
ILGA is supporting the measures taken by the EU to combat HIV and AIDS
and discrimination caused by the HIV status of people.
External Relations
There is a need to introduce a human rights dimension in external
treaties and ILGA is promoting the human rights of lesbians & gay men
in all countries with which the EU has external relations.
Change of the Romanian Penal Code
Reuter - Romania has eased a communistera ban on homosexuality, with a
parliamentary vote to make gay sex a crime only if it creates a public
scandal.Protest against Law Reform in Romania
By Michael Shafir, OMRIGay Reactions
By Rex Wochner
>
This language ensures that any public expression of homosexuality will
lead directly to the prison cell. Not only gay love but gay
organizations, politics, clubs, bars, meetings - gay life itself -
will remain persecuted by police."
EU Budget for 1996
By Hein VerkerkDutch Government Presents Plans on Partnerships and Family
By Bert SchuurFrench and Belgian Cities Registers Gay Couples
By Rex Wockner