The Fight Against Homophobia from the European Parliament: International Day Against Homophobia
Raül Romeva, ViceChair of the LGBT Rights Intergroup
Since its inception, the European Union has been a strong supporter of human rights. Having been founded upon the ashes of the Second World War, we know all too well the risks and dangers that come from the denial of the fundamental rights of individuals and minorities. On this significant Day - The International Day Against Homophobia I wish to express my solidarity with Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals and Transgender persons worldwide who are still too often deprived their rights solely on the ground of their sexual orientation. I wish to bring up some points which clearly show that homophobia is still a horrible phenomenon harming too many citizens in Europe and beyond.
1. There are still 7 countries in the world where homosexual or bisexual people are sentenced to death by the state. In Saudi-Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Mauritania, Nigeria and Sudan consensual sexual acts between adults of the same sex is sentenced to the death. In these countries LGBT people are deprived their fundamental right to live just for the reason of love and affection towards persons of the same sex.
2. But we do not have to look so far behind the boarders of Europe to find how homophobia harms.
The Pride and Equality Marches are peaceful demonstrations that invoke the core principles of a Europe that is tolerant and appreciative of its diversity.
It is sad to realise that still in some European countries these marches are not organised as a celebration of love and happiness. In these countries Pride marches are a call by local LGBT people to recognize their human rights. And it is even sadder that often in the same Member States LGBT people are met with big reluctance by governments and local authorities even to get permission organising these demonstrations.
European Court of Human Rights and other European Institutions have always firmly confirmed rights of LGBT people to peaceful assembly, but it is shame that the governments and local authorities in countries like Latvia, Poland or Moldova do not want to respect these rights from the very beginning.
3. Infringed freedom of movement of LGBT persons within the European Union is another burning issue. We all want increased mobility of workers within the European Market. At the same time very few member states are recognising same-sex partnerships of other countries. How likely is that a same-sex couple will move to a country for work if their relationship is not recognised in that country? This is a grave infringement in LGBT peoples´ right of movement within the EU. This is an infringement to influence around 50 million Europeans.
4. And lastly I would like to touch upon an issue of anti-discrimination legislation. It is important that LGBT people are protected against discrimination, because that is a fact that discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation is widespread.
It is also a fact that most of the European countries have some kind of legislation protecting LGBT people against discrimination. But level of protection varies considerably from country to country.
This makes it hard for European citizens to know what the level of protection is when they move within the European Union. This also makes it complicated for Equality Bodies to tackle discrimination cases, since people can be discriminated on different grounds in the same situations, but not all grounds are protected equally. It is also not easy for companies to do businesses in several Member States, when the rules to be complied with differ so widely.
There is an urgent need for comprehensive anti-discrimination Directive protecting European citizens against all kinds of discrimination. And the European Commission has tools for that. Article 13 of the Amsterdam Treaty states that the European Commission can take measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation. The European Parliament has called upon the Commission to deliver such a directive 6 times in past 4 years. Now it is up to political courage of the Commission and President Jose Manuel Barroso to act accordingly.
