Europe calls for tougher action on global LGBT rights

European Parliament adopts report on global human rights and better access to asylum for gay, bisexual and trans people who flee to Europe

The European Parliament has demanded better access to asylum and human rights around the world for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

The parliament’s adopted its annual report on human rights today (18 April) paying close attention to EU action for the human rights of LGBT people.

It guides the European Union’s actions on international diplomacy and is separate to a report on human rights within Europe which is published at a different time.

However, Members of the European Parliament do use the report to demand their countries give asylum to people fleeing persecution in countries where LGBT people are criminalized.

It says EU member countries should grant asylum on the basis of LGBT people’s ‘well founded fears of persecution’.

And it puts extra pressure on EU member states where gay asylum seekers are told to ‘prove their sexuality’ or to that they are ‘not gay enough’ by asylum judges. Instead, the report demands that asylum is granted on ‘their self-identification as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender’.

In addition the parliament has called on the European Commission to produce a ‘comprehensive roadmap against homophobia, transphobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, also addressing human rights violations on these grounds in the world’.

And it insists that the principle of non-discrimination, including on the basis of sex and sexual orientation, must not be compromised in the EU partnership with the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific group of states – which includes some of the world’s most homophobic countries.

On transgender issues, MEPs have asked the European Commission to negotiate so gender identity is no longer a mental disorder as the 11th version of the International Classification of Diseases is discussed. Instead ‘gender identity disorder’ should be re-classified so it is not made into a ‘sickness’.

The parliament has also praised a ‘toolkit’ which helps European foreign delegations react swiftly on LGBT rights.

The toolkit emphasizes the need to work for decriminalization of homosexuality worldwide, anti-discrimination laws and the protection of human rights offenders.

Now the parliament wants that upgraded so it is not just advice for diplomats but a set of binding guidelines, forcing them to take gay and trans issues seriously.

Ulrike Lunacek MEP, co-president of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights, commented: ‘The European Union has done praiseworthy efforts for LGBT rights in the world.

‘In particular, the toolkit adopted by the Council Working Party on Human Rights in 2010 has been used efficiently in a number of countries. The council should now consider upgrading such a useful tool.’

But the report praised the EU for its recent diplomacy, particularly in the United Nations where it helped to lobby so a ban on giving the death penalty for homosexuality was re-introduced.

A spokesman for the European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights told Gay Star News that the report was particularly important as it will guide Catherine Ashton, Europe’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security in how she does her job.

He added that the chances she would take these issues seriously were high as ‘she has been exemplary on leading the work on LGBT human rights in the EU’.

Dennis de Jong MEP, vice-president of the LGBT Intergroup, added: ‘Of course, the European Union can and should still do more.

‘When it comes to LGBT rights at home, welcoming those who flee genuine persecution in Uganda, Iran or Indonesia is a duty of the EU. We must show international solidarity, and continue improving things at home in the meantime.’

More generally, the report also calls for a new job of EU Special Representative on Human Rights to be created.


(2012-04-19/gaystarnews)