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Scottish Lesbian and Gay Committee
Report to Scottish Council – January 2003
ILGA-EUROPE CONFERENCE
Lisbon 23 October – 27 October 2002
Recognising Diversity, Promoting Equality
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Introduction
UNISON Scotland agreed the following motion in 2002 to send 4 delegates
to the ILGA Europe Conference in Lisbon 2002 and to participate
in the ILGA Europe 2003 Conference to be held in Glasgow.
"The International Lesbian and Gay Association is a world-wide
federation of national and local groups dedicated to achieving equal
rights for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgendered people
everywhere.
Founded in 1978, it now has more than 350 member organisations.
Every continent and around 80 countries are represented. ILGA member
groups range from small collectives to national groups and entire
cities.
ILGA Europe is the European Region of the Association. ILGA Europe
recently decided that its 25th Regional Conference would
be held in Glasgow Scotland in 2003. Several branches sent delegates
to the 23rd Conference held in Rotterdam and have reported
on the invaluable experience of meeting other lesbian and gay trade
unionists from across the Europe. This type of networking is particularly
relevant for us following on from the creation of the Scottish Parliament.
In light of the implications from the Human Rights Act, the experiences
learned from the victorious campaign to "Scrap the Clause"
and the initial discussions with Northern Ireland on various campaign
issues surrounding the Equalities Agenda, UNISON Scotland has much
to learn from our European colleagues and also much to share.
Scottish Council welcomes the fact that UNISON Scotland will have
to opportunity to participate in the 2003 Conference being held
in our country. In order to move this forward and to allow the Scottish
Lesbian and Gay Group to become more involved with the workings
of ILGA Europe and to ensure that the Scottish Voice is heard, Scottish
Council agrees to:
- Write to ILGA Europe, congratulating them for choosing Scotland
as a Conference Venue, and advising them that we are looking forward
to having the opportunity to meeting colleagues from across the
continent involved in the campaign and struggle to fight discrimination.
- Send 4 delegates to the 2002 ILGA Europe Conference to be held
in Lisbon. This will allow UNISON Scotland raise its profile with
fellow trade unionists within Europe and to become involved in
discussion for the 2003 Glasgow Conference"
Four delegates from UNISON Scotland, Neil MacInnes, Jim Mearns,
Maggie Murphy and Linda Jackson joined colleagues from other Scottish
Branches and National delegates represented UNISON in Lisbon in
October 2002.
The attached report details the workshops attended during the
Conference and also highlights some of the main experiences gained
from participating in such a worthwhile and rewarding conference.
It is difficult to sum up the information and knowledge shared
and learned from such a rewarding conference. We have tried to
give those interested a flavour of the items discussed and we
certainly have as a group have returned with a better knowledge
of some mighty issues out there which could do and will do impact
on our members, particularly in relation to some of the new European
protocols and directives and allow us to begin to discuss how
we can feed this into the organisation and our members.
The variety of the material covered is shown by the range of
topics covered in workshops (Appendix B). The UNISON Scotland
Delegates were able to cover all the workshops with the help of
other UNISON members present and gained a valuable insight into
the range of issues faces LGBT individuals across Europe today.
UNISON Scotland’s Scottish Lesbian and Gay Committee is extremely
grateful to have been given the opportunity to send 4 delegates
to such a rewarding and informative conference.
In order to provide you with more information I have also attached
as an appendix the very moving and powerful speech made by Peter
Schieder, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe (Appendix D).
Recommendation
1 UNISON Scotland participate in the 2003 ILGA Europe Conference
in Glasgow by sending 4 delegates to attend on a residential basis.
Costings have been supplied as following:
ILGA CONFERENCE 2003
Venue
Glasgow, Scotland
Delegates
Four
Provisional Costing
Registration & Accommodation: 4 x 600E=2400E* £1440.00
Subsistence: 4 x 5 nights @ £29.50 570.00
Travel 00.00
TOTAL £2010.00
*Based on the cost for 2002 (plus 2%).
- UNISON Scotland makes initial investigations into sponsoring
a delegate from a trade union in one of the eastern European states
to attend the conference.
Neil MacInnes
Secretary – Scottish Lesbian and Gay Committee
Appendix A
Official Report – ILGA Europe
For the first time in its 24-year history, ILGA has held a conference
in Portugal. The 24th
European Conference (at the same time ILGA-Europe's sixth)
took place in Lisbon from 23 till 27 October and was hosted by its
member organisation Opus
Gay which had to make several attempts before it finally
succeeded, thanks to António Serzedelo's persistence, to
bring the conference to Lisbon. Although the Portuguese LGBT movement
has undergone a remarkable development with major achievements in
the last years, the presence of the conference in Portugal was an
important statement, which, indeed, was also reflected by the large
media interest, and coverage it provoked.
Less interest was shown by Portuguese politics. Used in the past
to gain the honorary patronage of at least one high-ranking national
politician for our conference and to be invited to an official reception
by the lord mayor of the host city, we were disappointed, in this
respect, by the conservative governments of Portugal and Lisbon
respectively. They did not send representatives to our opening plenary
either which, however, was addressed by Members of Parliament and
Lisbon City Council from the Left Bloc (Bloco Esquerda), the Socialist
Party and the Greens. Other speakers in the opening session were
António Serzedelo, who welcomed all participants on behalf
of the host organisation, Teresa Nogueira, president of the Portuguese
section of Amnesty International, and ILGA-World secretary-general
Kürsad Kahramanoglu. Messages of support were received from
Mario Soares, former Prime Minister and President of Portugal, now
Member of the European Parliament, and João Soares, MP, former
lord mayor of Lisbon.
130 participants from 31 countries were offered two plenary panel
sessions and could choose among 21 workshops to discuss ILGA-Europe's
campaigns and development and exchange information and experiences
in a variety of fields. Thanks to financial support received by
the European
Community, the Open
Society Institute (Budapest), the Heinrich
Böll Foundation (Berlin), Pink
Cross (Switzerland) and COC
Haaglanden (Netherlands), scholarships to a number of delegates
from Eastern European countries could be granted and expert speakers
could be invited. The Conference was also supported by several local
sponsors.
The full Conference report will soon be posted at our web-site.
In this Newsletter, we do not have the space to give a detailed
report and therefore just would like to highlight the two panel
sessions and the two workshops dedicated to Islam and LGBT Muslims,
which were one of the thematic focuses of the conference. A detailed
report on the plenary session on "promoting the rights of LGBT people
using the human rights policies and mechanisms of the Council of
Europe and the European Union", in which the conference patron Peter
Schieder was speaking, is given in another
article.
The role of trade unions
The other panel session was addressing the "role of trade unions
in implementing EU laws which prohibit sexual orientation and gender
identity discrimination in the work-place".
Cécile Le Clercq of the European Commission's Employment
and Social Affairs Directorate-General, explained the Commission's
priority, which is the efficient and full transposition of the two
Article 13 directives into national legislation, and after this
its enforcement. In both phases NGOs and trade unions have an important
role to play and should build alliances. She gave recent examples
of collective agreements both at European and international level.
Cécile Le Clercq stressed again that the Commission has no
plans to propose further legal measures to combat discrimination
outside employment, not even for the ground of disability. People
had expected that the 2003 European Year of Persons with Disabilities
could be an opportunity for such a proposal.
Maria Gigliola Toniollo of the largest Italian trade union CGIL
explained how they began ten years ago to combat discrimination
against LGBT people, and to cater especially for transgender people.
The statutes of CGIL were amended accordingly. And recently, an
office for "new rights" (Ufficio Nuovi Diritti) was established
within CGIL to address these issues. Her office does not only support
LGB and in particular transgender people but also focuses on awareness
raising among trade unionists who are not free from cultural biases.
Carola Towle of UNISON, the largest trade union in the UK, recalled
key principles of trade unionism, i.e. solidarity, justice and equality,
collective action and effective organisation. However, trade unions
also tend to be bureaucratic and slow to change. They reflect a
cross section of society and are thus not immune to prejudice. As
their work for equality is sometimes limited to gender and race
issues, the EC Employment Directive is an important step forward
since it deals with other grounds of discrimination and also calls
for collective agreements.
Barry Fitzpatrick of the Equality Commission of Northern Ireland
elaborated on external and internal factors relevant for collective
bargaining and equal opportunities.
Empowering LGBT Muslim communities in Europe
The objectives of the two workshops dealing with the LGBT Muslim
communities in Europe were: to raise understanding of non-Muslim
participants as to what it is like to be lesbian, gay, bisexual
and Muslim in a West European environment; and to look at ways in
which these communities can be empowered by the wider LGBT community
both at national and European level.
Suhraiya Jivraj, joint co-ordinator of the Safra Project in the
UK, gave a presentation on Islam, Islamic law, law and customs of
Muslim countries and about her project. Adnan Ali of Al-Fatiha UK
spoke about his experiences as a gay Muslim from Pakistan living
in the UK, both within the Muslim environment and the wider LGBT
community. Extensive background material was distributed in the
workshop and will be made available in the (electronic) conference
report at our web-site. Everybody interested in this subject is
recommended to read this very interesting material.
General assembly
The annual conference also serves as ILGA-Europe's general assembly
at which the Board presents its activity report for the past twelve
months for debate and adoption. The printed version of this 28-page
report can be ordered from our
office. Also were presented and adopted: the audited accounts
for the calendar year 2001, the budget
for the coming year and a detailed work
programme for the twelve months until the next annual conference
in October 2003. Treasurer Nigel Warner also gave an overview of
the current
financial situation of ILGA-Europe.
A new
Executive Board and the two representatives of the European
Region on the ILGA world board were also elected.
The Conference venue for 2004 was also decided. Delegates welcomed
the proposal of Háttér
Társaság a Melegekért to host the conference
in Budapest. However, it was emphasised that by 2004, the funding
base of ILGA-Europe might not yet be as diversified as we want to
be it. Should ILGA-Europe, in 2004, still depend upon the annual
Conference being counted as the main contribution to its co-financing
requirement under the EU core funding, Budapest can only be a viable
option if Hungary is an EU member by then. Or if we can otherwise
obtain permission to use our EU funding outside the EU for this
specific purpose. For the unlikely event that we cannot have the
Conference in Budapest for these reasons, our Austrian member organisation
HOSI Wien has kindly offered to host, together with Háttér,
the conference in nearby Vienna. Since EU Enlargement seems to go
ahead as planned, we are optimistic that there will not be any problems
to hold the 2004 conference in Budapest.
Lisbon was a very successful conference that could strike an extremely
positive balance for the activity year 2001/02. Next year's conference
will be held, as already decided in Rotterdam last year, in Glasgow,
and hosted by Stonewall
Scotland.
Appendix B
Workshops and Plenary Sessions
Plenary Sessions
The role of trades unions in implementing EU laws which prohibit
sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination in the workplace.
Discrimination in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation
and gender identity are
prohibited respectively by the Employment Directive and the
Equal Treatment Directive
for Women and Men. The Employment Directive must be implemented
at national
level by December 2003, while an Amended Equal Treatment Directive
is also due for
implementation at national level.
The panel session looked at the role of trades unions at the
different stages of
implementation. The Employment Directive requires governments
to take measures to
promote social dialogue between the two sides of industry (ie
employers and unions) to
encourage equal treatment. Some unions are already experienced
in addressing LGBT
rights; others have no history of this and have a steep learning
curve. The role of
unions is crucial:
- In bringing groups of LGBT workers together to identify key
discrimination issues
- In lobbying government from the perspective of LGBT members
to achieve the strongest transposition of the Directive into
national law
- In raising the awareness of employers and employees of the
new rights in this legislation, for protection from sexual orientation
discrimination and gender identity discrimination and for promotion
of equality in the workplace
- In making use of the legislation, once in place, to renegotiate
agreements to take proper account of LGBT workers, to promote
good workplace policies and practices and – where these fail
– to fight individual cases of discrimination.
Panel participants: Carola Towle (UNISON , UK), Cecile Le Clercq
(European Commission, Employment and Social Affairs DG), Dr Maria
Gigliola Toniollo (CGIL, Italy), Dr Barry Fitzpatrick (Equality
Commission for Northern Ireland). Representatives of Portuguese
trade unions will also be invited to the session.
Promoting the rights of LGBT people using the human rights policies
and mechanisms of the Council of Europe and European Union.
The speakers gave their views on the ways in which the Council
of Europe and European Union can promote LGBT rights, and the actions,
which the LGBT community can take to make the most of the opportunities
presented by these institutions.
Speakers: Peter Schieder, President of the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe; Joke Swiebel, Rapporteur for the European
Parliament on Human Rights in the European Union; Dr Robert Wintemute,
Reader in Law, School of Law, King’s College, London.
Workshops
Implementing protection from workplace discrimination at the
national level*
The EU’s Employment Directive is perhaps the most important
single piece of legislation in the history of our movement, requiring
more than 20 countries to bring in laws banning sexual orientation
discrimination at the workplace. ILGA-Europe is working to ensure
its effective implementation at national level. The workshop will
review progress in both the Member States and accession countries
since the Rotterdam conference, and discuss plans for further activity
on this front.
This workshop was given by Dr Mark Bell (Leicester University)
and Ailsa Spindler, ILGA-Europe Executive Director.
Supporting the capacity development of the LGBT movements in
Central and Eastern Europe and the Caucasus
In recent years there have been a number of successful co-operation
programmes between member organisations in Western and Eastern Europe,
supported by government funding. The workshop:
- Looked at the recent experience in one such co-operation programme
(COC/Netherlands, and Genderdoc/Moldova).
- Looked at developing a strategy for involving more West European
LGBT organisations and their governments in providing support
for LGBT organisations in CEE and the Caucasuses
It reviewed West European government funded programmes
for Human Rights development with Non-Governmental organisations
that could do the work (channel the funds) to East European groups.
There is a UK Human Rights Development fund. The work involves project
development and critical items are learning to do things the way
the locals do them (don’t import foreign values); remembering there
are significant cultural differences (e.g Trade Unions are not generally
thought of as progressive organisations in Eastern Europe) and noting
that change will take time.
Speakers: Dennis van der Veur (COC) and Maxim Anmeghichean (Genderdoc)
Lesbian organising in the Ibeian Peninsula
Lesbian organising is at very different stages in Portugal and
Spain: in the latter, there are many years of experience, while
in the former it is a relatively new development. The workshop looked
at the experiences in the two countries, and shared learning points
with workshop participants.
The workshop was given by Fabiola Netoe (Clube Safo, Portugal)
and Beatriz Gimeno, General Secretary of FELG, the Spanish Federation
of Lesbians and Gays.
Working to ensure maximum benefit for transgendered people from
EU laws prohibiting discrimination based on gender*
Following a judgment of the European Court of Justice, gender identity
discrimination counts as gender discrimination for the purposes
of EU law.
Gender discrimination in employment is illegal under the EU’s Equal
Treatment Directive (sex discrimination). A recently revised version
of this Directive (the "Amended Equal Treatment Directive (sex
discrimination)") must now be implemented at national level,
giving the opportunity to campaign for specific reference to gender
identity discrimination in national legislation. Gender discrimination
in areas outside employment, such as goods and services, health,
housing etc, is also to be prohibited under a draft Directive put
forward by the Commission. The legislative process around the Directive
gives the opportunity to campaign for the inclusion of a specific
reference to gender identity discrimination in this Directive –
if successful, a "first" in international law.
The workshop:
- Summarised the European Court of Justice case referred to
above.
- Looked at the important opportunities offered by these directives
for enhancing the rights of transgendered persons throughout
the European Union and the accession countries, and at ILGA-Europe’s
plans for making the most of these opportunities.
This workshop was given by Dr Mark Bell (Leicester University).
EU Enlargement*
ILGA-Europe and its member organisations in the accession countries
have, for several years, been working to use the process of Enlargement
to fight against sexual orientation discrimination in the accession
countries. A key part of this work has been documentation of discrimination.
The workshop:
- Summarised developments so far, including initiatives taken
by MEP’s and the European Commission.
- Reviewed the findings of discrimination surveys carried out
in a number of countries, including the Baltic States, Poland,
Malta and Slovakia during the last year.
- Considered lessons learnt so far, and looked at future plans.
This involved a report back on a series of attitudinal
surveys into LGBT rights and activities in EU Accession countries:
Czech Republic; Malta; Latvia; Lithuania and Estonia. These surveys
are being used to bring pressure on these governments because Non-Discrimination
in terms of Sexual Orientation is a key issue for accession. The
surveys generally show a reduction in legal discrimination but a
high level of day-to-day public harassment with multiple discrimination
common. Information was also presented from Poland, Hungary and
Slovakia. The International Gay & Lesbian Youth Organisation
circulated a report which covered a number of Eastern European countries
and focussed on the particular needs of young LGBT people.
The workshop was given by (Ivo Prochazka (Czech Republic), Christian
Attard (Malta), Eduardas Platovas (Lithuania), and Nigel Warner.
Organising within trades unions to work for LGBT rights
This workshop looked at the ways in which trades unions can
and should support their LGBT members:
- By adopting policies opposing sexual orientation and gender
identity discrimination and promoting equality, both within
the union and the workplace.
- By encouraging LGBT people to join and become active in their
unions.
- By supporting the development of LGBT groups within trade
unions.
- By negotiating for LGBT equality with employers.
- By monitoring both best and worst practice.
- By supporting and representing members’ where their rights
are breached.
The workshop was aimed primarily at those who are already union
members, although others were welcome. It was a practical workshop
that took at participants through the following stages:
- How would our ideal trade union be organised, to effectively
tackle LGBT issues?
- Where are we now? Mapping the current policies, organisation
and practices of the unions we belong to, in terms of work for
LGBT equality.
- Identifying targets for change – short, medium and long-term.
- Identifying allies and opportunities.
- Planning a strategy.
This workshop was given by Carola Towle, National Officer, UNISON
and Antonio Poveda (CGT, Spain).
Parenting rights under the European Convention on Human Rights
Since 1999, the European Court of Human Rights has given important
judgments on two key issues, custody and adoption rights. The applicants
in these two cases, Joao Mouta (Portugal), and Philippe Frettè
(France), were joined by Dr Robert Wintemute (School of Law, King’s
College, London), who helped with the legal preparation of Philippe
Frettè’s case, in a discussion of the legal implications
of the two cases, and of their personal experiences of fighting
discrimination in the courts. Peter Schieder, President of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe was present for the workshop.
From the Convention on the Future of Europe to the Inter-governmental
Conference 2004*
The Intergovernmental Conference 2004 is likely to result in profound
changes to the Treaties of the European Union. Issues which may
be addressed include new goals for the EU’s future, ensuring fundamental
rights for all citizens, finding a new balance between national
and EU politics, and increasing democracy and openness in the EU.
The process leading up to the adoption of the new Treaties will
provide important opportunities for pressing for LGBT rights. The
first stage of this process, the Convention on the Future of Europe,
is already well underway.
The workshop outlined the complete process up to the finalisation
of the Treaties, and described the key objectives which ILGA-Europe
has already set out in its submission to the Convention, followed
by a discussion on how we can campaign for the achievement of these
objectives.
The workshop was given by Dr Mark Bell (Leicester University).
Presentation of proposals on specific discrimination faced by
bisexuals and discussion of IE policy initiatives on behalf of bisexuals*
ILGA-Europe has commissioned a policy paper, which will:
- Identify the specific ways that bisexuals may face sexual
orientation discrimination in the context of the EC’s programme
to fight discrimination.
- Highlight those that are not already being addressed through
ILGA-Europe’s work on sexual orientation discrimination.
- Include recommendations to ILGA-Europe regarding its own procedures
as well as possible future actions.
The workshop received a presentation of the findings, which were
discussed, particularly with regard to the development of future
actions by ILGA-Europe.
This workshop was given by Dr Katrina Roen, author of the policy
paper.
Working within political parties for LGBT rights
This workshop looked at recent experiences of working for LGBT
rights within political parties in Portugal and Spain, and shared
learning points from these experiences for others interested in
this field.
The workshop was given by Sergio Vitorino (Grupo de Trabalho Homosexual,
Portugal) and Miquel A Fern`andez Garcia (PSOE LGBT group,
Spain).
ILGA-Europe’s finances, the development of ILGA-Europe, and
plans for fundraising*
This workshop looked at ILGA-Europe’s finances and development
as an organisation, and plans for fund-raising.
The workshop was presented by ILGA-Europe’s Treasurer, Nigel Warner.
Transnational Exchange Projects*
The EU’s Community Action Programme to Combat Discrimination
funds some
£4-5million of transnational anti-discrimination projects each
year. The workshop:
- Explained the background to Transnational Exchange Projects.
- Shared the experiences of participants in the first round
of projects.
- Discussed participation in second round of transnational projects
(which will be launched in early 2003).
- Collected feedback on the overall workings of the programme,
for passing to the Commission.
The workshop provided information about other EU funding Programmes,
such as the Daphne Programme. The EQUAL programme was dealt with
in workshop 14 below.
This reviewed EU Funding available for specific
projects under the Action Programme to Combat Discrimination. It
set out the aims of the programme and there was some detailed discussion
of specific projects. One key problem is that only 85% of the project
will be centrally funded, the balance must be raised locally. A
reasonable cross-section of partners is needed (i.e from various
anti-discrimination groups) but this increases the difficulties
of project management. The application process is complex and the
timescale for submitting applications is very short; anyone thinking
of applying for the next round needs to research the application
process thoroughly and select and quickly gain a good working rapport
with potential partners.
This workshop was given by Mette Vadstrup (ILGA-Europe) and representatives
of member organisations involved in transnational exchange projects.
Working for transgender rights at the European level*
This workshop invited all trans activists and everybody interested
in IE’s work on transgender to come and discuss future directions
of the transgender work already undertaken by ILGA-Europe. The workshop
fulfilled two aims: firstly, a skills workshop in identifying transgender
issues and on LGBT joint work. Secondly, an introduction to what
IE can potentially do in relation to transgender rights and the
development of a plan to form a European transgender network under
the umbrella of ILGA-Europe.
The workshop was given by Nico Beger (ILGA-Europe) and Armand Hotimsky
(Caritig-France).
EQUAL Sexualities at Work
In the European Community funded EQUAL programme there are just
four projects out of 1,510 dealing exclusively with sexual minorities
in the labour market. These four (one Finnish, two Swedish and one
Dutch) have created a transnational partnership "Equal Sexualities
at Work", to co-operate together against discrimination in
the workplace.
The workshop:
- Outlined the European Community’s EQUAL programme.
- Described the objectives of the Equal Sexualities at Work
partnership and of its four constituent projects.
- Considered plans for a mainstreaming conference aimed at setting
goals for lobbying at the EU level around combating sexual orientation
discrimination in the workplace.
- Encouraged other LGBT rights organisations to become active
in the field of employment rights.
This workshop was given by Anette Sjödin (Homosexuals and
Bisexuals in the Care System/RFSL-Sweden), Rolf Tengbratt (Normgiving
Diversity/Swedish police) and Arjos Vendrig (Enabling Safety for
LesBiGay Teachers/COC Netherlands).
Improving your fund-raising skills
Fund-raising skills are of vital importance to the success of LGBT
organisations. Ailsa Spindler, ILGA-Europe's’Executive Director
shared her experience as a professional fundraiser, with conference
participants.
Some perspectives on Islam and the experience of being lesbian,
gay, bisexual or transgender and Muslim in a West European environment
The objective of the workshop was to raise the understanding of
non-Muslim participants as to what it is like to be lesbian/gay/bisexual
and Muslim in a West European environment. There were two presentations:
- By Suhraiya Jivraj, the Joint Co-ordinator of the Safra Project
(UK), on the key findings of the Safra Project Social Policy
Report on the experiences of lesbian, bisexual and transgendered
women who identify as Muslim culturally or religiously.
- By Adnan Ali of Al Fatiha UK on his experience as a gay man
within the Muslim environment and as a Muslim within the LGBT/wider
community.
Developing legal protection in areas other than employment and
training*
An important long-term objective for ILGA-Europe is to persuade
the European Union to adopt legislation prohibiting sexual orientation
discrimination in areas outside employment such as the provision
of goods and services, health, housing etc. In 2001 ILGA-Europe
published a policy paper on this issue.
The workshop:
- Outlined the findings of the policy paper.
- Discussed ILGA-Europe’s plans for the campaigning for such
a directive.
The workshop was given by Ailsa Spindler, ILGA-Europe Executive
Director.
The situation in selected Central and East European countries
Speakers from Azerbaijan, Belarus, Croatia and the Russian Federation
gave information on the situation in their countries, their work
for LGBT rights, and the ways in which the European LGBT movement
can support the development of their communities.
Presentations were given by delegates from several countries and
a stunning video of the first ever Pride March in Croatia was shown.
The main group in Belarus has little funding and is not allowed
to register as a voluntary LGBT group but has managed to produce
some literature. A key issue amongst groups is the decision to register.
In Belarus those who stand out as LGBT are refused, whilst in Macedonia
the decision was taken to register as a Human Rights Group in order
that they could at least do some work. It’s very difficult to make
progress in these countries due to powerful anti-LGBT popular feeling
and discrimination is rife, especially in the workplace and with
police forces.
Empowering LGBT Muslim communities in Europe
This workshop looked at ways in which LGBT Muslim communities in
Europe could be empowered by the wider LGBT community both at national
and European level.
The speakers were Suhraiya Jivraj, the Joint Co-ordinator of the
Safra Project, Adnan Ali of Al Fatiha UK, Kenneth McRooy, COC (Netherlands)
and Nigel Warner (ILGA-Europe).
Asylum and Immigration*
The EU’s plans to harmonise its asylum and immigration laws, through
a whole series of new Directives, present numerous opportunities
to try to achieve equal rights for LGBT people in these fields.
Particularly important are two directives, one governing the free
movement of EU citizens, and the second proposing a common definition
of refugee status. Both provide opportunities to work for the recognition
of same-sex partners and their families in European asylum and immigration
law, while the latter opens up the possibility of gaining specific
recognition as refugees of people persecuted on the basis of sexual
orientation or gender identity.
The workshop:
- Summarised the EU’s plans for harmonisation of asylum and
immigration laws, and the current state of play.
- Reviewed ILGA-Europe’s and its member organisations’ campaigns
in this field so far.
- Looked at the continuing campaigns, which are still needed
if we are to make the most of the immense opportunities presented.
A presentation was given on the legal aspects of Asylum and Immigration
Law as it affects LGBT people. Sexual orientation is included as
a reason for asylum in the Refugee Status Proposal (2001) but not
gender identity or health status. The Free Movement proposal (2001)
relates to EU citizens only and ILGA-Europe lobbied hard on this
with most of its suggestions being accepted except for the definition
of LGBT couples as family units. The new Commission Rapporteur on
the Free Movement proposal is a member of Forza-Italia and is deeply
anti-gay, so care will have to be taken as to the material that
reaches the relevant Committees. There was a summary of the way
different member states dealt with refugees and immigrants from
non-EU countries.
This workshop was given by Dr Mark Bell (Leicester University)
and Ailsa Spindler, ILGA-Europe Executive Director.
The ILGA-Europe Work Programme*
An important piece of conference business was the review and agreement
of the Work Programme put forward by the board. This workshop reviewed
elements of the Work Programme not covered in other workshops, and
discussed any amendments proposed to the draft Work Programme.
This workshop was presented by ILGA-Europe co-chair, Jackie Lewis.
*Workshops dealing with aspects of ILGA-Europe’s work programme,
or other formal business, were able to make recommendations to the
final plenary session.
NEIL MACINNES
Secretary, Scottish Lesbian and Gay Committee
14 January
2003
UNISON Scotland Delegation:
Neil MacInnes, Linda Jackson, Maggie Murphy and Jim Mearns
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‘Recognising diversity, promoting equality’
ILGA-Europe’s 24th Annual Conference concludes in Lisbon
28 October 2002
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Yesterday ILGA-Europe members from 31 countries concluded
a successful conference in Lisbon, Portugal. 130 participants
were addressed by leading politicians from the host country
and further afield.
Isabel de Castro, Leader of the Portuguese Green Party,
and Jamila Madeira, Leader of the Socialist Youth Party,
joined Professor Miguel Vale de Almeida (Bloco Esquerda)
and Teresa Nogueira (President, Amnesty International Portugal)
to deliver opening keynote speeches. A later plenary session
was addressed by Joke Swiebel, the Dutch socialist MEP,
Rapporteur on Human Rights and Chair of the Gay and Lesbian
Rights Intergroup at the European Parliament, and by Peter
Schieder, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe.
Mr Schieder, who was also Patron of the conference, presented
certificates of appreciation to four campaigners who had
taken landmark cases to the European Court of Human Rights.
Jeff Dudgeon, Alecos Modinos, Joao Mouta and Philippe Fretté
were applauded by the conference for their courage in pursuing
legal actions against discrimination by their respective
governments on the grounds of their sexual orientation.
The conference theme of 'Recognising Diversity, Promoting
Equality' was reflected in a broad range of workshops. As
well as developing ILGA-Europe's plans for the years ahead,
conference participants took a special look at issues concerning
lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Muslims. Other
workshops explored LGBT issues in the Iberian Peninsula,
Eastern Europe and in the trades' union movement.
Speaking after the conference, ILGA-Europe's Executive
Director Ailsa Spindler said "The success of this conference
is a tribute to the commitment of the participants, the
expertise of the speakers, and the support of the Portuguese
LGBT community. The fight for equality throughout Europe
has never been more important, as the European Union enlargement
process moves on. Both existing Member States and candidate
countries must realise that LGBT rights are fundamental
human rights."
The conference received financial support from the European
Community, the Open Society Institute, the Heinrich Böll
Foundation (Berlin), Pink Cross (Switzerland) and COC Haaglanden.
Local support and sponsorship from Saga Travel, MuitaFruta.com
and other local businesses, together with assistance from
host organisation Opus Gay, helped to make the conference
a great success. Next year's ILGA-Europe conference will
be in Glasgow in October.
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© ILGA-Europe, 2002. Webmaster:
Olivier Collet.
Speech by Peter Schieder,
President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe,
at the ILGA Conference
"Recognising Diversity, Promoting Equality"
(Lisbon, 25 October 2002)
When I was elected President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe nine months ago, I declared that the protection
of lesbian and gay rights would be one of my priorities in office.
There were two simple reasons for such a decision.
Firstly, while Europe as a whole has seen some improvement in the
treatment of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered people
in recent years, progress has been uneven and in some countries
it is still practically non-existent. It is a sad truth that, even
today in Europe, people continue to be discriminated against on
the ground of their sexual orientation.
Secondly, in their struggle to defend and expand their rights,
lesbians and gays have had to rely almost exclusively on themselves.
There has been a persistent, and almost generalised, lack of commitment,
to recognise and defend their rights as an integral part of human
rights. I believe it is high time that Europe's lesbians and gays
receive greater support from institutions mandated to protect equality
and human rights at national and European level. I certainly intend
to do my utmost to make sure that the Parliamentary Assembly and
the Council of Europe as a whole meet their responsibilities in
this regard.
This being said, one must not forget that rhetoric alone is not
enough - it is long on the feel-good factor, but short on any practical
effect. I came here to Lisbon with a simple and clear objective:
to express my strong support for the protection of the rights of
lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgendered people, to inform you
of the recent work of the Assembly and the Council in this regard,
but also, and most importantly, to discuss with you concrete proposals
for the future - who shall do what, and when.
The record of the Council of Europe in the past two decades is
a mixed one. On one hand, it was the first international body to
speak up and act to protect the rights of lesbians and gays. On
the other hand, this progress - crucially important though it is
- was built through a succession of small and timid steps, which
did not always apply principles to the full, and which often sought
to placate persistent homophobic attitudes within some member states.
In spite of this, the progress made has been considerable, and
it should largely be attributed to the European Court of Human Rights
and the Parliamentary Assembly.
The Court and, in the past, also the European Commission for Human
Rights, handed down a series of ground-breaking judgments, recognising
that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation was a violation
of fundamental rights, and gradually expanding this general principle
to areas such as employment and child custody.
The decisions of the Court are of the greatest importance because
they oblige changes in national legislation which is found to be
incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
In the Parliamentary Assembly we do not only aim to change laws,
we also try to change attitudes. The Assembly brings together parliamentarians
from different backgrounds and of different political persuasions.
Their views reflect the predominant opinions within their part of
the electorate, be they progressive or conservative, tolerant or
marred with prejudice. In the debating chamber in Strasbourg they
express themselves freely, but they do so against the background
of the principles that our Organisation was set up to defend. This
is our best chance to move things forward, but one should not expect
miracles. It is always difficult to change people's views, and it
takes time.
Yet the Assembly has made steady progress. In 1981 it adopted its
ground-breaking Recommendation 924 on discrimination against homosexuals,
which condemned the continuous discrimination against and oppression
of homosexuals and recommended that Council of Europe of governments
take a number of concrete steps, including applying the same age
of consent as for heterosexuals and ensuring equal treatment with
regard to custody rights for children.
While from today's point of view the language and objectives of
the recommendation may seem outdated and inadequate, its importance
at the time should not be underestimated.
More recently, in year 2000, the Assembly adopted two texts - the
first one on the general situation of lesbians and gays in the Council
of Europe and the second one on their and their partners' situation
in respect of asylum and immigration in our member states.
Both recommendations are openly critical of the insufficient legal
protection given to gay and lesbian rights in many Council of Europe
member states, and they clearly state a number of principles revealing
the extent of the change in the Assembly's thinking since 1981.
To fully appreciate the importance of this change one must recall
that in 1981 the Council of Europe had twenty-one member states,
all from the western part of the continent. In the year 2000, it
had twenty more. Our unequivocal condemnation of any form of discrimination,
our calls for an equal age of consent, for the formal recognition
of homosexual partnerships, for an explicit reference to sexual
orientation as a ground for discrimination prohibited by the European
Convention on Human Rights - these were messages which were sent
to the Europe as a whole.
The educational role of the Assembly in this field may be oriented
towards the long term, but it is important.
We are consistently expanding the boundaries of human rights and
paving the way for further progress achieved through the decisions
of the European Court of Human Rights and the actions of member
states' governments.
In addition, the Assembly has imposed a number of legislative changes
on countries acceding to the Council of Europe. Respect for these
obligations is closely scrutinised through the Assembly's monitoring
procedure. Romania is an example of the concrete and positive results
of the Assembly's action.
On the other hand, I personally regret the fact that in our September
debate on the accession of Yugoslavia, an amendment calling to repeal
from the internal legislation all provisions discriminating against
homosexuals, failed to obtain the necessary majority. However, the
reason for the failed vote should not be attributed to homophobia
- even if some comments made in the hemicycle were absolutely unacceptable
- but rather to the lack of information.
I am certain that a proper and early briefing on the situation
in the country could have helped to avoid this situation. The absence
of a specific reference does not mean that we shall accept the presence
of discriminatory provisions in the legislation in our 45th member
state. This issue will be dealt with through Protocol 12 to the
European Convention on Human Rights which the Belgrade authorities
are obliged to sign upon accession and ratify within a year after.
Turning to the future, there are two major issues that have not
yet been covered by Assembly texts: full legal recognition of same-sex
couples by the state, including the right to marry, and the right
to be considered for the adoption of children.
I personally see no reason why people of the same sex should not
be allowed to marry. I also believe that what children awaiting
adoption really need is love, care and protection from responsible
adults.
In the world today, some are lucky to find new parents, many do
not. They become victims of prejudice and hypocrisy paraded as concern.
This being said, I will not conceal from you that the Assembly
remains divided on the issue of same-sex marriages and adoptions
by gays and lesbians. The opponents of a more liberal approach to
adoption would certainly bring up the Court decision in Fretté
versus France of February this year. You will recall that the Court
ruled that discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation in
the access to adoption of children by unmarried individuals did
not violate Article 14, combined with Article 8. The former is a
general clause on non-discrimination, the latter guarantees respect
for private and family life.
It must be made absolutely clear that the Assembly is free to make
recommendations which go beyond the Court's decisions, but holding
an Assembly debate on this issue too quickly could bring about a
vote which freezes the issue at the level of the lowest common denominator,
hampering future efforts to change the status quo.
What I suggest is that we proceed steadily, by disseminating information
and building support. ILGA should make a particular effort to be
present in Strasbourg and use its consultative status with the Council
of Europe to the full. Together with other structures representing
gays, lesbians and transgendered people it should provide information
and advice to rapporteurs and other members of the Assembly. I am
ready to offer any assistance in facilitating such contacts and
co-operation.
Finally, I believe we should pursue our efforts concerning Protocol
No. 12 to the European Convention on Human Rights.
I strongly regret that, against the opinion of the Assembly, the
Committee of Ministers did not include sexual orientation as a ground
for discrimination prohibited by the protocol. I must also admit
that I was disappointed with the governments' explanation of the
decision. In my view, they have, once again, shunned their responsibilities
by generating a cloud of ambiguous platitudes.
In the given circumstances we need to ensure that Protocol No.
12 enters into force as soon as possible. Our objective must be
its full application in all Council of Europe member states. As
of today, almost two years since the opening for signature, only
two countries - Cyprus and Georgia - have ratified the protocol.
Eight more ratifications are necessary before the protocol can enter
into force. Fifteen Council of Europe member states - Albania, Andorra,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Lithuania, Malta,
Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom
- have not yet even signed it!
The second task will be to ensure that the general prohibition
of discrimination contained in Protocol No. 12 is applied to all
forms of discrimination against gays and lesbians, be it a discriminatory
age of consent, discrimination in employment, social rights, custody
rights or others.
We have our work cut out. We cannot be satisfied with our governments'
proclaimed support for general principles of human rights, equality,
tolerance and justice. We need to ensure they translate this support
into explicit, specific, comprehensive and unequivocal commitments
to protect the rights of gays and lesbians in Europe.
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