ILGA gains UN ECOSOC consultative status

With 29 votes in favour, 14 against and 5 abstentions, the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) granted today consultative status to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA)
http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/n5GebHB1PY

Debate at UN on July 25 2011 regarding ILGA's ECOSOC application
In the discussion on non-governmental organizations, speakers expressed concerns in regard to the functioning of the United Nations Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations
http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/n5LT7nR1rI

The United States applauds today’s decisions at the United Nations ECOSOC to overturn the Committee on NGOs and grant consultative status to ILGA
Statement by Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative, on the United Nations Economic and Social Council Decision to Grant Consultative Status to Three NGOs
http://ilga.org/ilga/en/article/n5LP8Ix15B

Geneva, 25 July 2011

Mapping LGBT Rights and Protection

The ‘Rainbow Europe’ map has been produced by Ilga-Europe and reflects the legal situation for lgbt people in Europe such as protection from discrimination, recognition of LGB families and parenting rights, inclusion of sexual orientation in hate speech/crime legislation. The map also highlights areas of ‘Rainbow Europe’ where there is still criminalisation of consenting same-sex acts, unequal age of consent and where Pride events have been banned during the last 10 years.

Advances:

• 2 countries’ constitutions refers to sexual orientation in their anti-discrimination provisions
• 13 countries and 1 territory bans sexual orientation in employment
• 25 countries and 5 territories ban sexual orientation discrimination in employment, access to good and services
• 15 countries refer to sexual orientation in hate speech/crime legislation
• 5 countries allow same-sex partners to marry
• 13 countries and 2 territories allow same-sex partners to register their partnerships
• 13 countries recognise cohabitation of same-sex partners
• 9 countries entitle same-sex partners to apply for joint adoption
• 11 countries allow second partners adoption
• 10 countries provide fertility treatment for lesbian couples

Areas of discrimination and inequality:

• 2 countries and 3 territories still have unequal age consent for consenting sexual acts between adult men
• 1 territory still criminalises consenting sexual acts between adult men
• 8 countries banned LGBT public events during the last 10 years

The Rainbow Europe map can be downloaded here.

ILGA produces a map of the world.

United Nations - LGBT Victory for Inclusion

The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) have granted consultative status to two groups that work on sexual orientation and gender identity which is a victory in the ongoing struggle for inclusion at the UN.

The two groups approved on July 21 and 22, 2008 are COC Netherlands and the State Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transexuals and Bisexuals of Spain (FELGTB), national organizations representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Netherlands and Spain.

"COC Netherlands is delighted about obtaining consultative status with the UN," said Björn van Roozendaal, COC international advocacy officer. "It means we can join the efforts at the UN to address human rights violations against people with an alternative sexual orientation or gender identity."

"Spanish-speaking LGBT voices will be heard in UN meetings where human rights questions are debated," said David Montero, FELGTB Spain's officer for international issues and human rights. "We thank all who have contributed to this exciting outcome, and especially Spain's UN mission for their support."

Consultative status is a key means for civil society to access the UN system. It allows non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to deliver oral and written reports at UN meetings, and to organize events on UN premises. With it, these groups can share their information and analysis of the abuses and discrimination LGBT people confront around the world.

Only a handful of LGBT groups have received the status. In recent years, some states have treated LGBT groups' applications with intense hostility, and ECOSOC has only granted such groups consultative status after first overturning negative recommendations from its NGO Committee. ECOSOC approved the Danish National Association for Gay and Lesbians, the European Region of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA-Europe), and the Lesbian and Gay Federation in Germany in December 2006. The Gay and Lesbian Coalition of Québec and the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights gained consultative status in July 2007. The US-based International Wages Due Lesbians and Australian-based Coalition of Activist Lesbians have had consultative status at the UN for more than a decade.

At its January session, the committee tied 7-7 on consultative status for FELGTB Spain, meaning the motion to recommend it failed, but at the following session in June it voted 7-6 to grant the status for COC Netherlands.

At the July session in New York, ECOSOC adopted by consensus the recommendation on COC Netherlands and voted to overturn the recommendation not to grant status to FELGTB Spain. "ECOSOC has recognized the place of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people in the work of the United Nations," said John Fisher from ARC International, which supported the groups' advocacy efforts.

"States from all five regions voted to overturn the negative recommendation from the NGO Committee in regards to FELGTB Spain," said Philipp Braun, co-secretary general of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA). "We would like the committee to acknowledge the repeated message sent by ECOSOC that it should recommend LGBT groups. We also congratulate our members COC and FELGTB on their victory."

"Many states claim that ECOSOC's votes need to follow the recommendations of its NGO Committee; the view of those who voted in favor of the LGBT groups, however, is that this cannot be done at the price of discriminating against anyone, including LGBT voices," noted Adrian Coman from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), who participated in monitoring the ECOSOC and NGO Committee meetings.

The NGO Committee is due to review a number of additional applications from LGBT groups at its next two sessions in January and May 2009.

A full list of states' voting patterns during the current ECOSOC session can be found here.

European Union Transgender and Transsexual Duiscrimination and Inequality Study

Press for Change are carrying out a major research project research project for ILGA and TGEU to document and compare the conditions for trans people across Europe. They need as many trans people as possible across Europe to complete an online survey about their own experiences. The survey is available in 13 different European languages.
PLEASE ask ALL of your TRANS friends, including part-time cross dressers (transvestites), full time cross-dressers, travestie, transgender, transsexual, bi or a-gendered and poly gendered people - and anyone in between to complete this questionnaire, no matter whether they are having medical treatment or not. BUT each person must only complete it ONCE.
People should feel free to use whichever translation of the survey they prefer.
Where some words or phrases may not be the usual ones preferred in a country, please try to tolerate this and still answer the survey questions.
The online survey is available at: http://www.pfc.org.uk/node/1524
Please fill it in as soon as possible.
Any questions email : survey@pfc.org.uk

Budapest Pride

On Saturday 7th July 2007, I with members of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA-Europe) attended the Pride march in Hungary’s capital, Budapest, accompanied by skinheads and fascists who massed along the 7km (4.3 mile) route. The Hungarian National Front and the Movement for a Better Hungary had organised themselves well and even surprised the police. They threw eggs, smoke bombs, Molotov cocktails and bottles filled with sand at us. Some of them tried to infiltrate the march. "The counter-demonstrators continuously shouted: "faggots into the Danube, followed by the Jews," "soap factory" and "filthy faggots." Not understanding Hungarian, myself and my friends were oblivious to what they were saying and smiled sweetly back in defiance not trying to show how scared we really were.

Unfortunately, it appeared that the police had not estimated the number of counter demonstrators who were going to turn up and were unable to contain them but on a positive note were at least there to protect the lgbt participants. When the march finished we were hurdled into an enclosure where the freedom party was to be held. We had to leave to attend a meeting which was lucky as we hard that once the police left, some of the fascists returned which meant it was not safe for people to leave. We also heard that later that evening almost a dozen gay people were set upon and beaten.The Budapest Mayor Gabor Demszky and his political party, The Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ), totally condemned the violence, calling the homophobic attackers "intolerant, primitive and cowardly. On these occasions, I consider myself Jewish, Roma and gay," he said. Mr Demszky has been mayor of the city since 1990. ILGA also condemned the actions of the police"We consider the actions of the police extremely negligent as all these crimes could be foreseen, yet the police did not make preparations to prevent them. Violent attacks could be expected in a situation where a provocative extremist group organises a counter demonstration against the pride march.” Budapest Pride was an experience and I now know what it feels like to have to evade a missile because of my sexual orientation or gender identity. It was very frightening but I am glad that I was there in solidarity with my Hungarian lgbt brothers and sisters.