A guide to combat homophobia distributed to EU ambassadors

(BRUSSELS2) COPS ambassadors, European Union ambassadors and EU heads of missions around the world have all received (or will all receive shortly) a small memo of around twenty pages alerting them ( and asking them to alert) in the event of violations of the fundamental rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals (LGBT).

This is to allow the EU  "to react at an early stage to human rights violations committed against LGBT people and to address the structural causes that underlie them", is it explained. "Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are a vulnerable group and continue to be the victims of persecution, discrimination and blatant ill-treatment, often involving extreme forms of violence. In several countries, sexual relations between consenting adults of the same sex are considered a crime punishable by imprisonment or the death penalty.

A grid for reading cases of violations

This document summarizes the main existing legal instruments - Community and international -. It recalls the main lines of action of the EU in the world: decriminalization, equality and non-discrimination, support and protection of human rights defenders.

This document is accompanied by a very concrete reading grid, making it possible to assess the violations: are sexual relations between consenting persons punishable by death? Are LGBT people the target of extrajudicial executions? Are they victims of torture by the police or security forces? Legal and effective protection against discrimination, right to public demonstrations ("gay pride"), freedom to publish newspapers or program radio-TV broadcasts? Age difference for heterosexual/homosexual sexual majority? Possibility for transgender people to change the indication of their sex in official documents, to benefit from all the rights of their new sex, including the right to marry? Etc...

A constant watch

This document asks EU headquarters and missions to use the analytical elements to "monitor the situation of fundamental rights of LGBT persons in the country concerned". He recommends them, among other things, to:identify individual cases of manifest violation of fundamental rights", "detail the measures taken or planned to combat the violations"(procedures, raising the issue in a political dialogue, financing measures),"propose and make public representations and statements on (these) issues","attend hearings and clearly demonstrate support during legal proceedings","contact public prosecutors or law enforcement authorities to request permission to visit LGBT people in detention","include information on the situation of LGBT people in various information documents and reports".

(Nicolas Gros-Verheyde)