AUTHORS
ANTONIA LANDWEHR, KAROLINA KISIEL & LISA JUNG
IN THIS BLOG WE’LL REPORT ON RELEVANT HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES THAT HAVE OCCURRED IN THE LAST WEEK AND THEIR RELEVANCE. THIS WEEK’S THEME IS LGBTQ-RIGHTS WHICH ARE UNDER ATTACK IN SEVERAL COUNTRIES.
THE HUNGARIAN BAN ON SAME-SEX ADOPTION
IN HUNGARY, THE GOVERNMENT PLANS TO INTRODUCE A LAW THAT BANS SAME-SEX ADOPTION. SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IS CURRENTLY STILL ILLEGAL IN HUNGARY. ADOPTION IS ONLY POSSIBLE IF ONE OF THE PERSONS INVOLVED IN A RELATIONSHIP, THAT IS NOT A MALE-FEMALE, APPLIES FOR ADOPTION AS ‘SINGLE’. THE EMPHASIS HAS BEEN PUT ON CHILDREN’S RIGHTS BEING AT STAKE IN CASE SAME-SEX COUPLES WOULD BE ALLOWED TO ADOPT. THIS HAS BEEN CONDEMNED BY MANY HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANISATIONS. HUNGARY`S GOVERNMENT, LED BY PRIME MINISTER VIKTOR ORBÁN, HAS MADE CHANGES TO THE CONSTITUTION SINCE COMING TO POWER IN 2010. IN MAY HUNGARY`S PARLIAMENT APPROVED A HORRIBLE LAW THAT BANNED TRANSGENDER PEOPLE FROM CHANGING THE GENDER. IT WAS HEAVILY CRITICISED THAT THE HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT DELIBERATELY DRAFTED THE LAW WHEN PROTEST WERE NOT POSSIBLE DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC.
THE CURRENT PROPOSAL HAS BEEN SENT TO PARLIAMENT BY THE GOVERNING RIGHT-WING FIDESZ PARTY ON TUESDAY EVENING, BEFORE TOUGH CORONAVIRUS RESTRICTIONS TOOK EFFECT ON WEDNESDAY. THIS IS YET ANOTHER MEASURE IN WHICH HUNGARY HAS INCREASED ITS ANTI-LGBT RHETORIC THROUGHOUT COVID-19 PANDEMIC. IT SPECIFIES THAT THERE SHOULD BE A FATHER (MAN) AND MOTHER (WOMAN), INVOLVED IN ADOPTION PROCEDURES. ADDITIONALLY, ONLY MARRIED COUPLES CAN ADOPT A CHILD, AND SINGLE PEOPLE ONLY IN CASE THEY HAVE SPECIAL PERMISSION FORM THE MINISTER IN CHARGE OF FAMILY AFFAIRS. CURRENTLY, THERE IS ALSO A PROPOSAL FOR A CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT REQUIRING CHILDREN TO BE RAISED WITH A CHRISTIAN INTERPRETATION OF GENDER ROLES. THIS PROPOSAL WAS ADDITIONALLY CRITICISED FOR LIMITING THE POTENTIAL ADOPTERS, THUS LEAVING MANY FOSTER KIDS WITHOUT PARENTS. HUMAN RIGHTS GROUPS WERE FURIOUS GIVEN THAT IT IS YET ANOTHER ATTACK AGAINST THE LGBTQ-COMMUNITY.
DISAPPROVAL OF LGBTQ’S IN DUTCH SCHOOLS
DUTCH MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND MEDIA ARIE SLOB, HAS BEEN HEAVILY CRITICISED THIS WEEK WHEN HE STATED IN A DEBATE IN THE DUTCH HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES THAT REFORMED CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS ARE CONSTITUTIONALLY FREE TO ASK PARENTS TO SIGN A STATEMENT REJECTING HOMOSEXUALITY. HE SAID THAT THIS IN PRACTICE WILL NOT LEAD TO DISCRIMINATION IN CASE A ‘SAFE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT’ IS ENSURED. MANY HAVE SAID THAT IT IS ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE FOR SCHOOLS TO TREAT PUPILS BASED ON THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION. LISA WESTERVELD (GROENLINKS PARTY) CALLED IT A PARADOX: “UNRESTRAINED FREEDOM CAN IN THE END LEAD TO A LACK OF FREEDOM”, AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING. SCHOOLS SHOULD BE EXERCISING THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS, ALSO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS OF THE LGBTQ-COMMUNITY. IN THE PAST, GEERT WILDERS HAS BEEN CONVICTED FOR INSULTING AN ETHNIC GROUP AND ENCOURAGEMENT OF DISCRIMINATION CONCERNING HIS ‘LESS MOROCCANS’ STATEMENT WHICH HE MADE DURING A GATHERING OF THE PVV PARTY. DUTCH PUBLIC PROSECUTION DOES NOT YET HAVE AN OPINION ON WHETHER ARIE SLOB’S COMMENTS ARE ALSO PUNISHABLE BASED ON CRIMINAL LAW. IN THE NETHERLANDS, COMMENTS MADE IN PARLIAMENT (HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES) OFTEN ENJOY IMMUNITY FROM CRIMINAL PROSECUTION. IT THEREFORE REMAINS TO BE SEEN WHETHER ACTION WILL BE TAKEN BASED ON THESE STATEMENTS BY MINISTER SLOB.
PENALISING LGBTQ-MARCHES IN POLAND
KAJA GODEK, ONE OF THE MOST PROMINENT PRO-LIFE ACTIVISTS IN POLAND, HAS GATHERED SIGNATURES FOR THE SO-CALLED ANTI-LGBTQ BILL WHOSE MAIN AIM IS TO PENALISE LGBTQ MARCHES IN POLAND. THE BILL HAS BEEN ALREADY INTRODUCED TO THE PARLIAMENT ON THE 9TH OF NOVEMBER. IF IT IS LAID DOWN, APART FROM CRIMINALISING THE ORGANISATION OF THE PRIDES, SEVERAL OTHER ISSUES ARE GOING TO BE INTRODUCED. AMONG THEM IS THE DE-LEGALISATION OF THE PROMOTION OF GENDER AS THE ENTITY INDEPENDENT FROM THE BIOLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND THE LEGAL SOLUTIONS AIMING TO PRIVILEGE SAME-SEX RELATIONSHIPS. IN OTHER WORDS, LEGALLY, PEOPLE WILL NO LONGER BE ABLE TO SHOW SUPPORT FOR THE NON-HETEROSEXUAL INDIVIDUALS IN SOCIETY. THIS IS THE VIOLATION OF BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS, INCLUDING, AMONG OTHERS, FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND FREEDOM AS AN ASSEMBLY. THE EUROPEAN UNION IS TRYING TO STOP THE EASTERN EUROPEAN MEMBER STATES FROM ADVANCING THESE TYPES OF DISCRIMINATORY MEASURES, BUT ITS LEGAL POWERS ARE QUITE LIMITED UNFORTUNATELY. ON 12 NOVEMBER, THE EU UNVEILED POLICIES TO STRENGTHEN THE RIGHTS OF LGBTQ’S. THESE PROPOSALS APPEAR TO BE AIMED PARTICULARLY AT HUNGARY AND POLAND, WHICH IS HIGHLY DEMANDED AS SEEN IN THE THIS WEEK’S BLOG ARTICLES. THE PROPOSAL ENTAILS THE PROTECTION OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGES IN ALL MEMBER STATES AND OPENING UP MORE FUNDING FOR ORGANISATIONS WHICH PROMOTE EQUALITY. THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION WOULD CLASSIFY THE PROPOSALS IN HUNGARY AND POLAND AS HATE CRIMES AND HOMOPHOBIC SPEECH. WHILE THE NEED IS HIGH FOR THESE TYPES OF POLICIES, THE QUESTION WHETHER THESE NEW POLICIES WILL ACTUALLY BE ACCEPTED BY ALL THE MEMBER STATES IS DIFFERENT STORY.
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