Press Release, for immediate release
Tuesday 4 February 2014
Ireland’s independent human rights watchdog the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) welcomed the adoption today (Tuesday 4 February 2014) by the EU Parliament of a resolution calling on the EU to create a “roadmap” to combat homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.
The Parliament’s resolution, passed today in Strasbourg by 394 votes to 176 (with 72 abstentions) expressed strong regret that the fundamental rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people are not fully protected in the European Union. It called on the European Commission, EU member states and EU agencies to adopt policies to combat homophobia along similar lines to existing measures combating discrimination on the basis of sex, disability or ethnicity.
Commenting on the adoption of the anti-homophobia resolution, ICCL Director Mr. Mark Kelly said:
“Like all forms of discrimination, homophobia can take on many shapes – from the subtle to the extreme. And like all forms of discrimination, homophobia of all types must be combated through a range of concrete measures, including legislative, political and educational”
“In many parts of Europe, including Ireland, the last bastions of institutionalized homophobia are being slowly but surely abolished, and their defenders are an increasingly marginal and unrepresentative few. However, other states in the EU and the Council of Europe have an even longer journey to make on the road to equality for LGBTI people. This resolution is a welcome step in this direction.”
ENDS
For further information:
Walter Jayawardene
Communications Manager
Irish Council for Civil Liberties
Mob: +353 87 9981574
E-mail: walter.jayawardene@iccl.ie
NOTE
– The European Parliament’s press release on the resolution can be read at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/content/20140203IPR34507/html/Parliament-calls-for-EU-roadmap-to-protect-fundamental-rights-of-LGBTI-people
– The resolution as it was adopted, dated 4.2.2014, will shortly be uploaded to the EU parliament website at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/plenary/en/texts-adopted.html