Council of Europe condemns attacks on LGBTQ rights
The Council of Europe has come out with a report that condemns the attacks on LGBTQ rights, citing in particular UK, Hungary, Poland, Turkey, and the Russian Federation.
The report, which was passed by the Parliament Assembly with a vote of 72-12, “condemns with particular force the extensive and often virulent attacks” on the rights of LGBTQ people occurring for several years.
“The significant advances achieved in recent years are today under threat,” the report said.
It added: “It is crucial to react quickly in order to prevent further backsliding and work actively to promote full respect for the rights of LGBTI people.”
Council of Europe’s condemnation on attacks
Written by General Rapporteur on LGBT+ rights Fourat Ben Chikha, UK had been criticized in the report for the growth of “highly prejudicial anti-gender, gender-critical and anti-trans narratives.”
The report noted that these narratives reduce the fight for LGBTQ equality to “what these movements deliberately mischaracterise as ‘gender ideology’ or ‘LGBTI ideology’.”
Viktor Orban, Hungary’s leader, was slammed for trying to impose a Section 28-style ban on the portrayal of LGBTQ people in media that’s visible to children.
Meanwhile, Poland’s hard-right government was criticized by human rights organizations for their imposition of “LGBT-free zones.”
The Council of Europe is a separate institution from the EU and is composed of 47 member-states across Europe. It’s Parliamentary Assembly is composed of 324 parliamentarians from across the member-states.
While their recommendations are not legally binding, they can apply political pressure on governments.
UK reps try to remove mention in the report
During the deliberation of the report, UK delegates– led by Labour MPs Tonia Antoniazzi, Kate Osamor and Ruth Jones– tried to push for the removal of mentions of UK from the resolution.
However, they were defeated with a vote of 61-23. The UK delegates were officially appointed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and reflects the party composition at the House of Commons.
Other amendments to the resolution were tabled by the MPs and withdrawn without a vote. These amendments would have erased the mention of “gender critical” ideology.
This would have then be replaced with: “The Assembly notes the ongoing debate in the United Kingdom and elsewhere over sex and gender, and expresses concern at the impact on vulnerable individuals.”
The report also cited Kemi Badenoch MP, then minister for equalities, having stated in 2021: “We do not believe in self-identification.” This, the report noted, “denies trans identities.”
UK was cited together with Cyprus, Germany, and Finland as among those where government commitments to “simplify access to legal gender recognition” had not been followed through on.