Date: Wed, 15 Nov 1995 15:05:04 -0100 (CET) From: "" News from the International Lesbian Gay Association (ILGA) -November 15, 1995 =============================================================== CHILE: Representatives of Chilean gay and lesbian organizations are scheduled to meet members of the Chilean parliament on November 16, 1995 to discuss proposals to decriminalize homosexuality in Chile. The meeting is coinciding with the IV Panamerican Conference on AIDS which is taking place in Santiago. Various laws criminalize homosexual activity in Chile including Article 365 of the Penal Code which criminalizes sodomy, and Law 11.625 of 1954 which considers homosexual acts as "acts against nature," immoral, sinful and inherent to sick individuals. In January of this year, the government of Chile presented to the parliament a project of modification of the Chilean Penal Code, and at that time, various members of parliament formulated a proposal to modify laws criminalizing homosexuality. Lobbyists such as Jeffrey Stanton of Proyecto Lambda of Colombia, head of ILGA's AIDS Working Party will argue that not only are the rights of gay men and lesbians recognized in many countries around the world, and that the United Nations Human Rights Committee recognized in the Toonen decision the right to privacy and equality for homosexuals, but men who have sex with men are more at risk of AIDS and HIV infection in a context where they are stigmatized and discriminated against. More news to follow after the meeting... BELGIUM: The City of Antwerp this week stated that they will officially open a register from the 1st of January 1996 where people can register themselves as living together regardless of whether they are same sex or different sex couples. The aim is to push the federal government to adopt a registered partnership law at the national level. The cities of Gent, Oostende and Mechelen are also considering proposals, reported ILGA member groups Tel-Quels and FWH, who are the two co-hosts of the ILGA Administrative Office in Brussels. SPAIN: ILGA Member group, Coordinadora Gai Lesbiana of Catalunya, host group for ILGA's new secretary general, Jordi Petit, reports on a historic advance for the gay and lesbian movement in Spain. The new Penal Code that was ratified on November 8th by the Congress of Deputies contains and recognizes the right of sexual orientation as a fundamental liberty that will be protected under this new law. After a long campaign, begun in 1989 with the Juan Reina case (the first gay to claim inheritance rights from his deceased companion) and after the support of numerous persons and institutions, sexual orientation for the first time in the history of Spain is protected as a fundamental human right, as equally recognized as ethnicity, sex and religion. IRELAND: Sexual orientation was recently recognized as a legitimate grounds under which one can claim political asylum, reports ILGA-member, the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) of Dublin. ========================================= ILGA Press Release: 15 November 1995 "The guarantee of democracy: equality between people and the right to be different" Proof of Genetic Homosexuality no easy solution to discrimination In relation to the recent investigations by scientist Dean Hamer, who published findings in the magazine "Nature Genetics" saying that the sexual orientation of men could be determined by certain genes of chromozone X, Jordi Petit and Inge Wallaert, Secretaries-General of the International Lesbian Gay Association, commented, "We don't object to scientific study, although the interest in finding an explanation for homosexuality can be based in prejudice and discrimination, considering that so many other questions concerning human beings are not investigated with the same persistence. In any case, whatever reason might be found for the origin of homosexuality, there is no denying the practical existence of homosexuality throughout history in all places and cultures. The possible biological determinism of sexual orientation does not add anything new to the lives of lesbians and gay men and will not be much different from other biological differences such as colour of skin or eyes or hair... Equality is the guarantee of the right to be different It is precisely science that has clarified with the Kinsey report that up to 37% of the population has practised homosexuality with greater or less frequency during their lives and for that reason, Dean Hamer's findings are certainly plausible. However, these findings have ideological consequences. Could they be used by those wanting to eliminate the gay gene? Can these findings stop discrimination? No. The only guarantee of a democratic society is the recognition of diversity and the defense of the right to be different as a basis of equality between people in a modern democracy with basic fundamental human rights. Recently, various institutions such as the OCSE, and before that the European Parliament, have condemned discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. This has been recognized in the new Spanish Penal Code which was ratified on the 8th of November by the Congress of Deputies; similar measures have been approved in other democratic countries. No one must forget that we are in the midst of the 50th anniversary of the liberation of nazi camps where the holocaust took place killing different people for their race, ideology, sexual orientation, religion or handicap. We must remember that any discriminatory use of science could be a great abuse and insult to the most fundamental basic human rights. ========================================== ILGA is a federation of over 450 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered group and individual members from all over the world. It has existed since 1978 and serves to fight against discrimination of any kind against lesbians, gay men, bisexual and transgendered people at the international level. For more information, contact: ilga@glo.be, or write to ILGA Kolenmarkt 81 1000 Brussels BELGIUM phone/fax: 32-2-502-2471 ****************************************************************************** To send a message to the entire list "queerplanet", email queerplanet@abacus.oxy.edu This list is run by the program MAJORDOMO@abacus.oxy.edu. *******************************************************************************