Subject: EuroLetter 44 / Septermber 1996
From: [email-masked]
Date: Wed, 18 Sep 1996 21:38:13 +0200 (METDST)

EURO-LETTER No. 44
September 1996

THE EURO-LETTER IS PUBLISHED ON BEHALF OF ILGA - THE INTERNATIONAL LESBIA=
N AND=20
GAY ASSOCIATION - BY GAY AND LESBIAN INTERNATIONAL LOBBY. EDITORS: STEFFE=
N=20
JENSEN, KEN THOMASSEN, PETER BRYLD AND LISBETH ANDERSEN =20

Contact to Euro-Letter:
E-mail: [email-masked]=20
URL: http://www.inet.uni-c.dk/~steff
Fax: +45 2036 7856=20
Tel: +45 3124 6435 Mobile: +45 2033 0840
Mail: c/o Steffen Jensen, Gl. Kongevej 31, 4.th, DK-1610
Copenhagen V, Denmark =20
You can receive Euro-Letter by e-mail
(send a message to the above adress) and from no 30 onwards the
Euro-Letters are avaiable on the Internet at these adresses:
http://fglb.qrd.org:8080/fqrd/assocs/ilga/euroletter.html
http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/orgs/ILGA/euroletter
http://gopher.seta.fi =20
You can find a link to Euro-Letters at
http://www.inet.uni-c.dk/~steff=20

IN THIS ISSUE
* ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT INCREASES PERSECUTION OF HOMOSEXUALS
* ROMANIAN CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES HAS VOTED "NO" TO DECRIMINALIZE
  CONSENSUAL HOMOSEXUAL ACTS BETWEEN ADULTS
* ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN AGAINST ROMANIA
* LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF ROMANIAN CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES
* EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP
* INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON  TRADE UNIONS, HOMOSEXUALITY AND
  WORK IN 1998 IN AMSTERDAM
* IMPROVEMENTS FOR EU STAFF
* NETHERLANDS:  PROPOSES TINY CONCESSIONS
* OSCE REVIEW CONFERENCE IN VIENNA
* EU BUDGET AND FUNDING POSSIBILITIES
* LIST OF SIGNATORIES TO THE ILGA IGC STATEMENT
* POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS AT A NATIONAL LEVEL IN EUROPE

The Survey on the Legal Situation for Gays and Lesbians in
Europe can be found on this URL:
http://www.inet.uni-c.dk/~steff/survey.htm

ROMANIAN PARLIAMENT INCREASES PERSECUTION OF HOMOSEXUALS
ILGA Press release 12 September 1996

Increased persecution of homosexualsRomanian Parliament ignores
Council of Europe's advise. Human Rights Organizations called
"degenerates". European Parliament estimated to be 35% homo.

On Tuesday, 10 September 1996, the Romanian Parliament agreed to
a change in the Romanian criminal code which severely INCREASES
the punishment for homosexual acts. In a surprise move,
homosexuality becomes a criminal act under all circumstances.
The previously proposed "Paragraph 200" made homosexuality
punishable when it constituted a "public nuisance." It was
feared by activists that this paragraph would be used by
authorities to harass lesbians and gay men. Protest actions
against Paragraph 200 have already been initiated by ILGA,
Amnesty International and the International Gay Lesbian Human
Rights Commission (IGLHRC).

This latest development brings far worse news: the possibility
of from six months to three years incarceration for homosexual
acts committed in private and from one to five years
imprisonment, if such acts constitute a public nuisance.

The Parliamentary Assemby of the Council of Europe, as well as
the European Parliament, have strongly urged member states to
change their legislation to end discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation, and Romania, as a member of the Council of
Europe since 1993, has been specifically asked to decriminalize
homosexuality. Romania is the only state in the Council of
Europe that criminalizes homosexuality.

In the voting, 165 Mps voted for the new harsher measures,
twenty were against, and eleven abstained. During the debate,
When an allusion was made to the stated positions of
international human rights groups, one Deputy referred to those
groups as "organizations of degenerates."  One Deputy estimated
that 35% of members of the European Parliament are homosex-
uals.=20

Because the chamber's version differs from that of the senate,
another meeting is required to finalize document, but this could
happen as soon as next week. ILGA is preparing an ILGA e-mail
action alert. We ask you all to be on the alert at the moment
for more news, and ready to participate in e-mail actions, and
mail and fax actions.

THE ROMANIAN CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES HAS VOTED "NO" TO DECRIMINALIZE
CONSENSUAL HOMOSEXUAL ACTS BETWEEN ADULTS
By Scott Long

The Romanian Chamber of Deputies voted today on Art. 200 of the
Penal Code.  This comes in the wake of a vote in the Senate last
month.  Since the Chamber's version differs from the Senate's,
this vote does not represent a final decision, and discrepancies
will have to be worked out in a conference committee.  However,
time is short - with a general election set for November - a
final version could be worked out by next week, and the feeling
here at the Helsinki Committee is that the Chamber of Deputies
version, which is far worse than the Senate's, may well prevail.

In brief: the Senate's version reads roughly as follows.
Para. 1: Homosexual acts "committed in public or which cause
public scandal" are punishable with 1-5 years' imprisonment.=20
(Same as current language) Para. 2-4 (dealing with sex w/minors,
rape, and acts which cause grievous bodily harm or death):
unchanged Para. 5 (substantially new): Organizing or
associating, or any act of proselytism for the acts in the above
paragraphs, is punishable with 1-5 years' imprisonment.

The CHAMBER's version now reads as follows: Para. 1: Sexual acts
between persons of the same sex are punishable with imprisonment
from 6 months to 3 years. Para. 2: Homosexual acts committed in
public or which cause public scandal are punishable with 1-5
years' imprisonment. (Same as Senate para. 1) Para. 3-5:
(dealing with sex w/minors, rape, and acts causing grievous
bodily harm or death): unchanged from current paras. 2-4 Para.
6: Organizing or associating, or any act of proselytism for the
acts in the above paragraphs, is punishable with 1-5 years'
imprisonment.

PLEASE OBSERVE.  The Chamber of Deputies voted NOT to
decriminalize consensual homosexual acts between adults.  This
in spite of clear statements from the new Minister of Justice
that Romania had international obligations requiring it to do
so. Deputies, especially from the leading opposition party - the
Christian Democrats - denied that any such obligation is
binding. The decision to LOWER penalties for these acts was
adopted by the Deputies as a "compromise."  However, the
proposed para. 6 (identical to para. 5 in the Senate version,
and almost certain to be adopted) continues to penalize any
public expression of homosexuality.

Debate - held on Sept. 5 - was heated and demagogic.  At one
point a measure was introduced which would penalize ANY sexual
act not intended to result in procreation.  When an allusion was
made to the stated positions of international human rights
groups, one Deputy referred to those groups as "organizations of
degenerates."  One Deputy estimated that 35% of members of the
European Parliament are homosexuals.  Another insisted that
homosexuality is a "phenomenon placing in peril the birth rate of Romania=
ns and=20
the
health of the Romanian people."

In both 1994 and 1995, Parliament tentatively accepted a
modification of the Penal Code criminalizing "homosexual acts
which cause public scandal," only to have the final version of
ALL reforms to all provisions of the Penal Code rejected.  In
1995, the package of penal code reforms was rejected largely
becuase 3 extremist parties refused to support it, citing the
"liberalization" of Article 200 as their reason.  The result has
been that, for three years, no penal code reform whatsoever has
passed the Parliament, and the Ceausescu-era legal code as a
whole has remained in force.  This year, it appears that the
opposition Christian Democrats have promised to allow a penal
code reform package to go forward - but only so long as
homosexuality remains criminalized.

ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN AGAINST ROMANIA
By Steffen Jensen

When Romania was accepted into the Council of Europe it was
under the specific prerequisite that the ban on homosexuality
should be lifted. As this has not happened, and as the
Parliament in contrary has confirmed the ban, Romania is not
worthy being a member of the Council of Europe.

The governments of all other member states should be asked to
start the process of excluding Romania from the Council of
Europe. Members of the CoE working are asked to do so.

LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF ROMANIAN CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES
By Kagendo Murungi, IGLHRC

The Permanent Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies=20
Mr. Adrian Nastase , President of the Chamber=20
Aleea Patriarhiei nr. 1, Bucuresti, Romania

Dear Mr. Nastase:

I am writing on behalf of the International Gay & Lesbian Human
Rights Commission (IGLHRC), our international membership and
staff, Board of Directors and International Advisory Board to
express our deep concern and outrage at the newly approved
version of Article 200 adopted by the Romanian Chamber of
Deputies.  The vote to continue to criminalize homosexuality
contradicts Romania's own constitutional guarantees of equal
protection (Article 16), the right to privacy (Article 26),
freedom of assembly (Article 36), and the constitutionally
stated commitment to subordinate national laws to the
international human rights treaties and covenants ratified by
Romania.  As such, we hope and expect that the Court finds
Article 200 of the Romanian Penal Code to be unconstitutional.=20

In failing to pass adequate reforms to the Penal Code, the
Parliament of Romania has flagrantly rejected its international
human rights commitments.  Paragraph one of the adopted law
criminalizes sexual acts between consenting adults by imposing
prison sentences of 6 months to 3 years.  In its 1993 resolution
recommending the admission of Romania, the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe declared that it "expects that
Romania will shortly change its legislation in such a way that
... Article 200 of the Penal Code will no longer consider as a
criminal offense homosexual acts perpetrated in private between
consenting adults."  Three years later, Romania stands in direct
contempt of this resolution. =20

Paragraph two further persists in criminalizing with up to 5
years imprisonment, same sex relations "which cause public
scandal."  This contravenes decisions issued by the European
Court of Human Rights (Dudgeon vs. United Kingdom, 1982; Norris
vs. Ireland, 1988; and Modinos vs. Cyprus, 1993), as well as the
recent resolution passed by the European Parliament of the
European Union (A3-0028 / 94), which have all called for the
decriminalization of private, consensual homosexual relations
and in some cases for an end to state sanctioned discrimination
against lesbians and gay men. Specifically, the ECHR maintains
that "although members of the public... may be shocked, offended
or disturbed by the commission of others of private homosexual
acts, this cannot on its own warrant the application of penal
sanctions when it is consenting adults alone who are involved."
(Dudgeon vs. United Kingdom, 1982)  Furthermore, in 1994 the
United Nations Human Rights Committee found a law criminalizing
sexual relations between members of the same sex in Tasmania to
be in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights. (Toonen vs. Australia, 1994).

Paragraph 5 of the proposed draft revision of Article 200 which
includes provisions against "organizing, associating, or any act
of proselytism" constitutes an extreme violation of the freedoms
of speech, assembly, and association guaranteed to all Romanian
citizens. Respect for a private sphere unencroached by
unnecessary state regulation, tolerance for diversity, and
guarantees of freedom of speech and assembly are fundamental to
democratic and civil societies. =20

As a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
the European Convention on Human Rights, Romania has an
obligation to honor the  international consensus that private
sexual acts between consenting adults are not a legitimate
sphere for state regulation.  The version of Article 200
approved on September 10, 1996 has exposed Romania to further
isolation from and condemnation by the international community. =20

The International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission urges
the quick passage of an alternative revision of Article 200,
which will eliminate all legal penalties for consensual
homosexual acts, and which will honorably and finally fulfill
Romania's international obligations.

Sincerely,
Julie Dorf=20
Executive Director

cc.  =09
Mr. Daniel Tarchys, Secretary General, Council of Europe (CoE)=20
Mr. Gunnar Jansson, Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights,
CoE=20
Mr. Friedrich Konig, Political Affairs Committee, CoE=20
Mrs. Halonen, Finnish Delegate to the CoE	=20
APADOR - Romanian Helsinki Committee

EUROPEAN CITIZENSHIP
By Ken Thomassen

More and more attention is being devoted to European
Citizenship, according to European Citizen Action Service
(ECAS). In a special newsflash on the revision of the EU treaty,
ECAS ask the question if making the EU more efficient and
adapting it from 15 member states to 20 or 30 will grab popular
imagination ? ECAS does not think so, and in its report on the
operation of the Maastricht Treaty, the Commission sees European
citizenship as a potentially mobilising concept.

In the special newsflash from April this year, ECAS provides a
first blueprint for a Chapter on European Citizenship in a new
Treaty. ECAS aims to achieve 4 simple objectives:

* European rights should be consistent
* European citizenship must be based on traditional modern human
  rights
* European rights must be enforceable
* There should be more democratic parliamentary control

In the proposed Treaty Article 2 and 3 are of special interest:

Article 2
The Union shall respect fundamental rights as they result from
the constitutional traditions common to the members states, and
as listed by the European Convention for the Protection of Human
Rights and Fundamental Freedoms signed in Rome on 4 November
1950, the protocols thereto and the European Social Charter.

Acting in accordance with Article 189 B, the Council  shall
decide within two years the entry into force of this Treaty on
Union accession to European Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

Article 3
Every person shall be guaranteed protection against
discrimination on any ground, including age, physical or mental
disability, language, national, social or ethnic origin,
political opinion, race, religion, sex and sexual orientation.

Acting in accordance with Article 189 B of the Treaty, the
Council shall issue directives or make regulations setting out
the measures to eliminate all forms of discrimination against
persons or groups of persons, whether citizens of the Union or
not.

Measures to guarantee enjoyment or exercise of human rights and
fundamental freedoms for the more vulnerable groups in society
shall not be deemed discriminatory provided that they do not, as
a consequence, lead to the maintenance of separate rights for
different groups.

In September 1993, ECAS organised a Citizens=EF week against
racism and discrimination on the grounds of age, disability and
sexual orientation in Bruxelles. One day in this week was
devoted discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation.
Since then ECAS has argued for an anti-discrimination clause in
the treaty.

This proposal is in accordance with ILGA=EFs EU policy, saying
that ILGA should work for the inclusion of an anti
discrimination clause covering sexual orientation in a new
revised treaty.=20

A majority of member of the reflection group on the 1996
Intergovernmental Conference also called for the inclusion of
sexual preference among the grounds on which discrimination
should be prohibited (see Euroletter no. 36).

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON  TRADE UNIONS, HOMOSEXUALITY AND
WORK IN 1998 IN AMSTERDAM

In 1998 the city of Amsterdam will not only be hosting the Gay
Games. One of the other activities that will take place, in the
days before the Games, will be an international conference on
the role of trade unions in defending gay and lesbian rights.

Organization=20
The initiative for this conference has been taken in the 1994
world conference of the International Lesbian and Gay
Association (ILGA) in New York. Since then, the ILGA has firmly
supported the idea of the conference. It was obvious, however,
that the actual conference organization would have to be based
in trade union organizations. Because of the idea of linking the
conference to the Games, it was also obvious that Dutch trade
unions would have to play an important role in this. A steering
committee for the conference in now functioning with active
members from the Dutch trade unions ABOP/NGL, AbvaKabo, KOV,
PCO, the British UNISON, the German =D6TV and the Belgian
ABVV-BBTK. Sofar, the largest Dutch trade union federation FNV
has declared itself supportive and is willing to lend its name
to the conference. It is likely that the other Dutch trade union
federation CNV will join. The steering committee is also seeking
input from other countries as well as a solid organizational
construction for the conference itself. However, there is enough
confidence that these issues can be solved and that the
conference will go ahead.

Backgrounds=20
One of the areas in which gays and lesbians are discriminated
against is work. Some people fail in application procedures,
because employers have a suspicion of homosexuality. Others are
employed, but have no chance of getting a higher rank. Some
people are fired, because the employer thinks that homosexuality
is dangerous in their position. The working atmosphere may be
suffocating for gays and lesbians. How many gay and lesbians
workers are out at their work? Would it not be profitable for
the work organization, if every worker would be respected by
fellow workers and employers? And what about the official labour
conditions? If workers are allowed to take leave because of a
wedding, is the same right granted for a lesbian or gay
relationship ceremony? Do lesbian and gay partners of workers
have the same rights as legal spouses? These are areas in which
there is clearly a role for trade unions. Trade unions need to
fight for the rights of workers, including lesbian and gay
workers. But trade unions also have a role in defending equal
rights and combatting discrimination. The conference is meant as
a forum for lesbian and gay trade unionists to learn from each
others experience. The establishment and expansion of an
international network on gay/lesbian work and trade union issues
is also on the agenda. Furthermore, the conference will be a
place to discuss common policies and determine outline agendas
for action towards national and international organizations and
employers.

Participants=20
The conference is mainly meant for gay and lesbian activists
with interest in the issue. But the organizers are confident
that also official trade union representatives will be present;
in this way, the discussions can be very practical instead of
theoretical, and it will also guarantee a direct impact of the
conference. During the conference, some experts from
universities etc. and other organizations working in this area
will provide extra information.

More information=20
The conference will be a three days conference: 29, 30 and 31
July 1998. It will be held in Amsterdam. Further details will be
announced later, and will also be available from the Steering
Committee of the

Trade Unions Homosexuality and Work Conference,
PO Box 732,
NL 2700 AL ZOETERMEER
Netherlands=20

IMPROVEMENTS FOR EU STAFF
By Nils Kock

On July 9 the European Commission adopted the proposal of
Commisioner Mr. Liikanen on "New measures for the staff in the
matter of cohabitation" which recognize cohabitation for certain
matters. Cohabitation is now defined as : "de facto situation of
two people, regardless of gender, who live together in a
commonly acknowled and committed relationship as a couple".
Cohabitors will be required to complete a sworn statement of
cohabitation and will obtain a certificate from the Commission.

The following entitlements will become available to cohabitees:-
- access to the Reception office, access to family clubs, access
to sporting and social activity clubs, access to the Foyer and
the Interinstitutional Centre, assistance of welfare officers in
the event of difficulty.

Futhermore they will be entitled to - access to certain
Commission premises such as the restaurants, cafeterias, the
Foyer of the Staff Shop, - the right to attend language courses,
- access to special leave arrangements provided for in Article 6
of Annex V to the Staff Regulations (for death or serious
illness of spouse or child).

Although it is only a first symbolic step at least it opens up
the door for a more equal treatment of the European Commission
staff weather married or not, heterosexual or homosexual.

The group EGALITE has been fighting for these rights over the
last year. Their final goal is to obtain equal rights in all
fields including pension rights, health insurance etc. This will
however demand a change of the Staff regulations of the European
Civil Servants.

NETHERLANDS:  PROPOSES TINY CONCESSIONS
By Michiel Odijk=20

Couples who want to register their partnership can brighten up
the ceremony with the exchange of rings, the presence of
witnesses, and other matrimonial rituals. Straight as well as
lesbian/gay partners may adopt one of the family names as the
common family name for both partners. This is what the Dutch
vice minister of Justice Schmitz told the Second Chamber of
Parliament in a letter. In the future, according to the Dutch
government's proposal, partnership registration will grant the
same rights and duties to couples as marriage does, except for
the custody over children =97 which is automatically arranged in
marriage. Dutch partnership registration will include the
obligation for mutual support up to alimentation if the
relationship fails. Also for heritage the rights will be the
same. The obligation for getting a low succession tax rate that
partners now have: sharing the same address for more than five
years, will fall. As mentioned before in the Euroletter, the
majority of the Second Chamber of Parliament is in favour of
granting the same rights to gay/lesbian couples as married
people have, including rights about children. Therefore, opening
up marriage for same-sex couples was proposed. The advisory
commission about opening up marriage that was recently installed
by Ms Schmitz will submit its advice to the government in
August, 1997.=20

Will be continued..

OSCE REVIEW CONFERENCE IN VIENNA
By Steffen Jensen

The Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights under
OSCE has invited NGO's to submit written contributions to the
Review Conference.=20

ILGA's CoE/OSCE working Party will prepare a written statement
to the conference.

EU BUDGET AND FUNDING POSSIBILITIES
By Steffen Jensen

Some of the budget lines of the European Union have special
interest for NGO's and so do some of the EU programmes that are
funding projects.

The organisation Euro Citizen Action Service (ECAS) has
published second edition of "A Guide to European Union Funding
for NGO's" ("The EU's most Colorful Flowers").

The guide contains description of the objectives of the
programmes and budget lines and mentions contact persons.

The guide can be bought from ECAS (tel. +322 548 0490, fax. +322
548 0499).

LIST OF SIGNATORIES TO THE ILGA IGC STATEMENT

The ILGA statement urging the European Union to include an
anti-discrimination clause in the future treaty covering
discrimation on the ground of sexual orientation has noe been
signed by the follwing gay/lesbian organisations:

Generel=20
International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA)=20
International  Lesbian and Gay Youth Organisation (IGLYO)=20
Equality for Gays and Lesbians in the European Institutions
(EGALITE) =20

Austria
Oesterreichisches Lesben- und Schwulenforum
Rechtskomitee Lambda, Wien
Homosexuelle initiative (HOSI), Wien
Homosexuelle Initiative Linz =20

Belgium=20
Federatie Werkgroepen Homoseksualiteit (FWH)=20
OK Kortrijk, PB 109, Kortrijk=20
Het Gehoor
English-speaking Gay Group (EGG)=20

Cyprus=20
Gay Liberation Movement of Cyprus, Nicosia

Denmark
Landsforeningen for boesser og lesbiske, national
Human Rights group, Aarhus
Landsforeningen for boesser og lesbiske, Copenhagen

Finland
OULUN Seta Ry

France
David & Jonathan, Paris

Germany
ISGITN Berlin
AI-Group-2918
Aktionsgruppe Homosexualiteit, Berlin
Liederlich e. V. Kommunikations- und Beratungszentrum fuer
Schwule und Lesben
BUeNDIS 90/Die Gruenen, Landesverband Hamburg
Schwulenverband in Deutschland (SVD)
NA UND e.v., Oldenburg
UHAev, Unabhaengige Homosexuelle Alternative, Hamburg
Lesbenring e.V.
AStA TU, Berlin
Voelklinger Kreis e.V. Bundesverband Gay Manager
Verein zur Foerderung Schwuler Kultur, Politik und Gemeine e.V.,
Heidelberg
Lesbian & Gay Liberation Front e.V., Koeln

Greece
Homosexuals' Initiative of Thessaloniki, O.P.O.T.H.

Ireland
LEA/NOW
Lesbians Organising Together in Ireland, Dublin

Portugal
Associacao ILGA-Portugal

The Netherlands
Homosexuality and armed forces foundation
Stichting De Kringen
HOMODOK, Amsterdam
SAD-Schorer foundation
ILGA support group, Utrecht

United Kingdom
Stonewall, London
CARA-Friend, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association, Northern Ireland
Outright Scotland, Scotland
The Pride Trust Ltd, London
The Naz Project=20
University of Leicester Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Association
Lesbian & Gay Christian Movement, London
Strathclyde Gay and Lesbian Switchboard
Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association
UNISON National Lesbian and Gay Committee
REGARD=20
Reading International Support Centre

Spain
EHGAM (Euskal Herriko Gay Askapen Mugimendua) Euskal Herria

Sweden
RFSL Lund
RFSL Stockholm
RFSL Trestad
RFSL-Piteaaelvdal o Norra Vaesterbotten
Gay Moderaterna

POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS AT A NATIONAL LEVEL IN EUROPE
By Alan Reekie

(Alan Reekie has updated the list of positve developments in
Europe originally done by Alexandra Duda, Ed.)

Norway (1981), France (1985), Denmark (1987), Sweden (1987), The
Netherlands (1992), Ireland (1989) and Finland (1995) have all
enacted regulations prohibiting discrimination against
homosexuals.

In 1986 Denmark equated homosexual couples with married ones
concerning the right of succession.

In 1989 the Irish Parliament adopted a "Prohibition to
Incitement to Hatred Act" covering hate speech against
homosexuals.

In May 1989 the Danish Parliament enacted a "law on the
registered partnership" of homosexual couples. It stipulates
equal rights with one exception: same-sex couples are not
allowed to adopt children together.

In Belarus, the total ban on homosexuality under Penal code Art.
119.1, corresponding to Art. 121.1 of the former Soviet Union
Penal Code was repealed in 1991, according to Dr. A. Pimenov
from the National Centre for AIDS Prevention there, speaking at
the XIth International Conference on AIDS in Vancouver in July
1996. He was so sure about that because it was his National
Centre that drafted the reform bill and presented it to
Parliament. Belarus was thus the first of the former Soviet
republics to repeal the total ban on homosexuality, even before
Ukraine and the Baltic countries and Russia did so. Dr. Pimenov
also reported that by 1996 Belarus had an equal age of consent
of 16 years for all sexual orientations. This reform seems not
to have been publicised at all in Belarus in the first years
after it occurred [Euroletter 43, July 1996].=20

In 1991 the total ban on homosexual relations was abolished in
the Ukraine.

The reform of the Swiss legislation on sexual offences enacted
as the Federal Law of 21 June 1991, with effect from 1 October
1992 [RO 1992 1670-78, FF II 1985 II 1021], eliminated all
discrimination against homosexuality from the Penal Code (Art.
187 - 212). This was largely in accordance with the
recommendations of the report of the official Committee chaired
by Prof. B. Schultz; it was approved by 73% of voters in the
national referendum held on 17 May 1992.

In 1992 a number of Dutch local authorities started accepting
the official registration of same-sex partnerships. In October
1993 a Bill intended to provide legal protection for "registered
partners" equal to that enjoyed by married couples was
introduced in Parliament. Although it did not become law, the
issue will remain on the political agenda until it does (see
below).

In 1990 and 1992 respectively, Estonia and Latvia abolished laws
penalising homosexuality.

In June 1992 the German "Land" Brandenburg enacted a new
Constitution emphasising recognition by the state of
partnerships outside of marriage. In 1993 the "Land" Berlin
included sexual identity among the non-discrimination criteria
in its Constitution.

The discriminatory age-limits introduced in 1972 as Art. 372 bis
of the Luxembourg Penal Code were eliminated  by Art. 42 of the
Law of 10 August 1992, which set a common age-limit of 16 years
with effect from 25 December 1992.=20

In 1992 the total ban on homosexuality was abolished in
Gibraltar and the Isle of Man (both internally self-governing
British territories for whose international relations the UK
government is responsible), with minimum agelimits of 18 and 21
respectively.

In Germany same-sex couples who were denied the right to marry
have appealed to the Supreme Court. Judges interpret the right
to marry as an exclusive right for heterosexuals (while family
law does not specify gender). In its decision of October 4, 1993
the Constitutional Court upheld this view and ruled the appeal
inadmissible, while emphasising the task for the legislative
authority to bring about legal protection for same-sex
partnerships.

In the Spring of 1993, the Norwegian Parliament adopted
legislation for the registration of same-sex partnerships,
closely based on the law in Denmark. By this time, some 3000
partnerships had been registered in Denmark.

France, Ireland and The Netherlands enacted broad provisions
prohibiting discrimination on various grounds including sexual
orientation, e.g. in recruitment and during employment, and in
the supply of goods and services.

In April 1993 the Russian Parliament enacted a new Penal Code
which no longer includes the unconditional prohibition of
homosexuality in Art. 121.1 of the old Penal Code.

Lithuania which became member of the CoE in May 1993 repealed
the ban on homosexuality one month after its admission.

In June 1993, following a long campaign by the Irish gay and
lesbian movement, and in accordance with the recommendations of
the Irish Law Reform Commission's Report on Child Sexual Abuse
[s. 4.29 of LRC-32, Dublin, 1990], the Irish Parliament
abolished the laws prohibiting male homosexuality thereby
setting a minimum age of 17 for penetrative acts, the same as
for such heterosexual acts [Kieran Rose, 1994].

In autumn 1993, the French government adopted a law directing
insurance companies to accept joint insurance coverage for
non-married couples.

In October 1993, the "Unfair Dismissal Act" in Ireland was
extended to include the prohibition of discriminating treatment
on grounds of sexual orientation.

The Irish Parliament is planning to establish an Equality
Commission to monitor all forms of discrimination against
homosexuals.

In November 1993 the Parliament of the German "Land" Thuringia
adopted a new Constitution prohibiting discrimination on grounds
of sexual orientation - pending public approval by a referendum
in late 1994.

On 21 February 1994, a large majority in the UK House of Commons
adopted an amendment to what became the "Criminal Justice and
Public Order Act, 1994", reducing the minimum age-limit for
homosexual acts by males in Great Britain from 21 to 18 years.
It rejected a proposed amendment intended to set the same
minimum age as for heterosexual acts (16), by 307 to 280 votes.
This and other amendments reducing, but not eliminating, the
discrimination against homosexual behaviour from the UK criminal
law came into effect on 3 November 1994.

In the 29th Criminal Law Amendment Act of 31 May 1994 (BGBl. I
p.1168), the German Federal Parliament adopted by a large
majority provisions eliminating all discrimination against
homosexual acts from the Criminal Code, in order to unify the
criminal law throughout the country.  Equality had already been
achieved (with a minimum age of 14 but prohibition under 18 in
the case of certain relationships) in former East Germany
several years before reunification in 1989 (where it remained in
force afterwards). In former West Germany, however, Par. 175 of
the Criminal Code still made any man older than 18 years who
performed sexual acts with a consenting male partner below 18
liable to up to 5 years imprisonment. This paragraph (which
until 1969 prohibited all male homosexual acts) had been THE
symbol of legal discrimination against gays for the previous 124
years, leading to the destruction of the careers - and in some
cases even the lives - of thousands of gay people.

While Par. 175 was simply repealed, Par. 182 was replaced by new
provisions protecting persons of either sex  between the minimum
age of fourteen and sixteen against being persuaded by a person
over 18 to participate in a sexual act by means of constraint or
for reward, punishable by imprisonment for not more than five
years or by a fine, and against being persuaded by a person over
21, who thereby exploits the protected person's lack of capacity
for sexual self-determination, to participate in a sexual act,
punishable by imprisonment for not more than three years or by a
fine.  Prosecution in the latter case can occur only where the
protected person has made a formal complaint (as defined in Par.
77, i.e. which is within 3 months of the act and can be
withdrawn at any time) or if there is a special public interest
that outweighs the advantages of an absence of official
intervention.

On 7 June 1994, the Parliament in Sweden adopted a partnership
law based on the Danish and Norwegian model by 171 votes to 141.

In August 1994, the total ban on homosexual relations was
repealed in Serbia (incl. Kosovo), with an common minimum
age-limit of 14.

On 20 January 1995 the Albanian Parliament finally legalised
homosexual relations in Albania.   The new penal code of the
Republic of Albania, which entered into force shortly
afterwards, foresees punitive sanctions only for sexual
relations with minors and for sex involving violence. Article
137 of the old Penal Code promulgated under the communist
dictatorship, which foresaw up to ten years of prison for simply
"being homosexual" has thus been done away with completely.

A bill was introduced in the Cyprus Parliament in January 1995
to abolish the ban on homosexuality under Art. 171 of the
Criminal Code.

The legislation on sexual offences in Italy was amended on 15
February 1996 by the Law on sexual violence, which increased the
punishment for sexual assaults. In accordance with the principle
that the criminal law should protect sexual self-detemination,
not moral beliefs, this transferred most of the articles from
"offences against public morals" to "offences against the
person". The gender-neutral minimum age-limit of 16 for "morally
uncorrupted" youths set in 1930 (Art. 530 CF, which could be
interpreted as grounds for discrimination against homosexuality)
has been replaced by a general age-limit of 14 (fourteen) years
and 13 where the partner is under 16 (Art. 609.4 CP). Criminal
proceedings for sexual offences can be instigated only in
response to a formal complaint laid by the victim or their legal
representative, except where the victim is under 10 years old,
where violence has been used on a victim under 14 years old, or
where the offence occured in public or in connection with a
nonsexual offence, or where the victim is subject to the
offender's authority (Art. 609.7 CP).=20

In response to a test case submitted by the homosexual rights
group "Homeros Lambda", on 8 March 1995, the Hungarian
Constitutional Court ruled that the Constitution requires that
the legal situation of two persons of the same sex who are
living together as members of a de-facto couple should be the
same as that applicable to the members of a de-facto but
unmarried heterosexual couple (sometimes known as "common-law
marriage").  Although this situation is essentially the same as
for formally married partners , the Court concluded that the
Constitution does not require the State to make provision for
marriages between persons of the same sex.  The necessary
changes in the law were enacted in 1996 [Homeros Lambda].

In the summer of 1995, the Danish, Norwegian and Swedish
Governments formally agreed that the administration in each
country would recognise civil partnerships registered in either
of the other two countries [Euroletter].

On 15 June 1995, the former Soviet republic Moldova repealed its
ban on consensual gay sex, former Art. 106 of the Penal Code
[letter to Austrian ILGA activist Kurt Krickler from Moldova's
Parliamentary Committee for Foreign Policy].

On 25 July 1995, the Belfort "Tribunal Correctionel" gave legal
recognition to a homosexual couple for the first time in France,
when it ordered the Groupama insurance company to pay damages of
732121 francs to the partner of a 49-year old woman who had been
killed in a road accident by one of its policy-holders. After
the "Centre gai et lesbien" had pointed out how the homosexual
community might be expected to react to a successful appeal
against this ruling, the Groupama company withdrew its appeal.
["Liberation", 14 Sep. 1995, p.12]

On 1 September 1995, the provisions of Chapter 11 Art. 9 of the
Penal Code, making it a criminal offence to discriminate on the
grounds of race, faith, sex, nationality, age or sexual
orientation in Finland came into effect [SETA].

On 5 September 1995, in response to critical Court rulings in
the judicial review of the discharge of four former service
personnel because they were found to be homosexual, the United
Kingdom Ministry of Defence announced that its policy of
automatic discharge of any member of the armed forces identified
as homosexual was being reviewed. After the Defence Department
had produced evidence that the existing policy was widely
supported, on the basis of the responses given by a sample of
service personnel to a questionnaire that was, however, critised
for bias, the Ministry held hearings in March 1996. Although the
UK Courts ultimately confirmed that the Ministry's policy was
not contrary to law, the former service-persons stated that they
would continue their campaign for reinstatement or damages, by
taking it ultimately to the ECHR if necessary, and the Ministry
undertook to use less-intrusive procedures to identify
homosexual personnel.  [U.K. press].

On 8 November 1995 the Spanish Parliament adopted a new Penal
Code (replacing that dating from 1848, but much revised since
then), which includes provisions severely punishing
discrimination on various grounds, including sexual orientation.
It also deems minors (persons under 18) not to be criminally=20
responsible, like persons acting under the infuence of alcohol
or drugs Le Soir, 9 Nov.1995].

On 16 April 1996, the Netherlands Parliament's Second Chamber
adopted two Resolutions intended to extend the legal provisions
on marriage to include marriages between same-sex couples:
"Resolution on lifting the ban on marriages of persons of the
same sex" (Handeling van de 2de Kamer. 1995/6 22700 nr.9),
proposed by M. van der Burg (PvdA) and B. Dittrich (D66) and
adopted by 81 votes to 60; "Resolution on Adoption" (Hvd2k
1995/6 22700 nr.10), proposed by M. van der Burg (PvdA) and B.
Dittrich (D66), adopted by 83 votes to 58. The Dutch government
has responded by setting up a Committee to consider the various
implications and prepare proposals for legislation.

On 29 April 1996, the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg
ruled that the provisions of the European Treaty and the Equal
Treatment Directive include a prohibition of discrimination
against an employee on the grounds that the person has changed
sex, thereby confirming that these texts should be given a broad
interpretation.  In May 1996, the Russian Parliament voted new
penal code provisions for the age of consent. The new law
provides for an equal age of consent of 16 years for all sexual
orientations and will come in force as of 1 January 1997. [Oral
information by Serguei Shcherbakov from the International AIDS
Project in Sankt Petersburg, reported in Euroletter 43].

In May 1996, the parliamentary groups of the Flemish Christian
Social and Socialist parties in Belgium (within the Federal
government coalition) tabled a Bill intended to outlaw
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The aim is to
do something about discrimination against people on the grounds
that they are gay or lesbian. Discrimination can take various
forms. To refuse to sell or rent a house to somebody, for
example. And discrimination in the workplace is also common. The
penalties would be same as those applicable under the 1981 law
on discrimination on racial grounds. The Bill does not address
the issues of gay marriage or registered partnerships [BRT
teletext on 15 May 1996 - which also has allocated two pages
(762/3) for GLB news]. =20

In July 1996, the European Court of Justice was requested to
determine whether the European Treaty provision (and the "Equal
Treatment" Directive") which requires EU member-States to ensure
that employers do not discriminate among their employees on the
basis of sex, also prevents an employer from denying a benefit
it offers its employees' unmarried partners, in the case of
same-sex partners. This request was made by the Southampton
Industrial Tribunal (United Kingdom) after its hearing on 1 May
1996 in the case of Lisa Grant whose employer, South West
Trains, refused to issue a pass for free rail travel to her
domestic partner, Jill Percey, although it would have done so if
Lisa Grant's partner had been a man [Stonewall Press Release,
July 1996].

In 1996, the Parliament of Iceland adopted legislation making
provision for the recognition of same-sex "registered
partnership", with effect from 1 July 1996. Basically similar to
that in Denmark, Norway Greenland and Sweden, this also allows
such couples to adopt one partner's children.=20
----------------------------------------------------------------
Steffen Jensen
E-mail: [email-masked]=20
http://inet.uni-c.dk/~steff
Tel. +45 3124 6435 or +45 2033 0840  Fax: +45 2036 7856     =20