Subject: EuroLetter 52
From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 16 Aug 1997 21:49:31 +0200 (METDST)

EURO-LETTER 

No. 52							  August 1997

THE EURO-LETTER IS PUBLISHED ON BEHALF OF ILGA-EUROPE - THE
EUROPEAN REGION OF THE INTERNATIONAL LESBIAN AND GAY ASSOCIATION
BY THE DANISH NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR GAYS AND LESBIANS IN
CO-OPERATION WITH  Gay and Lesbian International Lobby. 
Editors: Steffen Jensen, Ken Thomassen, Peter Bryld, Lisbeth
Andersen and Soeren Baatrup.  

Contact to Euro-Letter: E-mail: [email-masked] 
URL: http://www.inet.uni-c.dk/~steff 
Fax: +45 2036 7856 Tel: +45 3324 6435 Mobile: +45 2033 0840 
Mail: c/o Steffen Jensen, Gl. Kongevej 31, 4.th, DK-1610 Copenhagen V,
Denmark  You can receive Euro-Letter by e-mail (send a message
to the above address)  and from no 30 onwards the Euro-Letters
are available on the Internet at 
http://www.france.qrd.org/assocs/ilga/euroletter.html
http://www.qrd.org/qrd/www/orgs/ILGA/euroletter  
An Italian translation of EuroLetters from no 47 can be found at
http://www.geocities.com/~pride/el.htm  You can find a link to
Euro-Letters at http://www.inet.uni-c.dk/~steff 

IN THIS ISSUE

ANSWER FROM THE EU COMMISSION ON THE LINDHOLM REPORT
LISA GRANT VS SOUTH WEST TRAINS
AGE OF CONSENT FOR GAYS AT 16 IN UK
FRENCH MINISTER ON CONTRACT OF CIVIL UNION
TRANSSEXUALS WIN RIGHT TO FIGHT DISCRIMINATION
LAW REFORM IN SAN MARINO
COURT OF APPEAL CALLS ON PARLIAMENT TO RECOGNISE GAY COUPLES
GAY HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS TO GET SWISS MONEY
BRITISH AIRWAYS WILL NOT HIRE HIV-POSITIVES

The ILGA-Europe EU Action Plan and other documents relating to
ILGA-Europe can be found at ILGA-Europe's homepage
http://inet.uni-c.dk/~steff/ilgaeur.htm

An update of the Survey on the Legal Situation for Gays and
Lesbians in Europe can be found at
http://inet.uni-c.dk/~steff/survey.htm

A description of partnership laws and other laws regarding
same-sex partners can be found at 
http://inet.uni-c.dk/~steff/partner.htm

ANSWER FROM THE EU COMMISSION ON THE LINDHOLM REPORT
Letter from Mr. Santer's Cabinet to Steffen Jensen

"President Santer has asked me to thank you for your letter of
28 February 1997 in which you kindly drew his attention to
Parliament's recent adoption of Mrs Lindholm's report on the
Commission proposal to amend The Staff Regulations of Officials
and Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of The European
Communities in respect of equal treatment of men and women.

The Commission's proposed amendment provides that officials have
the right under the Staff Regulations, to equal treatment
regardless of gender or of sexual orientation and without
prejudice to those provisions in the Regulations which require a
specific marital status.

As you will recall, among the many amendments adopted by
Parliament were some aiming to put the situation of cohabiting
couples on the same footing as married couples giving them the
same social ad- vantages and the same allowances and benefits
laid down  in the Regulations.

The Commission must stress that no discrimination has ever been
made against homosexual officials and that it has always stated
its support for their dignity and rights. Furthermore, in July
1996 a number of measures outside the Staff Regulations context
were taken for the benefit of unmarried couples, both hetero-
and homosexual.

Having said that, the Commission does not consider that the
right moment to present the Council with a proposal to amend the
Staff Regulations so as to put cohabiting couples in the same
category as married couples, because the law in the Member
States is still too diverse in this area and The Staff
Regulations of officials and other members of teh European civil
service must, up to a point, take this into account. For this
reason, the amendments to the Commission's proposal, approved by
Parliament when Mrs. Lindholm's report was adopted, were not
retained.

However, the Commission is aware that this issue is constantly
evolving and it remains open to the arguments that you raise in
your letter, which are under continuing consideration."

LISA GRANT VS SOUTH WEST TRAINS
From Stonewall News Letter

Lisa Grant's case was heard by the European Court of Justice in
Luxembourg on Wednesday 9 July. Fifteen judges and one Advocate
General all listened as Cherie Booth QC outlined Lisa's case:
that South West Trains in refusing a travel pass for Lisa's
partner Jill were in breach of EC law on equal pay. If Lisa were
a man living with Jill, married or not, Jill would get the pass.
Because Lisa is a woman, she doesn't.

South West Trains were there to defend their right to
discriminate, and shamefully so were the British government.
Each member state has the right to give its view in cases going
before the European Court of Justice, but Britain was the only
member state to turn up to defend South West Trains' right to
discriminate.

The Government argued that it is not sex discrimination to
discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation; they said that
they are opposed to such discrimination and would support
legislation in the EC to deal with it but this would need
agreement by all the member states. However, asked by Radio 5
"Out This Week" whether they would legislate against such
discrimination back home where they are in complete control, all
they would say was that they would look at this "in due course."
(The Government is already considering legislating against age
discrimination and religious discrimination and has decided it
will legislate against transsexual discrimination but it seems
that discrimination against lesbians and gay men is less of a
priority).

The European Commission, which also has the right to give its
view in such cases, argued strongly that it is sex
discrimination to discriminate against a lesbian or a gay man.
However, they did not support Lisa Grant's application as they
said she was trying to get the same rights as a husband or wife,
and this would interfere with the principle that family law is a
matter for each of the member states to decide for themselves.
(In fact this is not true as Lisa and Jill are only seeking the same rights as 
other unmarried couples.)

The Advocate General in this case, a Mr Elmer from Denmark, will
give his opinion on 30 September. This in turn will serve as
guidance to the Court in coming to its decision. In the vast
majority of cases the Court follows the Advocate General's
opinion, so the opinion will give a good indication of Lisa's
chance of success. The Court's decision is not expected until
early 1998.

AGE OF CONSENT FOR GAYS AT 16 IN UK
Stonewall Press release 14 July 1997

The government have stated today that they  will not continue to
oppose the case of Euan Sutherland, the 20 year old British boy
who, with the backing of Stonewall,  has lodged a complaint at
the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg arguing that
the current age of consent is a breach of his human rights - the
right of privacy and the right not to be discriminated in his
private life.

The Government had until 25 July to respond to Euan's case and
were asked by the Commission for a written response to the case
also being brought against the Government on this issue by the
17 year schoolboy Chris Morris. The Government have now stated
that they will not continue to defend the current discriminatory
age of consent (18 for gay men and 16 for heterosexuals and
lesbians). 

Jack Straw made a pre-election commitment to a free vote on this
issue and this is now expected within the next two years. It is
widely expected that Parliament will vote overwhelmingly in
favour of an equal age of consent.

FRENCH MINISTER ON CONTRACT OF CIVIL UNION
From "Le Monde", 13-14 July 1997, translated and forwarded by
Alan Reekie 

In a hearing before the French Senate's Social Affairs
Committee, the Minister of Employment and Solidarity, Martine
Aubry, gave details of the future "civil and social union
contract" (CUCS) announced by the Justice Minister Elzabeth
Guigou just before the Europride celebrations by homosexuals and
in accordance with the commitments made by the Socialist Party
while it was in opposition (Le Monde, 24 June 1997).

According to the Press Statement issued by the Committee and
published on Friday 11th July, Mrs Aubry emphasised that this
contract "should not include provisions regarding marriage nor
the adoption of children, but be centred on aspects like living
accommodation and discounts on public transport fares".
Affirming that "the family must remain the basic unit that is
indispensible for society", the Minister raised the question of
what "impact on public opinion" the campaign by the homosexual
community was likely to have.

Mrs Guigou had stated that "it is not possible to limit the
arrangements for uniting two people to the institution of
marriage alone" and indicated that the future CUCS would enable
people wishing to do so to live together regardless of their sex or family 
relationship.

This "universalist" concept of the CUCS attracted the support of
most of the associations concerned, ranging from the Human
Rights League to the trade unions CFDT and CGT.

The demand for the CUCS arose within the associative movement in
response to  situations caused by the AIDS epidemic: after the
death of their homosexual partner, certain persons find
themselves without any right to continue renting the apparment
they had shared, nor to inherit the property in it, which
automatically belongs to the dead partner's relatives even where
the couple had acquired it jointly. Today, these associations
are demanding that foreigners should be allowed to benefit from
the CUCS and that in the case of state employees require to work
anywhere it should be taken into account where one partner is
transferred. Some go further in claiming parental rights.

At the initiative of Jean-Pierre Michel, MP (RCV-MDC) for the
Upper Saone, a Bill was tabled on 24th June in the National
Assembly by 21 MPs from the RCV party, under which persons bound
by a CUCS would enjoy the same rights as married couples, except
for those concerned with artifical insemination and adoption. By
limiting its scope to living accommodation and transport, Mrs
Aubry indicated that the government is reducing the impact of
the future CUCS so far as inheritance, taxation and social
security is concerned, and given a sign to those who consider
the CUCS to be an attack on the family.

TRANSSEXUALS WIN RIGHT TO FIGHT DISCRIMINATION
UK Press Association report 15 July 1997

Transsexuals have won the legal right to challenge
discrimination they face at work because of their sex change.

The Employment Appeal Tribunal decided that discrimination
against transsexuals was unlawful under the Sex Discrimination
Act.

The landmark ruling was made in the case of a sex-change woman
employed by a private firm in Surrey, who cannot be named for
legal reasons.

She took her claim of sexual harassment at work to an industrial
tribunal, which referred her case to the EAT.

Kamlesh Bahl, chairwoman of the Equal Opportunities Commission,
which backed the case, said: "This bold and far reaching
decision finally recognises that transsexuals need legal
protection against the considerable discrimination they face.

"The law now requires employers to review their employment
practices to safeguard against such discrimination in the
future."

LAW REFORM IN SAN MARINO
by Kurt Krickler

Several gay and lesbian newspapers around Europe have recently
reported that San Marino had decriminalised homosexuality. That
is not correct. 

The total ban on homosexuality was abolished in San Marino in
1864. In 1974, however, the San Marinese Parliament adopted a
new penal code that came in force in 1975 and contained in
article 274 a provision punishing any person who would cause
public scandal by habitually committing sexual acts with persons
of the same sex. This had obviously been a very vague provision
(just like in Romania today) but there are no reports that
article 274 had ever been applied. It was the only special
provision on homosexuality in the San Marinese penal code. The
age of consent has been 14 for all sexual orientations since
1864 (art. 173). However, it is forbidden to seduce juvenile
persons between 14 and 18 into sexual corruption, abuse of
alcohol or drugs (art. 177).

Here the text of Article 274:

"Atti di libidine con persone del medesimo sesso.

Chiunque abitualmente commette atti di libidine con persone del
medesimo sesso, punito, se dal fatto deriva pubblico scandalo,
con la prigionia di primo grado e con l'interdizione di secondo
grado dai diritti politici e dai pubblici uffici."

COURT OF APPEAL CALLS ON PARLIA- MENT TO RECOGNISE GAY COUPLES
PRESS RELEASE FROM STONEWALL 23 July 1997

The Court of Appeal this morning called on Parliament to change
the law to recognise gay and lesbian couples.

Martin Fitzpatrick, a gay man fighting for the right to the same
tenancy protection as heterosexual couples on death of a
partner, lost his case but won a significant moral victory.

All three judges said that the law was out of date and called on
Parliament to make the necessary changes.

LJ Waite said the restriction of succession rights to
heterosexual couples in the Rent Act 1977 was "offensive to
social justice and tolerance because it excludes lesbians and
gays."  He:

"changes... certainly need to be made, if Parliament is to
fulfill its function of reflecting the spirit of our times - in
particular the spirit which recognises the value of all abiding
relationships the heterosexual, the lesbian, the gay..."

LJ Ward went further and said in a dissenting judg- ment

"there is no essential difference between a homo- sexual and a
heterosexual couple and accordingly I would find that the
appellant had lived with the deceased as his husband or wife."

Martin Fitzpatrick will now seek leave to appeal to the House of
Lords.

Angela Mason, Executive Director of Stonewall, said today:

"This is the clearest statement yet by any English court that
the law needs to change to recognise the human rights of
lesbians and gay men.

Stonewall will now seek to have a private member's bill tabled
to give Parliament the opportunity to redress this wrong."

GAY HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS TO GET SWISS MONEY
By Corydon 

SUMMARY: Gay holocaust survivors are eligible to receive
assistance from a Swiss fund for Holocaust victims -
particularly those Gays for whom the end of World War II didn't
put an end to their persecution.

The Government of Switzerland has created a Fund with the aim of
giving financial assistance to victims of Nazi persecution.
There will be made no distinction between different groups of
victims, i.e. Jews, Homosexuals, Roma and Sinti. The Fund is
aimed at giving assistance to needy persons who have been
persecuted on grounds of race, religion, political opinion or
others or who have in other ways become victims of the Nazi
Holocaust.

The very general criteria so far fixed are:

Persons who have not yet received any effective material
assistance,

Who are of old age, and

Who are double victims (i.e. who have suffered oppression even
after World War II), and

Who live in most precarious material conditions.

The Swiss Government fund will move quickly to make its first
disbursement to assist victims of the Nazi Holocaust, including
those interned for being gay. The Fund's chairman Dr. Rolf Bloch
announced July 7 that the executive board voted at its first
meeting to immediately give 17 million Swiss francs ($11.6
million US) - 10% of its original capital - to the neediest
victims. While most of the funds will go toJewish survivors, 2
million francs will go to gays and other victimized groups. The
capital for the memorial Fund was donated by Swiss banks and
businesses in the wake of reports that they had profited from
Nazi looting and from holding the funds of Nazi victims. 

Although the Swiss have used the phrase "double victims" to
refer to Eastern European survivors  who missed out on
compensation received by many of their Western counterparts
after the war and who suffered oppression even after World War
II, 'gay'  Holocaust survivors were literally double victims in
that they were still considered criminals in post-war Germany as
well as in other countries. 

As a result, most gay survivors of concentration camps and other
forms of persecution (imprisonment, forced castration, transfer
to a delinquent bataillion like the vicious "Strafbataillon
Dirlewanger") - and a significantly smaller percentage of gays
did survive compared to other groups, it is believed - tried to
hide their sexual  orientation to avoid imprisonment after their
liberation. 

Only half a dozen have publicly identified themselves even now.

Nonetheless, the Berne-based National Gay League of Switzerland
Pink Cross has been actively lobbying for gay, bisexual,
lesbian, and transgendered Holocaust victims and their relatives
to obtain their fair share of Swiss assistance.

While estimates of how many gay men died in Nazi concentration
camps range as high as one million, a more generally accepted
figure among scholars is 10,000 to 15,000 gays. (The stringent
anti-gay laws were targeted at men; those lesbians who were
incarcerated were more likely to fall under the general label
"social deviant.")

Requests for disbursments should be submitted to the Fund not by
individuals but by organizations defending the interests of
victims.

If necessary, requests emanating from individuals could be
submitted to the Fund through Pink Cross - National Gay League
of Switzerland. The contact person is Beat Wagner (former
Chairman of Pink Cross - National Gay League of Switzerland and
Member of the Advisory Board to the Swiss Fund for Victims of
the Holocaust). You may contact Beat Wager by
e-mail:	[email-masked]
tel. (+41) 1 262 41 84 (home)
      (+41) 71 27 27 519 (office)
fax  (+41) 71 27 27 476 (office)

The Fund's address is: 
Fund for Victims of the Holocaust
c/o Federal Department of Finance
CH - 3003 Berne, Switzerland

Do you know of any gay person living in your country who has
been persecuted by the Nazi regime and who responds to the
criteria mentioned above? 

If you see any possibility to spread this information in your
country, by gay media, the general media, the internet or other
means, please do so. 

BRITISH AIRWAYS WILL NOT HIRE HIV-POSITIVES
By Rex Wockner

British Airways refuses to employ people with HIV as pilots or
flight attendants, reports the AIDS magazine Positive Nation.

The publication located three people who were denied jobs with
the company solely because of their HIV status.

An airline spokesman said the policy was put in place because
some countries (including the U.S.) deny entry to HIV-positive
foreigners and because HIV-positive people are not supposed to
take certain vaccines that are necessary for travel to the Third
World, such as the vaccine for yellow fever.

The spokesman also said: "Being positive you cannot predict when
it will affect the brain. A pilot's lifestyle, crossing time
zones, differing meal times, high stress levels, etc., can run
down their immune system."

Virgin Atlantic airlines, on the other hand, welcomes
HIV-positive applicants for pilot and flight-attendant
positions, Positive Nation said.

***************************
Steffen Jensen
E-mail: [email-masked] 
http://inet.uni-c.dk/~steff
Tel. +45 3324 6435 or +45 2033 0840  Fax: +45 2036 7856