From: "Thomas W. Holt Jr." <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 3 May 1994 11:45:43 EST

------- Forwarded Message Follows -------

Date sent:      Tue,  3 May 94 16:04:19 EZT
From:           [email-masked]
Subject:        UN Committee ruling on Tasmania
To:             [email-masked], [email-masked]

Udo Schuklenk asks whether Dutch courts have accepted that discrimination 
based on sexual orientation is covered by the prohibition of discrimination 
based on sex. No, as far as I know, no Dutch court ever said that. In most 
parts of Dutch law that is not necessary, because there is no doubt that 
discrimination based on sexual orientation as such is forbidden (art. 1 of 
the Constitution using the words "or any other ground whatsoever", and art. 
429quater of the Penal Code using the words "heterosexual or homosexual 
orientation").

Politically it is more important to aknowledge that almost all anti-
homosexual discrimination is a form of sex discrimination. The point was 
explicitly made in a non-binding motion passed by the lower chamber of the 
Dutch national parliament in 1978. The motion asked the government "to 
introduce a bill aimed against all types of discrimination on account of sex, 
including discrimination on account of homosexuality, and of discrimination 
on account of marital status" (Kamerstukken II, 1978/79, 14496, nr 22). See 
my article in: 13 Journal of Homosexuality (1986/1987), Nos. 2/3, p. 62. The 
Bill asked for has eventually led to a much broader General Equal Treatment 
Act, which will come into force on 1 September 1994, and which forbids 
discrimination on many grounds, including "heterosexual or homosexual 
orientation".

Yours gaily,

    K e e s   W a a l d i j k

lecturer in public law (University of Limburg, Maastricht, Netherlands) 
specialising in law and homosexuality