According to a 2019 survey, 76% of Europeans believed that members of sexual minorities should have the same rights as heterosexual people. Article 21 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, meanwhile, prohibits all forms of discrimination, including on the grounds of sexual orientation and sex. Yet the EU has failed to pursue policies that align with both its citizens’ values and the fundamental rights it has defined for itself. JEF Finland demands that the EU take action to safeguard and realise the rights of gender and sexual minorities.
“The lack of supranational action has left member states largely to their own devices when it comes to protecting the rights of sexual and gender minorities, which has led to major disparities between them. While some countries have worked to advance things like equal marriage laws, the EU’s weak grip has allowed blatant, oppressive measures against these minorities, particularly in the EU member states Poland and Hungary”, comments JEF Finland’s President Risto Rajala.
Poland has created zones “free from LGBT ideology” and has also restricted the right to abortion. Hungary has banned the depiction of LGBTQ+ material on television and in schools, banned legal gender recognition for trans and intersex people, and defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman, thereby preventing same-sex couples from marrying.
“Poland’s and Hungary’s actions cannot be viewed separately from Russia’s comparable measures, such as its law banning so-called ‘gay propaganda’. Given that Russia repeatedly uses Europe’s openness towards sexual and gender minorities as an argument for the Union’s decline and Russia’s superiority, this raises questions about how countries pushing the same rhetoric can be part of the European Union”, criticises Rajala.
Restricting the rights of sexual and gender minorities limits their ability to enjoy many of the fundamental and human rights held by EU citizens. Minority groups’ freedom of movement, children’s rights, and freedom of expression are restricted by, among other things, fear of discrimination, access to medical treatment, and disparities between countries regarding recognition of same-sex partnerships and adoption rights.
Equality and human rights are core values of the EU, which the Union’s leaders have emphasised year after year. One of the main themes of the European Year of Youth 2022 is diversity and its value. At the same time, the Union tolerates measures that restrict diversity in gender and sexuality.
“The European Union needs to show that the values it champions are not just empty words. Equality requires more unified legislation across member states. The European Union should take a bigger role in advancing minority rights and ensure that all member states guarantee their citizens the rights they committed to upon joining the European Union”, concludes Rajala.
For more information:
Risto Rajala
President
[email protected]
+358 40 056 3080