Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2006-01-16-Speech-1-068"
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"en.20060116.14.1-068"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, the European Parliament has prided itself on having spearheaded the fight against discrimination where equality between men and women, the status of ethnic minorities, the situation of disabled people and, more recently, respect for people’s sexual orientation are concerned.
Article 13 of the Treaty, the Charter of Fundamental Rights and numerous directives make it not only the right, but also the duty, of our Assembly to continue to fight for the equal rights of homosexuals, bisexuals and transsexuals. In view of the substantial progress recorded in this area in many Member States, some people had hoped, if not for this matter to have been settled, then at least for it to have died down.
No such thing has happened, and a real upsurge in homophobic language and violence can even be observed. The recent remarks made by Polish political leaders dismayed us, with the European Commission, I am afraid to say, only reacting to them in a very half-hearted manner. Other unacceptable speeches of this kind have been made in other countries, including France. Violent acts, ranging from insults to torture and murder, are to be deplored everywhere. These crimes are taking place in a particularly worrying international context, in countries such as Egypt, Lebanon and Senegal. Homosexuals are being persecuted because of the way in which they live their lives. Worse still, in Iran, two have been executed.
We are therefore delighted to welcome the Commission statement on homophobia in the European Union. Our colleague from the Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats, Mr Stubb, had prepared a resolution, on behalf of our group, calling on the Commission and the Member States to take practical legislative and operational measures to combat these forms of discrimination. Today, it is a resolution common to five political groups that we are examining. One can only be delighted to see that, in this Chamber, the fight for human rights has transcended partisan borders. The pious hopes contained in the Commission’s statements must now be very swiftly replaced by a practical and comprehensive directive. Equally, it is up to each one of us to continue this fight in our respective countries for a form of equality that consists not only of the right to other people’s indifference towards their sexuality, but also of the right to be different."@en1
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