Respecting Equal Human Rights for LGBTIQ people

Although Europe has come a long way in recognising and protecting LGBTI rights, there is still a long way to go in ensuring LGBTI people are treated equally in society. From childhood, LGBTI people are often victims of hate speech, hate crime, discrimination, humiliation, violence and other forms of oppression. They are prevented from fully enjoying their basic human rights simply because of who they are and whom they love. 

Current EU rules do not attach the same importance to fighting discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics as they attach to fighting discrimination based on race and gender. As a result, they turn a blind eye to numerous problems LGBTI people face in their daily lives, including being bullied at school, getting À red from the workplace due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, and being refused service in public and private spaces. 

The state of LGBTI rights differs in various countries. This is a reflof different historical, cultural and political backgrounds. But these can never justify delaying the full respect of human rights for everyone. We will spare no effort to achieve this.

The PES is the only European political party that has adopted an LGBTI Roadmap. Together with our LGBTI network Rainbow Rose, we call for EU policies that guarantee equal rights and the full protection of LGBTI people, including: 

• Strengthening the fight against hatred and intolerance through EU-wide hate crime legislation.
• Promoting sensitive education and specific programmes on gender and LGBTIQ equality and respect. 
• Ensuring strong legal protection for LGBTI asylum seekers in the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and strengthening implementation by properly training asylum authority personnel regarding the rights of LGBTI asylum seekers and refugees. 
• Ensuring that freedom of movement for families is also fully guaranteed for LGBTI people and their families by fully enforcing the freedom of movement directive.
• Promoting awareness-raising and visibility of LGBTI people in the EU and standing in solidarity with LGBTI people enjoying their freedom of speech and expression.
• Prohibiting unnecessary invasive medical procedures on intersex children. 
• Fighting against domestic violence faced by LGBTI people through setting a minimum applicable standard of non-discrimination across the EU, which can be done by ratifying the Istanbul Convention and encouraging Member States to implement it fully in their national laws.
• Allowing for quick, accessible and transparent legal gender recognition procedures without medical or psychiatric consent and based on the persons’ selfdetermination and without age limits.

PES and Rainbow Rose will continue to facilitate an open dialogue with LGBTI civil society and its PES member parties. We will not allow LGBTI people to become a tool in polarising populist discourse. We will continue to strongly condemn hate speech and speech that sets communities against one another. 

All PES member parties are committed to supporting LGBTI groups within their structures. For a more diverse Europe, where individuals can freely express their identities without the fear of persecution, the rights of LGBTI people must be protected. As Progressives, we are united in this belief. 

As the Party of European Socialists, we are fighting for equal societies. In this resolution we have focused particularly on our priorities for a stronger democracy in Europe. It goes hand-in-hand with seven other resolutions for this PES Congress, that reaffirm our commitment and plan for a social Europe, progressive economy, empowering youth, a healthy environment and modern industries, true gender equality, a fair world, and progressive asylum and migration policies.