Europese ontmoeting aanpak vijandig geweld tegen homo's, lesbiennes, biseksuelen en transgenders

Toespraak | 09-12-2011

Ladies and gentlemen, and others

I wish you all a very warm welcome, and I would particularly like to mention Mr Kukal from the European Commission, Mrs Gönz from the European parliament and Mr Nickels form the European Fundamental Rights Agency.

We have been brought together by ILGA Europe at the invitation of my ministry. And I am very glad all of you have come to The Hague from all corners of Europe.

This meeting is well timed. In many countries, today is ‘Wear it Purple Day’, which exists to draw attention to young people at risk of violence, suicide and self-harm due to their sexuality. And tomorrow is the International Day of Human Rights.

Therefore, I would like to begin by quoting from a speech given by Hillary Clinton to the United Nations in Geneva on Tuesday.

She said:
“The Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims a simple, powerful idea: all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
With the declaration, it was made clear that rights are not conferred by government; they are the birthright of all people. And because we have rights, governments are bound to protect them.

Being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender does not make you less human. And that is why gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.”
I wholeheartedly agree. Europe is not a community based on markets and economy only. It is also a community based on values. The acknowledgement of human rights is a basic value upon which we must all act. This is why the Netherlands is in strong favour of a cohesive approach to tackle homophobia and transphobia, discrimination and violence in Europe.

[Slide 1]

Our country has a reputation to uphold. Here we see some of our main export products. The canals of central Amsterdam are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. They represent part of a historic tradition. Respect for freedom, tolerance, and equal rights for the LGBT community are also part of that tradition. We sometimes hear the term ‘Dutch design’ in this context.

In recent years, our ‘Dutch design’ has accounted for several important milestones in legislation and initiatives intended to increase social acceptance and to combat discrimination, particularly when it manifests itself as actual violence.

One of the success factors of our ‘Dutch design’ is the close cooperation between members of the LGBT community and their heterosexual counterparts: ‘gay-straight alliances’.
There are many initiatives – not just those led by the police but in sports clubs, retirement homes, schools and the workplace – in which gay-straight alliances encourage dialogue about ‘being different’. These are the settings in which such efforts will be most successful, since it is often here that discrimination, intolerance and violence still occur.

[Slide 2]

I am sure you are familiar with the Canal Parade, part of Amsterdam’s annual Gay Pride weekend. It began as an initiative of the LGBT community itself: it was an opportunity to stand up and be counted. In recent years, the focus has shifted. The Canal Parade now also is more an expression of solidarity and of concrete cooperation between the LGBT community and various public organizations, including the government itself.

On the photograph, you see a boat with police officers from all parts of Europe, invited by the Dutch LGBT Police Network. And that brings me back to today’s topic: our response to ‘hate crimes’ against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. Such crimes are still a major problem throughout Europe. The Netherlands is no exception. Rarely a month goes by without at least one report of gays being bullied or intimidated, sometimes to the extent that they are forced out of their own homes. And we still hear of transgendered people being taunted and abused on the streets.

Education is one way in which we can promote social acceptance. In the short term, however, more is required. We must clamp down on discrimination and hate crimes with a firm hand.
Again, this will rely in part on good cooperation and ‘Dutch design’ thinking. I shall return to this point in a few moments. But it also calls for us to establish legal protection at the European level, with effective anti-discrimination laws in all member states.

This is likely to be a lengthy process, as the Council of Europe’s recent report on the position of homosexuals and transgendered people in Europe confirms.

- In 29 of the 47 countries which are members of the Council, there are as yet no specific legal penalties for crimes against gay or transgendered people.
- In 27 of those countries, gays and lesbians enjoy no legal protection against discrimination in any form.
- In 27 countries, there is little or no legislation forbidding discrimination against transgendered people.

This must change! And this is why I intend to hold talks with my fellow ministers and the European Commission very soon, at which I shall stress the importance of a cohesive, ‘joint forces’ approach. We shall then be able to exert pressure on those nations which are dragging their heels. We can achieve much by diplomatic means.

For example, the Lithuanian parliament has proposed banning schools from discussing homosexuality in the classroom. The European Parliament passed a resolution censuring this and calling for Lithuania to bring its legislation in line with the European directives on non-discrimination.
As yet, we do not know how this particular episode will end, but we have made our position very clear.
There have also been some positive developments. In recent years, we have seen gay rights demonstrations held in Latvia, Estonia and Poland, all with the approval of the authorities. Hungary and the Czech Republic have already introduced same-sex civil partnerships, and other countries are preparing the necessary legislation even as I speak. Sometimes, bringing about a change in attitudes demands considerable patience. It is a question of frappez toujours: ‘keep on hammering’.

Alongside political pressure from fellow member states, full emancipation of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders will be impossible without the work of the advocacy groups and social organizations, the local initiatives and the people who are willing to put the message across to anyone who will listen – and more especially those who won’t.
You are those people. By working together, you are helping to put an end to discrimination and hate crimes.

Today, you can look back on four years of this cooperation under the banner of ILGA Europe. Today, you can share your experiences and ideas about the success factors and the obstacles. My colleague, secretary of state Mr Teeven will tell you a lot more about our specific Dutch approach, later on this day. And I’m happy to tell you today that the Dutch Gouvernment supports Ilga Europe to work on the comprehensive approach against violence and hatecrime with one million euros for a four year period, starting this year.

I see this conference is part of an even greater ambition. I have talked about ‘Dutch design’ in the sense of a national approach based on good cooperation between all sections of society.
In a few years, I hope that we will have forgotten all about Dutch design and will instead be referring to ‘European design’.

Let’s all meet again on 17 May 2013 – the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia – and see just how far we’ve come. For now, I wish you a productive and enjoyable meeting. Thank you.