Plenary summary : LGBTI free zones, Children’s rights and Istanbul Convention

During its second November plenary session, the European Parliament held a debate on public discrimination and hate speech on LGBTI people in presence of the Commission, and adopted two texts in relation to LGBTI rights : rights of the child and Istanbul Convention.

Debate on public discrimination and hate speech

On Tuesday 26 November, Members of the European Parliament debated on Public discrimination and hate speech against LGBTI people, including LGBTI free zones. The debate was requested upon initiative of the LGBTI Intergroup. A resolution will be voted on the topic during the December plenary.

Read our press release here.

30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child

On Tuesday 26 November, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on children’s rights on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In this resolution, the EP :

• reminds that « children’s rights continue to be violated in many parts of the world, including in EU Member States, as a result of violence, abuse, exploitation, poverty, social exclusion and discrimination based on, among others, gender and sexual identity » (para. E)

• stresses the importance of an intersectional approach to combating all forms of discrimination affecting children, « taking into in consideration their vulnerabilities […] in particular those of children with LGBTI children […] and children of LGBTI parents » (para. 40)

• calls on the Member States to guarantee the right to inclusive education and to ensure access to comprehensive, age-appropriate information about sex and sexuality « particularly in the light of measures taken by certain countries which forbid schools from dealing with sexual orientation and gender identity » (para. 31)

Read the full resolution here.

Ratification of the Istanbul Convention

The European Parliament also adopted a resolution on EU accession to the Istanbul Convention and other measures to combat gender-based violence on 28 November.

In the resolution, the EP reminds that the Istanbul Convention stipulates that all its provisions, in particular measures to protect the rights of victims, « shall be secured without discrimination on any ground », including sexual orientation and gender identity (para. F).

It also « reiterates its call on the Commission to revise, following an impact assessment, the EU framework decision on combating certain forms and expressions of racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law currently in force, in order to include incitement to hatred on grounds of gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics » (para. 12).

Read the resolution here.

Approval of the von der Leyen Commission

Finally, the European Parliament approved the new Commission on 27 November.

Read more here.