Plenary summary: EEAS, EU relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan, European semester, human rights defenders and repression in Belarus
Brussels, 21/03/2023
During its March I Plenary session, the European Parliament Plenary debated and voted on some files that relate to the human rights of LGBTI persons:
- European Parliament recommendation to the Council and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy taking stock of the functioning of the EEAS and for a stronger EU in the world
- EU-Armenia relations – Committee on Foreign Affairs
- EU-Azerbaijan relations – Committee on Foreign Affairs
- European Semester for economic policy coordination: Employment and social priorities for 2023 Committee on Employment and Social Affairs
- EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders
- Further repression against the people of Belarus, in particular the cases of Andrzej Poczobut and Ales Bialiatski
- (Note: For a complete list of all texts (and specific paragraphs) in this legislature touching upon LGBTI issues, check our List of resources available here.)
Taking stock of the functioning of the EEAS and for a stronger EU in the world
On Monday, Members of the European Parliament debated the Report on a European Parliament recommendation to the Council and the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy taking stock of the functioning of the EEAS abd fir a stronger EU in the world (rapporteur: Urmas Paet (Renew)). The report was adopted on Wednesday.
The report introduced reforms to end the duplication of Commission and EEAS Staff as well as the resources and responsibility in EU delegations. On LGBTIQ issues, it mentioned:
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- (bf) promote common training and other concrete measures for the consolidation of a common EU diplomatic culture and higher level of expertise among all EEAS staff who have differing diplomatic, cultural and institutional backgrounds, which should include training on gender equality, women’s empowerment and the Action Plan on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in External Relations 2020–2025 (GAP III), on WPS, sexual exploitation and abuse, including sexual harassment, at headquarters and EU delegations in order to counter unconscious bias and enhance gender equality, diversity and inclusion; (…)
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- (bo) take serious and sustainable steps to improve gender balance within the EEAS, particularly in senior management and political positions; ensure gender-responsive and gender-balanced leadership that increases the number and percentage of women in senior and middle management positions in EEAS services through gender-responsive recruitment procedures that actively aim to reduce gender bias in recruitment processes and apply gender-based preferential selection when job candidates are equally competent
Watch the plenary debate here.
EU-Armenia relations
On Tuesday, Members of the European Parliament debated the report on the EU-Armenia relations (rapporteur: Andrey Kovatchev (EPP)). The report was adopted on Wednesday.
The report considers that the armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, which over the years has caused immense suffering and destruction, has significantly hampered the development and stability of the whole South Caucasus region and impacts wider European stability.
On LGBTIQ issues, it mentioned:
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- 38. Encourages Armenia to continue its efforts to implement reforms and strengthen democracy, the rule of law and good governance and appreciates the progress already made(…)calls on Armenia to take the steps necessary to better protect human rights, especially women’s rights and the rights of minorities, including LGBTIQ people; (…)
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- 44. Highlights that Article 1 of the CEPA includes as an objective the enhancement of cooperation in the area of freedom, security and justice with the aim of reinforcing the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms; underlines the importance of media freedom, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly for preserving a vibrant democracy; is concerned by the presence of disinformation and harsh rhetoric, including towards marginalised groups; urges authorities to categorically uphold all human rights enshrined in the ECHR, notably when they concern vulnerable groups such as women, children, persons with disabilities and LGBTIQ persons;
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- 49. Stresses the need to improve the situation regarding gender equality, women’s representation and equal treatment at all levels of political, economic and societal life, and the fight against gender-based and domestic violence; calls on Armenia to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence; regrets the fact that women’s political participation remains low despite the introduction of a gender quota for candidate lists;
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- 52. Stresses the importance of non-discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and that improvements in this regard would be of great benefit to the democratic development of Armenia and help advance human rights protection; regrets, however, that Armenia is lagging behind in the defence of LGBTIQ rights and is concerned about the situation in the country; urges the Armenian authorities to uphold and promote the rights of LGBTIQ persons and to prevent and combat LGBTIQ-phobia, social exclusion, stigmatisation and all forms of discrimination against LGBTIQ people in its legislation and calls for the EU to support Armenia in this process;
Watch the plenary debate here.
EU-Azerbaijan relations
On Tuesday, Members of the European Parliament debated the report on EU-Azerbaijan relations (rapporteur: Željana Zovko (EPP)). The report was adopted on Wednesday.
This report considers that the armed conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, which over the years has caused immense suffering and destruction, has significantly hampered the development and stability of the whole South Caucasus region and impacts wider European stability.
On LGBTIQ issues, it mentioned:
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- 28. Recalls that the 1996 EU-Azerbaijan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement is based on respect for democracy and the principles of international law and human rights and that these have not been systematically upheld in Azerbaijan; (…)any further cooperation between the EU and Azerbaijan conditional on the country’s effective and tangible progress towards respect for international standards and international commitments, in particular those related to democracy, human rights, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms, particularly freedom of expression and association, good governance, the rights of minorities, freedom of the media and gender equality;
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- 42. Recalls that Parliament’s position has been clear on non-discrimination with regard to LGBTIQ people, their protection against discrimination in law and practice and the prosecution of all acts of abuse, hate speech and physical violence perpetrated against them; urges the Azerbaijani authorities therefore to adopt anti-discrimination legislation, adding sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and sex characteristics as prohibited grounds for discrimination; urges Azerbaijan to adopt civil, administrative and/or criminal proceedings to protect people from hate speech and hate crimes; calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to reform criminal legislation by adding the abovementioned grounds as aggravating circumstances and to combat LGBTIQ-phobic violence; reiterates the call by PACE on the authorities of Azerbaijan to investigate cases of wrongful arrest of LGBTIQ people and to prevent and combat police violence against these people;
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- 43. Condemns the disinformation emanating from Azerbaijan targeting the West, in particular in the wake of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine; notes that the narratives used against the West are copy-pasted from Russian propaganda, including attacks on LGBTIQ rights and alleged threats to traditional values;
Watch the plenary debate here.
European Semester for economic policy coordination: Employment and social priorities for 2023
On Tuesday, Members of the European Parliament debated the report on European Semester for economic policy coordination: Employment and social priorities for 2023 (rapporteur: (Estrella Dura Ferrandis (S&D)). The report was adopted on Wednesday.
This report highlights the fact that the swift and coordinated EU policy action during the COVID-19 pandemic mitigated economic shocks and protected the population from the most adverse consequences of the crisis; and believes that, although the fallout from Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine poses multiple new economic, social and geopolitical challenges to the EU economy and society, other longer-standing social challenges, such as poverty, social exclusion, climate and biodiversity emergencies and inequalities continue to grow and must also be tackled.
On LGBTIQ issues, it mentioned:
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- 7. Believes that gender equality policies must be anchored and mainstreamed in all phases of economic governance; stresses the need to ensure gender equality, non-discrimination and social equality in employment relationships; calls on the Commission and the Member States to address the feminisation of poverty in all its forms, particularly by improving working conditions in feminised sectors; calls for the strengthening of gender-sensitive policies at the EU level, essential to ensure that the impact of the cost of living crisis does not widen gender inequality;
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- 8. Calls for a more democratic European Semester process, with Parliament closely involved in setting macroeconomic and social policy priorities, (…) calls on the Commission to develop an economic governance architecture in the EU based on solidarity, integration, social justice and convergence, gender equality (…);
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- 17. Considers that the revised social scoreboard may not adequately cover the 20 EPSR principles; calls, therefore, for the Commission to consider a further revision and enhancement of the social scoreboard, with the inclusion of relevant indicators, for instance relating to social well-being, and disaggregation of data by various factors, such as gender, age, and income, so as to identify social divergences and the impact of policies on various groups, particularly those in vulnerable situations (…);
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- 21. (…)calls on Member States to assess work of equal value in accordance with objective gender-neutral criteria;
Watch the plenary debate here.
EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders
On Wednesday, Members of the European Parliament debated the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders (rapporteur: Hannah Neumann (Greens/EFA)). The report was adopted on Thursday.
The report praises and thanks all human rights defenders for their courageous and crucial work in defence of human rights and the planet; acknowledges that they have to do their work under increasingly challenging and evolving circumstances and often at a heavy personal cost for them, their families and their communities.
On LGBTIQ issues, it mentioned:
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- 26. Stresses the need to carry out a gender-specific implementation of the Guidelines and the need for protection mechanisms with an intersectional and gender perspective; calls on the Commission to prioritise access to protection mechanisms and resources for women HRDs, and provide increased funding to civil society organisations that promote the rights of women and girls, notably sexual and reproductive rights and health;
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- 27. Calls on the EEAS and the Member States to support women HRDs and to adopt, as an annex to the Guidelines, a toolkit providing practical steps to take to enable the EU to better meet the gender-specific threats, needs and challenges of women HRDs worldwide;
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- 29. Welcomes the issuance of calls for proposals dedicated to supporting LGBTQI+ rights defenders and encourages EU missions to step up their monitoring of and support for activists defending LGBTQI+ rights as an integral part of the EU’s HRD policy;
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- 57. Underlines the need for the Guidelines to be updated in view of the evolving challenges and risks faced by HRDs, (…), especially those working on the rights of women and the LGBTQI+ community, (…), and the specific risks that these groups face;
Watch the plenary debate here.
Further repression against the people of Belarus, in particular the cases of Andrzej Poczobut and Ales Bialiatski
On Wednesday, Members of the European Parliament voted on the joint motion for a resolution on Further repression against the people of Belarus, in particular the case of Andrzej Poczobut and Ales Bialiatski. The motion for a resolution was adopted on Wednesday.
The motion for a resolution reiterates its solidarity with the people of Belarus who continue to stand up for a sovereign, free and democratic Belarus, risking their freedom and their lives and continues to demand an immediate end to the repression by state authorities against the people of Belarus.
On LGBTIQ issues, it mentioned:
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- 3. Reminds the Belarusian authorities of their obligations to respect the human rights of all Belarusian citizens, including the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association; insists on the need to ensure fundamental freedoms and human rights, the rule of law and a functioning independent judiciary in Belarus;(…); calls for an end to discrimination against women and vulnerable groups, including persons belonging to minorities, persons with disabilities and LGBTQI persons;
Watch the plenary debate here.
