Louisa Wall addressing the IPU (pic thanks to Jan Logie) Louisa Wall has stood before the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Ecuador and boldly urged it to take a stand against legislation that criminalises homosexuality. The Labour MP and marriage equality champion has just delivered a short speech calling for an IPU committee to create a report on sexual orientation and gender identity rights. She is backed by Green MP Jan Logie and National MP Tau Henare, who make up New Zealand’s delegation at the gathering, which brings together parliamentarians to study international problems and make recommendations for action. The IPU includes many nations which criminalise homosexuality and Jan Logie says during the speech “There was definite atmosphere and Louisa was really staunch." Louisa Wall told the conference the New Zealand delegation believes: “Homosexuals are entitled to full rights of citizenship. It is the role of parliaments to pass legislation that decriminalises homosexuality and homosexual acts between consenting adults.” She said some countries are now proposing strengthening the criminalization of homosexuality. “It is the New Zealand delegation’s position that it is necessary for the IPU to express its opinion on this issue,” she said. Wall then outlined New Zealand’s history of Homosexual Law Reform in 1986. “We inherited this law from the British and I note their homosexual law reform occurred in 1967,” she said. “New Zealand, like many countries was colonised by the British Monarchy and the British Religious Missionaries that introduced concepts from their legislation and from the Victorian interpretation of the bible that labelled homosexuals as criminals, as lesser human beings and as second class citizens,” she said. Wall added that in 1993 New Zealand added sexual orientation as a ground of non-discrimination in our Human Rights legislation. “In proposing this emergency item we hoped that the IPU would debate this issue and that it would become a Champion of Human Rights for all,” she said. “We thought the timing was right to follow on from the 127th IPU Assembly which unanimously adopted the Quebec City Declaration which noted that discrimination should not occur based on culture, race, colour, language, ethnicity, religion, sex, sexual orientation or political affiliation. “While we believe that this issue is an emergency we have been persuaded that this issue can be dealt with via other means within the framework of the IPU and therefore I am giving notice that New Zealand is withdrawing our emergency item.” Wall says New Zealand is now seeking support for a report from the IPU Committee on Democracy and Human Rights on: Sexual orientation and gender identity rights: the role of Parliamentarians in affirming these rights in legislation. “New Zealand respectfully requests your support for the global acceptance and recognition that homosexuals are equal human beings, that homosexuals have been born free and equal in dignity and rights and that homosexuals are equal citizens of the world and we as parliamentarians from democracies across the world will serve and protect their right to exist.” Jan Logie says other proposals involve Syria, who are at the gathering, and yet Wall's was the only item where hands were springing up to oppose. “We are lobbying hard to get the discussion happening. It's a long shot sadly now that Mexico have put up an item on unaccompanied migrant children, but we are rallying supporters. "There is a long way to go though."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Sunday, 24th March 2013 - 11:48am