The European Parliament has adopted a report which is strongly in favour of safeguarding transgender people's fundamental rights. The Parliament officially acknowledged discrimination on grounds of gender identity, calls for accessible gender reassignment procedures, and insists future EU gender equality initiatives should address issues linked to gender identity and gender reassignment. It adopted the Figueiredo Report, which calls for a strengthened follow up strategy to the Roadmap for equality between men and women 2006-2010. The report says the strategy needs to take into account LGBT aspects, particularly equality for transgender people. Co-presidents of the Intergroup on LGBT Rights Ulrike Lunacek and Michael Cashman say they are glad the report was adopted. "It represents a true milestone for improving the EU record on gender equality for all - including transgender citizens. It states clearly that gender equality strategies must explicitly address issues linked to gender identity, and thus sets a clear position on transgender people's fundamental rights in the future." ILGA-Europe is also pleased with the outcome of the debate, saying the Figueiredo Report contains all of the key proposals it submitted to the European Commission during the 2009 consultation. Executive Director Evelyne Paradis says ILGA Europe hopes the European Commission will follow-up on the European Parliament's leadership and actively takes on board the promotion of gender equality for all. "We also hope that the European Commission will follow the example of the Council of Europe's Conference of Ministers responsible for Equality between Women and Men which identified that ‘women and girls discriminated on grounds of their sexual orientation or gender identity, [and] transgender persons' were particularly vulnerable group needing specific attention." The Figueiredo report: Acknowledges discrimination and multiple discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Calls on EU authorities to include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organisations in future work on gender equality. Stresses that gender reassignment procedures should be made accessible, including through public health insurance schemes. Requires that future EU actions in the field of gender equality explicitly cover issues linked to gender identity and gender reassignment.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 19th June 2010 - 10:07am