The EU fails to have consistent policies protecting LGBTI people’s rights

Last month, New York lawmakers legalized same-sex marriage making New York the sixth and largest state in the US, so far, to recognize gay couples’ right to wed. The decision seemingly had a national impact as it widened the right to marry for gay couples all over the country.

On Wednesday, the US Senate Judiciary Committee discussed ways to stop the gay marriage ban with the help of the White House. Shin Inouye, a spokesperson from the White House, said, “The president has long called for a repeal of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, which continues to have a real impact on the lives of real people.”

Outwardly, US government officials and politicians are working to expand the basic civic rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) people in various ways. Contrary to what’s happening in the US, however, the European Union is having a difficult time to compromise the basic civil rights of LGBTI people in its member states.

Is Eastern Europe to blame?

“One thing that I have learned in following the extension of the EU from fifteen, to twenty-five, to twenty-seven member states, is that we suddenly have to fight the same battle all over again. That battle is about women’s rights and nondiscrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.” Michael Cashman, a MEP, and co-president of intergroup on LGBTI rights in European Parliament said.

 
On 11 June 2011 the first LGBTI pride march in Split, Croatia was met by about 6,000 anti-gay protestors. Croatia is waiting to join the EU in 2013. Credits: “LGBTQ Nation”

In fact, before the EU had expanded to twenty-seven countries and when it included countries from the eastern parts of Europe, it already had an inconsistent policy of recognizing same-sex marriage or same-sex relationships within the member states.

Until now, only five countries in the EU, including Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden, have legalized same-sex marriage. While twelve countries, including France and the UK, do recognize the legal right of civil partnership between gay couples, Italy and Greece, one of the first countries to join the EU, still do not acknowledge any legal rights of LGBTI couples.

Despite the fact that article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union banned any discrimination based on sexual orientation, there is still a majority of the EU member states that do not yet guarantee same sex marriage to their citizens. On this account, it is not strange to witness that some critics have questioned the authenticity of the EU’s actual interest in following the Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Several signs of moving forward

EU justice commissioner Viviane Reding seems to understand these doubts and criticisms. A month ago, she spoke at the Parliament and explained that the Commission will introduce a fundamental rights chapter into EU law in the future.

 
On 30 June 2011, The European Parliament held a public hearing on LGBTI rights in the world. Ulrike Lunacek MEP, left, and Michael Cashman, right, Co-Presidents of the LGBT Intergroup moderated the discussion.  Credits: “EU Parliament”

Prior to this ambitious remark, the EU parliament rejected the new Hungarian constitution because it failed to forbid discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. Recently, the Commission and Parliament have tried to make the case of LGBTI persons a central topic in EU politics. Cashman said, “We must fight for other countries where there is inequality whether it’s in Poland, Malta, or Germany.” He even mentioned the United States. But still, there are some remaining issues in the EU, which will hopefully decrease in upcoming years.

Potential candidate countries

Currently, there are five official candidate countries, including Croatia and Turkey, which are waiting to join the EU. Apart from Iceland, none of these countries recognize same-sex marriage. In fact, the Minster of Family Affairs in Turkey made a comment to the Turkish newspaper “Hurrivet” saying, “I believe homosexuality is a biological disorder, an illness, and should be treated.” This comment aroused huge backlashes from gay activists in Turkey.

Ideals vs. Reality

The EU has always been known for its ideals, which are promoting peace, freedom and equality around the world. That is why article 2 of the Treaty of the European Union says, “The European Union is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.”

Michael Cashman is one of the most active MEP members to protect LGBTI people’s rights in the member states and is one of a few openly gay MEP members in EU parliament. Photo by Taein Park

Cashman, elected MEP of the Year for Justice and Fundamental Rights in 2007, emphasized that the focus of the EU should be global. In addition, he insisted very rigidly that he would fight for the basic civil rights of LGBTI people not only in Europe and the United States, but also all over the world. The US, however, appears to have found their own way when it comes to fighting for gay couples’ right to marry.

It is now time for the EU to come up with their own way of protecting the basic rights of LGBTI people within the member states. The EU needs to take a step forward in order to reach their ideals in vigorous ways. As Israeli Philosopher Avishai Margalit says, “Ideals may tell us something important about what we would like to be, but compromise tells us who we are.”

 

Posted on July 28, 2011 by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Filed under news, development.

An unforgettable stay in the land of the morning calm

I remember falling in love with Korea in the year 2000, when the then U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited North Korea.

I was glued to the documentary on television, where she could be seen offering a basketball to Kim Jong-il, the leader of one of the most closed countries in the world. I was so surprised to see this man, Kim Jong-il, grinning like a child as he held the ball autographed by the NBA star Michael Jordan. He seemed so nice and yet I knew that he was oppressing 23 millions of North Koreans.

The desire to travel to this secretive country increased by the day, until finally, in August 2006, I was able to travel to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital that is hidden from the eyes of the world, when I was invited to take part in a trip organised by the Korean Friendship Association based in Spain.

I spent 11 days in North Korea before travelling to South Korea. Unfortunately, my stay in South Korea only lasted five days, just enough time to carry out a few interviews with refugees, NGOs and university teachers. It did not give me a chance to feel South Korea, the Republic of Korea.

From that year on, I started writing the first and only weblog in Portugal exclusively dedicated to the Korean peninsula.

In 2009, I came across a unique opportunity to return to South Korea. The European Journalism Centre (EJC) and the Korean Press Foundation (KPF) were organising a fellowship programme that seemed to have been especially tailor-made for me. I sent in my application and a few weeks later, was delighted to find out that I had been accepted!

Back to South Korea

Landing in Korea is like landing in another world. A world of taste, colour, tension, calm, past, future, so many apparent contradictions and yet all coexisting in a harmonious partnership.

The EJC/KFP programme started off with a series of lectures by well known Korean experts which gave our group of six European journalists a helpful overview on Korean culture and politics.

Over the following period of 12 days we were able to make contacts that would have taken us weeks to build otherwise. We visited the South Korean Parliament and had a talk with MPs from various political parties. This is when I discovered that there is a special room at the Parliament designed for the day of reunification between the two Koreas, a day which since the end of Korean War in 1953, so many Koreans have been waiting for.

We also met with the South Korean ambassador in charge of the nuclear issue and visited a few technology companies, which constitute some of South Korea’s strongest assets, as well as, perhaps, the most famous Korean company: Hyundai.

The programme took into account the areas of interest of each participant. One of the most intense moments for me was the trip we took to the DMZ. Located about 30 kms to the north of Seoul, the Demilitarised Zone bears an ironic name, since it is one of the most militarised areas in the world.

The 38th parallel marking the border between North and South Korea is a mere foot away from North Korea. It was an impressive experience to return to the same place I had visited in 2006, but this time on the other side of the border.

Expanding my knowledge and my network

During our stay we were each invited to share a dinner with a Korean family. This gave me a chance to speak with Korean people on a personal level, learn about their traditions and hear their thoughts about their country.

Meal time was always a moment of pure enjoyment. We were treated to an abundance of colours and flavours and kimchi, bulgogi, bibimba and other delicacies were all served at just the right time and with the right level of spiciness.

Our rich programme took us to various parts of Korea, including the important harbour city of Busan and its fascinating fish market where customers can buy what they want and have it cooked right in front of their eyes - a must see!

Our visit to Jeju Island was another highlight of the trip. There we saw enigmatic women, some of them older than 70 years, who still maintain the tradition of diving into the sea of Jeju, looking for oysters, octopus and other fish to earn money and sustain their families. They can dive for hours on end and without any oxygen support.

Finally, in Jeju, we enjoyed a fruitful meeting with a group of Korean journalists. I have kept these contacts until today and they have been precious. I appeal to my fellow Korean colleagues whenever I need to prepare a radio programme involving Korean affairs.

Overall, my portfolio of Korean contacts grew exponentially during this trip. This was very valuable, especially for someone like myself who is keeping a weblog devoted exclusively to Korean affairs.

For European journalists, sometimes so far removed from Asia, the EJC/KFP programme is an excellent opportunity to better understand one of the most dynamic world economies that continues to keep its ancient traditions alive.

The only problem is… you won’t want to return home!

By Rita Colaço
Portuguese reporter
http://coreiadonorte.wordpress.com

——-

The 2011 KPF/EJC fellowship programme will take place between 22 August and 3 September 2011.

Apply online before 29 May 2011!

 

Posted on May 11, 2011 by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Filed under blogging, events, development, projects.

Supporting Somali journalists in exile

Josh LaPorte and Marjan Tillmans, longtime media development project leaders at the EJC, met recently with the directors of the Hayaan Media Development Center, Abdullahi Jama Ali and Abdiweli Ibrahim Aden.

The Hayaan Media Development Center (HMDC) is a new nonprofit dedicated to improving the experience of Somali journalists in Europe and east Africa.

The meeting, in Utrecht, was held to discuss support for refugee Somali journalists based in the Netherlands as well as their colleagues working under harsh and almost impossible conditions in their homeland. Much overlap was discovered between EJC’s core media development goals in Africa and those journalists HMDC reaches out to regularly inside Somalia.  A number of possible joint fundraising opportunities were discussed, as well as integrating Somali journalists into future EJC practical reporting seminars planned in neighboring Kenya. 

A key part of the discussion concerned the Exiled Journalists Network (EJN) based in London, and the possibility of building networks with HMDC and an organisational structure based on the EJN’s successful model.

From an article on Hayaan’s website about the meeting:

“The general director of Hayaan Media Development Center Abdullahi Jama Ali detailed about the insecurity problem in which the journalists work inside Somalia and their needs to be supported on the side of upgrading their professionals.

He sees the meeting with EJC as profitable and helpful to the continuation of the activities relating to energizing of Media doings.

The senior project manager Media Development of the European Journalism Center Josh LaPorte welcomed the briefings given praising HMDC’s efforts towards Media Development in Somalia regarding it as the appropriate and timely organization that has the capacity to maintain such greater media tasks in east Africa region.”

Posted on January 25, 2010 by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Filed under development.

Thinking about press freedom from the current Capital of Europe

I was in Prague during the Czech EU Presidency last month and was struck by some off-the-cuff remarks made by a city official to a group of international journalists during a discussion on the role of the press.

The official said politicians and journalists need each other, that journalists rely on politics for a good source of its news and ‘product’, and forcefully stated that the role of responsible media is to keep an eye on the politicians.

But instead of continuing on with the press freedom banter, the comments ended with a thrust back into pre-Velvet Revolution Prague when the official added that politicians need to keep an eye on the journalists as well.

What did that mean and where did it come from?  What happened that prompted the official - in fact a former journalist - to say that?  What did it say about press freedom when someone who understands both sides of the politics/media equation has concluded that journalists need to be watched?

I thought about this for days - and came to the conclusion that what is happening now in a lot of former communist country media markets is a frustration with the down-marketing of journalism as a profession, a craft, and a form of communication that even awards prizes to itself.

The comment illustrated frustration from above, and from below reflected sloppiness and a lack of self-regulation, even pride, on the part of journalists here and in Warsaw, Budapest and other cities that thought Western foreign investment into local media was the key to raising salaries and thus journalistic professionalism. Instead it seems to have made the bottom line a daily reality for editors in order to appeal to as many readers as they possibly can, sacrificing well-researched stories for the sake of a few more readers to get those numbers up for the quickly disappearing advertisers.

While politicians in this part of the world have been known - even recently - to keep their eyes on journalists, it was more from the fear of stories that opened up questions of corruption and other kinds of scandals. However these days more enlightened politicians seem to be worried that journalists are not only getting the facts wrong but also focusing on the wrong facts, that they are not doing their job inside a functioning democracy.

Should the market sort it all out?  Media self regulation and press councils can go someway to putting pressure on sensational journalism, but the pressure for mass appeal journalism is even stronger.

I would like to say that this is a black and white issue: press freedom means being allowed to write just about anything about anyone. Whoever questions that (like my Czech official) is part of the censorship brigade.  But now with the influx of bloggers and citizen journalists the role of the professional journalist is even more important; that well researched, relevant and factual journalism should not give political, business and society’s leaders pause over questions of quality. Self-regulation should come from a source of pride journalists should have in their profession.

So if Czech politicians are watching their journalists and mentally editing their stories these days, they will have a lot of homework to do. Probably too much to take some time to reflect on Press Freedom Day this year.

—-
Flickr image from user Giorgio Montersino

Posted on May 4, 2009 by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Filed under development.

Eufeeds.eu update

Daniel added a 100 extra feeds, so it’s now a whopping 400 feeds instead of 300 that we started with. Now up to 500! So it’s about time to add some functionalities: Distinct local and national newspapers + sorting settings.

Also fixed a CSS bug for Safari and the like that was messing up the navigational flags…

Posted on April 6, 2008 by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Filed under development.