The Scottish Greens have always been firmly committed to equal rights. We were the first party in Scotland to support marriage equality, and our MSPs have worked hard to fight for rights for same sex couples.
Progress, however, is patchy across Europe with advances in some states sitting alongside growing instances of intolerance and hatred in others.
In 2014 Green MEPs won cross-party backing for a new EU ‘roadmap’ on eliminating all discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. With intolerance on the rise across the EU, Greens called for an EU-wide action plan based on all Member States adopting a coherent approach – with the European Commission empowered to take concrete follow-up measures against countries that do not comply.
The EU should be the global champion of equality for LGBT+, fighting the criminalisation and punishment of LGBT+ people across the globe and forming a consistent demand in trade discussions or diplomatic relations.
Work for a comprehensive EU action plan to champion equality; and the adoption of an internal human rights strategy, with the setting up of a watchdog to hold member states to account for human rights violations against LGBT+ people.Our MEP will:
- Seek to complete EU anti-discrimination legislation and its effective implementation through continued EU financial programmes to make equality a reality.
- Combat homophobic and transphobic violence: mobilising EU agencies to work against all forms of bias-motivated violence and bullying.
- Promote an inclusive definition of family in all EU competencies, such as freedom of movement and promote respect and recognition of LGBT+ families.
- Tackle discrimination and inequalities in health by requiring EU institutions and member states to effectively address barriers to the effective enjoyment of the right to health for LGBT+ people through existing EU policies and programmes.
- Ensure that LGBT+ people seeking asylum because of persecution can qualify for asylum on that ground and ensure that Scotland leads on implementing that provision.
- Seek to make EU membership conditional upon granting rights for LGBT+ citizens.
- Be a leading voice on transgender rights, in calling for an end to unreasonable barriers for gender recognition, and actively champion the EU in continuing to lead on depathologisation of transgender identities.