Ahead of the seminar of the CoR PES Group on Promoting LGBTI rights in the EU (29 November), organised in cooperation with Rainbow Rose, its President Aurélien Mazuy, tells us more about the organisation's priorities and objectives for the coming years.
Rainbow Rose became officially part of the Party of European Socialists in 2006 and was relaunched two years ago, gaining momentum ever since. What are the achievements of the organisation so far and its aspirations for the near future?
Two years after its relaunch, Rainbow Rose has established itself as a reference on LGBTI issues within the PES family. We are delighted to have become a PES associate organisation and to cooperate closely with sister parties and organisations from across Europe as well as with our family's political groups in the European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions. Our aim is to expand Rainbow Rose membership by having member organisations covering the whole European Union (so far, there are more than 30 member structures covering 23 EU Member States). At the same time, we also work to reinforce the capacity of our smaller organisations, which often rely on a few dedicated individuals. Moreover, Rainbow Rose is striving to become a full PES member organisation in the very near future.
What advances in LGBTI issues would you hope to see in 2016?
2016 is the start of the implementation of the new LGBTI list of actions, proposed by the European Commission in December 2015. We also hope to see immediate adoption of the Commission proposal for a Council directive on eliminating discrimination outside of work (under discussion since 2008). Likewise, Rainbow Rose is calling for full recognition of the right to free movement of LGBTI persons and their families. Furthermore, Rainbow Rose expects to see the end of forced sterilisation or medical intervention as a condition for legal gender recognition. From our side, we will continue to work closely with the sister parties from the Member States holding the EU presidency of the Council to raise the profile of LGBTI issues and push for progressive legislations. We have high hopes that our Dutch (current EU presidency) and Maltese (EU presidency in 1st semester 2017) comrades will deliver great achievements during their presidencies.
What about LGBTI issues beyond the EU?
Rainbow Rose is very involved in the current debate about the refugee crisis and raises systematically awareness about the situation of LGBTI people in refugee camps and in what some Member States call “safe countries”, which simply do not respect their fundamental rights. We are also working on LGBTI rights in two specific countries, Turkey and Tunisia, where we have established contacts with LGBTI organisations on the ground.
