Hungarian LGBT Alliance: The President Should Not Sign the Homophobic Constitution
20/04/2011
Submitted by
Hungarian LGBT Alliance
The Hungarian Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Alliance and its member organizations protest against the new Constitution adopted by the Hungarian Parliament yesterday, which restricts the rights of sexual minorities and goes against international and European standards of human rights. The Alliance calls on Mr. Pál Schmitt, President of Hungary to listen to the critique of both international and local human rights NGOs and not to sign the Constitution into law.
As adopted yesterday, the Constitution restricts marriage to a union between a woman and a man, which sets into stone the discrimination of same-sex couples for decades. On the other hand, the Constitution does not include an explicit prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation, which increases the legal insecurity of LGBT citizens and their families.
During the drafting process the argument has been often put forward that the Constitution is built on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and thus would be the most modern constitution in Europe. But it is exactly those provisions of the Charter that make it a progressive human rights instrument that the governing parties forgot to include in the new Hungarian Constitution. Unlike previous human rights conventions, Article 9 of the Charter does not refer to women and men when talking about the right to marry, and Article 21 explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. It is highly problematic that the governing parties refer to the Charter while they pick and choose from human rights enshrined in it based on their ideological convictions.
Equality before the law and the prohibition of discrimination are fundamental principles of human rights. If the legislature includes discriminatory provisions in the text of the Constitution they, should not be surprised if their commitment to human rights is questioned. The constitutional prohibition of same-sex marriage is a form of open discrimination, which excludes hundreds of thousands of citizens from the political community. It is no accident that the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights strongly criticized Eastern-European countries as early as 2009 for trying to restrict same-sex marriage in their respective constitutions.
We call on Mr. Pál Schmitt, President of Hungary not to sign the new Constitution into law, and to give a new opportunity to the Parliament to adopt a truly modern, European Constitution, which protects same-sex families and includes an explicit prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation, instead of a political pamphlet motivated by homophobic prejudices, which it currently is.
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Press Contact
Sandor Steigler
press@lmbtszovetseg.hu
(+36.70) 551.2346
As adopted yesterday, the Constitution restricts marriage to a union between a woman and a man, which sets into stone the discrimination of same-sex couples for decades. On the other hand, the Constitution does not include an explicit prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation, which increases the legal insecurity of LGBT citizens and their families.
During the drafting process the argument has been often put forward that the Constitution is built on the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and thus would be the most modern constitution in Europe. But it is exactly those provisions of the Charter that make it a progressive human rights instrument that the governing parties forgot to include in the new Hungarian Constitution. Unlike previous human rights conventions, Article 9 of the Charter does not refer to women and men when talking about the right to marry, and Article 21 explicitly prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. It is highly problematic that the governing parties refer to the Charter while they pick and choose from human rights enshrined in it based on their ideological convictions.
Equality before the law and the prohibition of discrimination are fundamental principles of human rights. If the legislature includes discriminatory provisions in the text of the Constitution they, should not be surprised if their commitment to human rights is questioned. The constitutional prohibition of same-sex marriage is a form of open discrimination, which excludes hundreds of thousands of citizens from the political community. It is no accident that the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights strongly criticized Eastern-European countries as early as 2009 for trying to restrict same-sex marriage in their respective constitutions.
We call on Mr. Pál Schmitt, President of Hungary not to sign the new Constitution into law, and to give a new opportunity to the Parliament to adopt a truly modern, European Constitution, which protects same-sex families and includes an explicit prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation, instead of a political pamphlet motivated by homophobic prejudices, which it currently is.
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END
Press Contact
Sandor Steigler
press@lmbtszovetseg.hu
(+36.70) 551.2346
