Written statement on different types of discriminations.

(www.radicalparty.org) DOCUMENTS ON: CIVIL RIGHTS / DOC.TYPE: U.N./DOCUMENTS

22/06/2006 | Written statement on different types of discriminations.

Title: Different types of discriminations

The TRP wishes to address the issue of the discriminations perpetrated against individuals for their sexual orientation and/or preference. In fact, while the majority of Member States of the United Nations partly or totally still discriminate de facto or de jure their citizens, or non-citizens, in various aspects of their private and public life when it comes to personal relationships, there is a number of countries that go as far as imposing the death penalty for homosexual behaviors. Moreover, civil union of gay people and/or what is also known as gay-marriege still remains illegal in the majority of UN Member States or is not recognized internationally as a civil right. Only a handful of States have recognized same-sex unions and an even smaller number recognizes adoption rights.

In several countries that apply what it is presented as Islamic Sharia law, death sentences, issued in contexts where there is no trace of the concept of fair trial and due process, are carried out in public for gay sex. For instance, several organizations, among which Hands Off Cain, have documented this practice in the Islamic Republic of Iran, where the death penalty is also reserved for minors (under the Iranian penal code, girls as young as nine and boys as young as 15 can be hanged) oftentimes after violent corporal punishments such as lashes. Several reports put in the thousands the number of Iranians that have been put to death over the last 26 years for "sexual" reasons. The victims include women who have sex outside of marriage and political opponents of the Islamist government. News of other gay-related executions have been reported over the internet by by ISNA (Iranian Students News Agency) throughout 2005.

The situation is unfortunately not different in other countries; in fact, to name a few symbolic cases, in countries such as the Russian Federation or Bielarus, we have witnessed an increase in defamation campaigns against free thinkers or political opponents perpetrated using what is considered to be a "shaming" argument that is the "gay demonization". This attitude became an international case in 2004, when in Bielarus several foreign officials were targeted and had to leave the country as a result of statements issued by the Belarus authorities.

The TRP commends the decision of countries such as Sweden, which Migration Board’s recently decided to temporarily freeze deportations of gay individuals to countries that will persecute them. In particular, Swedish authorities have taken firm action in a few Iranian cases. Freezing of deportation or repatriation is not enough, the TRP urges those Governments to send a clear message and grant asylum to gay, lesbian bi-sexual and transgender asylum-seekers, who are forced to flee their countries of origin for fear of persecution.

Lastly, the TRP remains concerned about the systematic violation of the human rights of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and trans-gender people, but also is particularly worried about the exclusion that a number of specialized organizations from the debates of the UN Commission on Human Rights. In fact, in January 2006, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations rejected the applications of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) and the Danish Association of Gays and Lesbians (LBL) for Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council without the hearings usually accorded to applicants. Denying participation in the meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights for groups that represent millions of persecuted in clear contradiction with the purposes of that UN body.
The Transnational Radical Party wishes to bring to the attention of the Members of the Commission situation of the Çam people, who live in an area between Greece and Albania. The word Çam (Cham) is an evolution of the word "t'chiam" which is the name of an ancient river passing right through Çameria, the word T'chamis appears in many ancient Roman and even Hellenic maps.

In June 1944, about 44.000 Muslim Albanians, accused of collaborationism with the Nazi-Fascist occupiers, were expelled violently from the region. That violent military action marks the epilogue of a systematic campaign of terrible violence against that innocent population that did not spare women, children and elderly people and that lead to the confiscation of land, property as well as livestocks.

The TRP wishes to stress that in other situations, deemed similar by several scholars, UN official documents have claimed that it is a human fundamental right that expelled populations should be allowed to return back to their own territories of origin obtaining the right of restitution of their own properties and compensation of all patrimonial damages done against them. According to several representatives of the Çam people, who participated in the 38th Congress of the TRP held in Tirana, Albania in 2002, also Orthodox Çams that were not expelled from the region of origin cannot enjoy several civil rights that are the very basis of democratic societies. In particular the TRP wishes to stress the right granted to linguistic minorities such as the access to education in their mothertongue, which is denied in Greece. Morever, recent press report have highlighted how the Greek Embassy in Tirana has denied visas to Çams that wish to travel to Greece.

The TRP urges all concerned parties and in particular the Albanian and Greek authorities to initiate a dialogue to seek a political solution to the dire situation in which the Çam people are forced to live in wherever they reside.

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