Written declaration No. 563 | Doc. 13408 | 29 January 2014

Despite widespread international condemnation, stigmatisation of LGBT people by the Russian authorities continues

Signatories: Mr Mogens JENSEN, Denmark, SOC ; Ms Tina ACKETOFT, Sweden, ALDE ; Mr Claude ADAM, Luxembourg, SOC ; Lord Donald ANDERSON, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Paride ANDREOLI, San Marino, SOC ; Ms Ingrid ANTIČEVIĆ MARINOVIĆ, Croatia, SOC ; Ms Khadija ARIB, Netherlands, SOC ; Ms Danielle AUROI, France, SOC ; Mr Malik AZMANI, Netherlands, ALDE ; Mr Levan BERDZENISHVILI, Georgia, ALDE ; Ms Maria Teresa BERTUZZI, Italy, SOC ; Mr Philippe BIES, France, SOC ; Ms Gülsün BİLGEHAN, Turkey, SOC ; Mr Philippe BLANCHART, Belgium, SOC ; Ms Sílvia Eloïsa BONET, Andorra, SOC ; Ms Marjolaine BOUTIN-SWEET, Canada ; Ms Svetislava BULAJIĆ, Serbia, ALDE ; Mr Sean CASEY, Canada ; Ms Nunzia CATALFO, Italy, NR ; Mr Khalid CHAOUKI, Italy, SOC ; Mr Irakli CHIKOVANI, Georgia, ALDE ; Ms Lise CHRISTOFFERSEN, Norway, SOC ; Mr Michael CONNARTY, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Paolo CORSINI, Italy, SOC ; Ms Pascale CROZON, France, SOC ; Mr Yves CRUCHTEN, Luxembourg, SOC ; Mr Jim D'ARCY, Ireland, EPP/CD ; Mr Geraint DAVIES, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Joseph DEBONO GRECH, Malta, SOC ; Mr Manlio DI STEFANO, Italy, NR ; Mr Arcadio DÍAZ TEJERA, Spain, SOC ; Mr Jim DOBBIN, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Daphné DUMERY, Belgium, NR ; Mr Michael FALZON, Malta, SOC ; Ms Ute FINCKH-KRÄMER, Germany, SOC ; Mr Gvozden Srećko FLEGO, Croatia, SOC ; Mr Gerardo GIOVAGNOLI, San Marino, SOC ; Mr Sandro GOZI, Italy, SOC ; Mr Patrick De GROOTE, Belgium, NR ; Ms Annette GROTH, Germany, UEL ; Mr Jonas GUNNARSSON, Sweden, SOC ; Mr Nazmi GÜR, Turkey, UEL ; Ms Carina HÄGG, Sweden, SOC ; Mr Mike HANCOCK, United Kingdom, ALDE ; Mr Andrej HUNKO, Germany, UEL ; Mr Mogens JENSEN, Denmark, SOC ; Mr Michael Aastrup JENSEN, Denmark, ALDE ; Mr Algis KAŠĖTA, Lithuania, ALDE ; Ms Tinatin KHIDASHELI, Georgia, ALDE ; Mr Igor KOLMAN, Croatia, ALDE ; Ms Valentina LESKAJ, Albania, SOC ; Ms Sophie LØHDE, Denmark, ALDE ; Ms Kerstin LUNDGREN, Sweden, ALDE ; Mr Dirk Van der MAELEN, Belgium, SOC ; Mr Saša MAGAZINOVIĆ, Bosnia and Herzegovina, SOC ; Mr Philippe MAHOUX, Belgium, SOC ; Ms Marit MAIJ, Netherlands, SOC ; Mr Michael McNAMARA, Ireland, SOC ; Sir Alan MEALE, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Melita MULIĆ, Croatia, SOC ; Baroness Emma NICHOLSON, United Kingdom, ALDE ; Ms Carina OHLSSON, Sweden, SOC ; Mr Pieter OMTZIGT, Netherlands, EPP/CD ; Ms Sandra OSBORNE, United Kingdom, SOC ; Mr Dimitrios PAPADIMOULIS, Greece, UEL ; Ms Marietta de POURBAIX-LUNDIN, Sweden, EPP/CD ; Ms Carmen QUINTANILLA, Spain, EPP/CD ; Mr René ROUQUET, France, SOC ; Mr Indrek SAAR, Estonia, SOC ; Mr Stefan SCHENNACH, Austria, SOC ; Mr Nikolaus SCHERAK, Austria, ALDE ; Mr Frank SCHWABE, Germany, SOC ; Ms Maria Edera SPADONI, Italy, NR ; Ms Tineke STRIK, Netherlands, SOC ; Mr Ionuț-Marian STROE, Romania, ALDE ; Mr Björn von SYDOW, Sweden, SOC ; Mr Vilmos SZABÓ, Hungary, SOC ; Ms Chiora TAKTAKISHVILI, Georgia, ALDE ; Ms Kristien Van VAERENBERGH, Belgium, NR ; Mr Snorre Serigstad VALEN, Norway, UEL ; Mr Petrit VASILI, Albania, SOC ; Mr Volodymyr VECHERKO, Ukraine, ALDE ; Mr Mark VERHEIJEN, Netherlands, ALDE ; Ms Sabine VERMEULEN, Belgium, NR ; Ms Birutė VĖSAITĖ, Lithuania, SOC ; Mr Nikolaj VILLUMSEN, Denmark, UEL ; Ms Katrin WERNER, Germany, UEL ; Ms Olta XHAÇKA, Albania, SOC ; Ms Katherine ZAPPONE, Ireland, UEL

This written declaration commits only those who have signed it.

The Russian authorities continue their campaign to stigmatise LGBT people. For example:

In September President Putin argued that recognition of same-sex partnerships was “a direct path to degradation and …. a profound demographic and moral crisis.” In December, he argued that tolerating non-traditional relations was to “accept without question the equality of good and evil.”

In November the Ombudsman for children’s rights said “the so-called freedom of relations does not give a small minority the right to destroy humanity …. and to throw our children into chaos.”

In November the Chairman of the Constitutional Court spoke against “attempts to forcefully impose (by propaganda and regulations) on our society ….. the requirements of tolerance to any sexual and gender ‘emancipation’.”

In November state television presented a fake documentary purporting to expose a foreign conspiracy to ‘propagandise’ homosexuality and corrupt Russia’s moral and spiritual values. The show’s host accused the West of seeking to “destroy Russia”, and referred to LGBT people as “perverts” or “sodomites”.

This campaign of demonisation is unleashing yet more violence and discrimination against LGBT people. We call on the Russian authorities to bring it to an end and on the Council of Europe to condemn it unreservedly.