During the Pride March in London last year, the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone implored the thousands gathered in Trafalgar square to ‘Follow the spark, follow the spark of San Francisco and Copenhagen and Amsterdam’ to bring about equality for gays and lesbians across Europe.1 These large public demonstrations and celebrations – Gay Pride events – held in many large and medium-sized cities across Europe each summer are important for broad social movements to create ‘social capital’ (Putnam 2000). This social capital is important for a movement, in terms of both creating a sense of individual identity and ‘bonding’ within the community and reaching out and ‘bridging’ to the broader society. These events have become an integral part of the Western European movement for equality for gays and lesbians and are now spreading across the continent. These events are also taking place where they have been resisted by local and national authorities – for example in Eastern European capitals such as Warsaw and Riga. Groups want to show their strength, show that they are visible and proud and proclaim their demands of equality towards state and society.
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Notes
- 1.
Speech by Ken Livingstone, mayor of London, at the Gay Pride event, Trafalgar Square, 30 June 2007.
- 2.
The European Court of Justice in the decision in Mangold vs. Helm (Case C-144/04, judgement 22 November 2005) held in a case related to age discrimination that nondiscrimination is a fundamental right within the EU and deserving of special protection by the court. This case may be important for other grounds of discrimination as the case law develops further.
- 3.
- 4.
However, see footnote 2. In the Mangold vs. Helm decision of the European Court of Justice, the court held for a case concerning age discrimination that antidiscrimination is a fundamental right and may be enforceable by the court even prior to transposition by the member states.
- 5.
For a press release on these developments from the European Commission, see http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/fundamental_rights/news/news_en.htm#race.
- 6.
Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: nondiscrimination and equal opportunities: a renewed commitment, 2.7.2008. see http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2008:0420:FIN:EN:PDF.
- 7.
Archives of Steffen Jensen, Copenhagen, Denmark, one of the editors of ILGA-EU’s ‘Euro-letter’.
- 8.
‘Euro-letter’ was published on behalf of ILGA, later ILGA-Europe, by the Eurosecretariat of the National Danish Organization of Gays and Lesbians (lbl), edited by Steffen Jensen, among others. The archive is available at http://steff.suite.dk/eurolet.htm.
- 9.
‘Euroletter’, no. 38, January 1996, p. 5: ‘European Union IGC-96 preparations’ by Alan Reekie.
- 10.
See ILGA Europe ‘Strategic Plan for ILGA-Europe 2005-2008’, Brussels, October 2005.
- 11.
For additional documents concerning ILGA strategy as the EU debates the new antidiscrimination directive, see Destination Equality magazine of ILGA Europe, Volume 8, Issue 2, autumn 2008, including the cover story by EU Commissioner Vladimir Spidla ‘The fith is not over yet!’
- 12.
Presentation by Evelyne Paradis, ILGA Europe, 29 October 2008, Vienna, Austria.
- 13.
Internal ILGA Europe memorandum ‘Position of EU countries regarding the non-discrimination Directive’ distributed to participants of the strategy session on the Horizontal Directive, Vienna, 29 October 2008.
- 14.
Note here that ILGA Portugal is planning a spring 2009 conference in Lisbon on mainstreaming LGBT issues in policy-making, with the assistance of government representatives from other countries that have broadly implemented policies towards gays and lesbians.
- 15.
Council Directive ‘on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.’ Issued 2.7.2008. See http://ec.europa.eu/employment_social/fundamental_rights/pdf/pubst/poldoc/propdir426_08_en.pdf.
- 16.
Presentation by Belinda Pyke, European Commission, 30 October 2008, Vienna, Austria.
- 17.
EWL calls the European Commission to ensure uniform protection on all grounds of discrimination, June 2008.
- 18.
Presentation by Sylvan Agius, ILGA Europe, 1 November 2008, Vienna, Austria.
- 19.
Summary leaflet ‘Signs of Hope in Warsaw in October’ prepared by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Warsaw, 2008. Full report available in Polish, English and German from the foundation at biuri@feswar.org.pl.
- 20.
The delegation was headed up by Svend Robinson, the Public Services Advocacy Officer for the Public Services International (PSI). The PSI first took a policy stance towards the rights of LGBT workers in 1993, and since 2004 it has been working together with Education National, another global union, to develop a plan of action towards reaching these goals. The declaration of the EI and PSI commits the unions to develop an action plan on the protection and promotion of LGBT workers rights, to submit a test case to the International Labor Organization (ILO) on the application of ILO conventions to LGBT workers and to develop training materials and capacity building in national unions.
- 21.
Presentation by Morten Kjaerum, Fundamental Rights Agency, 30 October 2008, Vienna, Austria.
- 22.
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 30 June 2008, report ‘Homophobia and Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation in the EU Member States Part I – Legal Analysis,’ see http://fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/material/pub/comparativestudy/FRA_hdgso_part1_en.pdf.
- 23.
Presentation by Ben Baks, Dutch government, with Xavier Verdaguer Ribes (Catalonian government, Spain) and Martha Franken (Flemish government, Belgium), 1 November 2008, Vienna, Austria.
- 24.
Presentation by Patricia Prendville, ILGA Europe, 30 October 2008.
- 25.
Presentation by Andrea Coomber, lawyer with Interrights, London, 30 October 2008.
- 26.
European Court of Justice, Case C-267/06, Tadao Maruko vs.Versorgungsanstalt der deutschen Bühnen, see the decision at http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:62006J0267:EN:HTML. Also see a presentation of Helmut Graupner, a lawyer on the case supporting Maruko, related to his presentation at ILGA Europe in Vienna. http://www.era.int/web/en/resources/5_1095_7900_file_en.14859.ppt#256,1.
- 27.
Presentation by Helmut Graupner, lawyer, 31 October 2008, Vienna, Austria.
- 28.
Presentation by Thomas Hammarberg, Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe, 31 October 2008, Vienna, Austria.
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Holzhacker, R. (2009). Transnational Strategies of Civil Society Organizations Striving for Equality and Nondiscrimination: Exchanging Information on New EU Directives, Coalition Strategies and Strategic Litigation. In: Bruszt, L., Holzhacker, R. (eds) The Transnationalization of Economies, States, and Civil Societies. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89339-6_9
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