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Has the International Human Rights Paradigm Failed Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People? If So, What Can Be Done to Fix It?

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Has the International Human Rights Paradigm Failed Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People? If So, What Can Be Done to Fix It? HAS THE INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS PARADIGM FAILED LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDER PEOPLE? IF SO, WHAT CAN BE DONE TO FIX IT? by Aleksandra Djordjevic A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF Master of Laws in The Faculty of Graduate Studies (Law) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) April 2013 © Aleksandra Djordjevic, 2013 Abstract Two basic human rights principles are the prohibition against discrimination and the guarantee of equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground to all people. However, these principles have not been applied equally to those who face discrimination based on sexual identity. There is still a prescribed death penalty in eight countries for homosexual behavior and homosexual sex is criminalized in approximately 80 countries. In Uganda there is an ongoing debate about a proposed “anti-homosexuality bill,” which would inflict the death penalty on repeat offenders. In Russia, Moscow, gay Pride has been banned for the next 100 years. The goal of this thesis is to explore the power and weakness of international human rights protections for sexual minorities using Serbia, a transitional country, as a case study and to recommend best practices for fostering change. I assess the situation in Serbia by analysing the formal domestic and international legal framework in comparison to the social outcomes on the ground, as manifested by four years of Pride events. Until 2010, attempted annual Pride events were banned every year due to the “high-level of risk.” In 2010, the first Gay Pride took place in Belgrade inside a ring of protection of 5,000 police officers. In 2011 and 2012, Pride was banned once again. I demonstrate that the successful 2010 outcome – when Pride actually took place – had much to do with pressure from the international community. However, it did not result in very much positive and measurable social change on the ground. My research suggests that law cannot achieve change on its own and that alternative “out of the legal box” methods are needed. I ii suggest creating long term educational initiatives that can generate the necessary pressure from inside the state. iii Preface Section VI entitled “European Union and Human Rights Conditionality” in Chapter 4 of my thesis is based on the directed research paper that I wrote with the supervision of Professor Ljiljana Biukovic. This paper was presented in December 2012 at the First Annual EU Studies Graduate Conference in Victoria, BC. iv Table of contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... ii Preface............................................................................................................................................ iv Table of contents ............................................................................................................................. v List of tables ................................................................................................................................. viii List of figures ................................................................................................................................. ix List of illustrations .......................................................................................................................... x List of abbreviations ...................................................................................................................... xi Acknowledgements ...................................................................................................................... xiii Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Research questions ....................................................................................................... 1 1.1.1. To what extent do international human rights instruments protect sexual identity minorities?............................................................................................................................ 3 1.1.2. To what extent do the international and domestic human rights laws protect sexual identity minorities in Serbia as a transitional country? ............................................ 6 1.1.3. What can be done to improve the everyday lives of LGBT people in Serbia? ..... 8 1.2. Literature review ......................................................................................................... 10 1.3. Contributions to the current literature ........................................................................ 17 Chapter 2: Methodology............................................................................................................ 19 2.1. General overview ........................................................................................................ 19 2.2. The problem of terminology and definitions .............................................................. 21 2.3. International law analysis ........................................................................................... 21 2.4. Case study ................................................................................................................... 23 2.4.1. Why Serbia? ........................................................................................................ 24 2.4.2. Why pride parades? ............................................................................................. 25 2.4.3. Background ......................................................................................................... 26 2.4.4. “Moscow has fallen they are coming after London” – My Personal Involvement 27 2.4.5. Legal analysis ...................................................................................................... 33 2.4.6. Sources ................................................................................................................ 34 Chapter 3: United Nations ......................................................................................................... 37 v 3.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 37 3.2. Sketch of the system ................................................................................................... 38 3.2.1. Reporting cycle ................................................................................................... 40 3.2.2. Additional monitoring functions ......................................................................... 41 3.2.3. General comments ............................................................................................... 42 3.3. Discrimination based on sexual orientation................................................................ 44 3.4. Tug-of-war at the UN ................................................................................................. 47 3.5. Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 52 Chapter 4: Europe – the regional level ...................................................................................... 54 4.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 54 4.2. Council of Europe ....................................................................................................... 57 4.3. European Court for Human Rights ............................................................................. 61 4.4. OSCE .......................................................................................................................... 64 4.5. European Union .......................................................................................................... 66 4.5.1. General overview ................................................................................................ 66 4.5.2. Protection of sexual minorities in the EU ........................................................... 69 4.6. European Union and human rights conditionality ...................................................... 73 4.7. Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 82 Chapter 5: Society in transition – a case study of Serbia .......................................................... 84 5.1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 84 5.2. Country background ................................................................................................... 85 5.2.1. The conflict ......................................................................................................... 86 5.2.2. Transitional justice .............................................................................................. 89 5.2.3. LGBT movement in Serbia ............................................................................... 104 5.3. Belgrade Pride .......................................................................................................... 109 5.3.1. Legislative framework....................................................................................... 109 5.3.2. Belgrade Pride 2009 .........................................................................................
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