2010

Speech , Lithuania 07 May 2010 Birgitta Ohlsson, Minister for EU Affairs Speech by Birgitta Ohlsson, Baltic Pride Activists, human rights defenders and friends.

It's a great pleasure for me being the Swedish Minister for EU Affairs to be here today in beautiful sunny Vilnius - the capital of the great country Lithuania - that today is hosting Baltic Pride a manifestation and celebration for human rights. All Lithuanians should be proud today! I'm here because Human Rights are my Pride. And we are here because we believe in Pride. We believe in a just society. We believe that in a Europe 2010 LGBT-rights should be considered as human rights and nothing less. Martina Navratilova the great tennis player once said. "Labels are for filing. Labels are for clothing. Labels are not for people" And we are actually here to remove labels from people. To take away the labels that cause discrimination on LGBT-people. To get rid of the labels that violate the basic human rights for the LGBT-society. To make the labels disappear - that deny us - as activists and supporters of freedom - the fundamental right to manifest political opinions in a peaceful way. Last week I was in Uganda. I met my friend Kasha Jaqueline, the founder of FARUG-Freedom and Roam Uganda fighting against discrimination based on sexual orientation. Politicians in her home country are now pushing for an Anti-Homosexuality Bill which stipulates death penalty for falling in love with someone of the same sex. Like love could ever be a crime. Last weekend the Pride-parade in Moldova's capital Chisinau was banned. During the election campaign in Hungary a month ago homophobic propaganda was prominent. Extreme religious groups in Europe are accusing homosexuals of being child molesters. That is a shame. Those are values that do not belong in Europe 2010. Today we are celebrating Baltic Pride in Vilnius. First of all, the Swedish Government deeply regrets that the Baltic could not be carried out. It would have been an opportunity to acknowledge that homosexual, bisexual and transgender persons also enjoy the right to peaceful assembly. Freedom of speech and freedom of peaceful assembly must be observed. These are rights protected under international law, including the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights and the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. All EU Member States are parties to these agreements. Also Lithuania. Second. The position of the Swedish Government is perfectly clear: discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is unacceptable. It is unacceptable in , in Lithuania, in the other Member States of the EU and elsewhere. Every individual is entitled to the rights and freedoms set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights without distinction of any kind. International human rights law is grounded on this premise.

Third. As you all know, the Swedish Government closely followed the drafting of the Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information. During my two previous visits here as minister for EU Affairs, I discussed aspects of the Law with many representatives of the Lithuanian Government and also met the President of Lithuania. I will continue this dialogue today. We will continue to engage in an open and frank dialogue with the Lithuanian Government on these issues. With true friends in the Baltic region as well as partners in the EU you can be frank. We are concerned that the Law could be used as platforms for direct and in-direct discrimination of homosexual, bisexual and transgender persons, and that it could constitute an undue limitation on the freedom of expression.

We expect that the Law will not be applied in a manner that would discriminate against anyone on the basis of their sexual orientation. In two months I will deliver my first baby. A baby girl. I have a wish that she will grow up in a society where no one questions her choice of life, her choice of love or her choice of identity. I have a wish that she will grow up in a Europe where no politician or district attorney will ever put a ban on a Pride-parade. I have a wish that she will grow up in a Europe where no religious fundamentalists, rightwing extremists or others preach hate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. And where we have stopped discrimination and put it where it belongs - in the garbage can. The great freedom fighter Martin Luther King once said: ¨You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you don't say" That's why I would like to urge all European politicians from left to right to get out of the closet. Do not hide behind the LGBT-activists and let them fight on their own. Dare to raise your voice for freedom. Never keep your voice shut about human rights violations. Always speak for those who cannot. Because Human rights are our Pride! Thank you and keep up the spirit! The future belongs to you not to the prejudists.