Foreign Affairs CommitteeWritten evidence from Stonewall

1. Stonewall is a UK based organisation that has campaigned for equality for lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people across Britain since 1989. Stonewall has worked for a number of years on lesbian, gay and bisexual people’s immigration and asylum issues. In 2010 we published the ground breaking research “No Going Back” into the experiences of LGB asylum seekers and have subsequently worked with the UK Border Agency and the Ministry of Justice to implement the report’s recommendations.

2. Stonewall made a strategic decision to build on its UK based asylum work and begin to work to promote the human rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people internationally. We amended our charitable objectives to allow us to do so in October 2011.

Summary

3. This paper sets out Stonewall’s response to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) 2011 Report on Human Rights and Democracy.

Overall Stonewall welcomes the focus on the human rights of LGB people in the report and the work carried out by many missions. In particular we welcome that the FCO has located human rights for gay people within the international human rights frameworks.

Stonewall commends the FCO for working for gay equality in many areas where homosexuality is criminalised and where there are the most serious human rights abuses against gay people. However, we strongly encourage missions to also work in countries, including Commonwealth and EU candidate countries, that are not included in the report but have a poor track record on gay equality.

Stonewall calls for a systematic, transparent and accountable process to be used by all missions when deciding if and how to work on gay equality, along with training for diplomats to improve their understanding of LGB human rights and how to address them.

Stonewall believes the FCO should also work to ensure LGB British tourists are well supported and should work with UK business based abroad to assist them to achieve workplace equality. Both the needs of British tourists and business overseas should be explored as potential diplomatic levers to advance gay equality worldwide.

Stonewall encourages the UK Government to continue to play an instrumental role in the relevant multilateral agencies and to strengthen work in partnership with other bilateral actors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society.

Stonewall expresses its willingness for a closer working relationship with the FCO in its work for LGB equality globally.

The content and format of the FCO’s report, Human Rights and Democracy: The 2011 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Report.

Equality and Non Discrimination Section

4. Stonewall welcomes the specific inclusion of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender section in the report as it underlines that LGB human rights are not special rights but universal human rights. We also welcome the clear statement that to render same-sex relations illegal is incompatible with international human rights law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Situating the issues in the context of universally agreed human rights helps challenge the false argument made by some states that homosexuality is a western invention. Stonewall believes this approach is essential to advancing human rights for gay people globally.

5. Critical to furthering LGB human rights is the work of UK missions overseas. The report highlights useful and often creative bilateral initiatives taken by different embassies. There are clear examples of good practice where initiatives were taken with the full consultation and involvement of local LGB groups and the wider civil society. Stonewall particularly welcomes the financial support given for local LGB activities, for example the film festival in Russia. Initiatives like this help to engage a wider group and create awareness and understanding which can complement more traditional diplomatic work to call for legal and policy changes.

6. Stonewall has some cause for concern, however, over how individual missions decide to work on gay equality issues. The report explains that the decision to work on LGB human rights is delegated to individual Ambassadors. While Stonewall respects the role of the Ambassador we are anxious that only Ambassadors who have a personal commitment to it will work on advancing LGB equality. Stonewall would strongly support a more robust system of deciding whether and how to work on gay equality.

7. Stonewall believes that decriminalisation is a critical objective to secure and as has been clearly demonstrated in the UK, it is often a first step towards achieving full equality for LGB people. The diplomatic action taken by the FCO to try and prevent further anti-gay laws from being enacted in Uganda and Nigeria is therefore commendable. However, as with women’s rights globally a change in one or two key laws does not immediately translate into a fair legal environment, effective policy or non-discriminatory attitudes. Stonewall does have concerns therefore that not enough attention appears to be given to states where same-sex sexual relations have been legalised but where discrimination and human rights abuses against LGB people still exist. For example, there is no mention of how the FCO plans to build on progress in Brazil or the Seychelles, in both of which gay people face discrimination and violence on a daily basis.

8. The apparent instrumental British role in multilateral initiatives, for example building international support for the UN statement on “Ending acts of violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity” in March, is also commendable. There are also some good examples in the report on how the UK Government uses multilateral instruments in different country contexts. Stonewall appreciates the work the UK Government undertook to ensure the EU Human Rights Dialogue with the Government of Cameroon contained concerns on gay rights.

9. Given the need to lever existing human rights mechanisms in support of gay equality it would be useful to have more information on how the FCO has done so. In particular it would be useful for the FCO to outline how it engages in human rights dialogues in relation to trade agreements and the Universal Periodic Review process.

Case Studies

10. Stonewall believes that the addition of the case studies in the report is useful as it will allow for countries that may not be on the list of countries of concern to be profiled for LGB rights issues. It is also a useful way to showcase examples of effective diplomatic practice. It would be good to make use of this section to profile the LGB rights work of the UK government in more depth.

Countries of Concern Reports

11. Stonewall welcomes that many reports on specific countries of concern feature examples of violations of the human rights of LGB people alongside other human rights issues. It is helpful that many of the profiles give clear examples of how the UK Government has pursued gay rights.

12. There is a notable absence of information of the human rights of LGB in countries listed by the FCO as countries of concern. This includes Chad, Eritrea, Fiji, Saudi Arabia and Turkmenistan where there are known violations of the human rights of gay people. Stonewall is concerned that the human rights of gay people are not being addressed by the FCO in these countries.

13. Stonewall recognises that the human rights violations are many and varied in these contexts, placing a considerable pressure on diplomatic relations as British Ambassadors continually need to challenge governments on many difficult issues. However, Stonewall maintains that the human rights of LGB people must take their rightful place in the work of missions alongside the rights of women and other minorities.

14. There are many countries of concern to Stonewall which are not included in either the FCO’s countries of concern list or under the section on gay equality. These include Mauritania, Sierra Leone, Bangladesh, Barbados and Guyana. We would welcome clarity on what the FCO has done and plans to do in these countries.

British Nationals Overseas

15. Stonewall believes that lesbian, gay and bisexual UK nationals who are either working overseas or visiting as tourists should be afforded full human dignity but often face real threats to their safety and well-being. We are concerned therefore that there is no mention of the human rights of LGB people in the section on British Nationals Overseas.

16. UK firms operating overseas may require support from the FCO to ensure their staff and business interests are not adversely affected by the poor human rights protections for lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Furthermore Stonewall believes that in countries where British tourists make a significant contribution to the local economy there may be a diplomatic opportunity to call for protections for LGB tourists and nationals alike.

The Government’s Achievements as Chair-in-office of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers, in terms of Support for Human Rights Overseas

17. Stonewall welcomes the focus on LGB equality the UK has brought to the Council of Europe and the 27 March Strasbourg Conference to assess progress on the implementation of CM/Rec(2010)5. We would be grateful to receive more information on the outcomes of the conference. Stonewall believes it is important to ensure momentum is sustained under the Albanian and subsequent Chairs.

Gay Equality and the Commonwealth

18. Stonewall welcomes the UK Government’s role in encouraging the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to focus on gay equality. We are however concerned to note that the continued criminalisation of homosexuality in 30 Commonwealth countries is not a focus in the report. It would be of considerable concern to Stonewall if efforts within the CHOGM were not mirrored by individual High Commissions in these countries.

The cross-Government strategy on business and human rights, expected to be published later in 2012, and how it should define the relationship between the FCO’s human rights work and the promotion of UK economic and commercial interests in UK foreign policy

19. Stonewall sees this strategy as an opportunity to progress LGB equality. There exists a diplomatic opportunity to promote LGB equality to foreign Governments as an important requisite for UK business operating in their countries. UK business operating overseas should be supported to aim for the high levels of equality they are able to aspire to in the UK. Current guidance by the OECD and ILO offers some support to multi-nationals on preventing discrimination in the workplace; this should be fully utilised.

20. Stonewall has received requests from many of the UK based multinationals we work with on how they can support and protect LGB staff based overseas. Stonewall has therefore developed good practice guidance which provides practical examples of how they can support their staff. This guidance includes case studies from several UK head quartered multinationals. As an employer of many lesbian, gay and bisexual staff worldwide, the FCO also plays a valuable role in sharing knowledge and good practice with other multilateral organisations on how to support and protect LGB staff worldwide.

21. Stonewall is keen to work with the FCO to support UK head-quartered multinational companies to champion diversity. Initiatives such as the promotion of diversity in the workplace conference held by the mission in Sri Lanka should become common for missions.

Recommendations

A systematic, transparent and accountable process of where and how to work on LGB equality needs to be developed

22. One of Stonewall’s main concerns is that there does not seem to be a systematic, transparent and fully accountable process in place to support Ambassadors and High Commissioners when deciding whether and how to work on gay equality. Stonewall believes such a process is required so that missions are supported to fully analyse the situation for local LGB people in their country and assess what potential there is for diplomatic action. It will also allow the Ambassadors’ decisions to withstand external scrutiny and enable others who are working for gay equality to effectively align their work with the UK Government.

23. Stonewall believes the process needs to be joined up with DFID. Legal, social, policy and economic opportunities should be identified and used. These different elements will ensure that the UK government’s approach is multifaceted and sensitive.

Better resourcing for the LGB work of the FCO

24. Stonewall appreciates that work on gay equality needs to be context specific. The toolkit developed by the FCO provides practical ways in which LGB equality can be advanced. The toolkit should be regularly updated to ensure the most effective diplomatic tools and approaches to further gay equality are used.

25. Stonewall believes that diplomats should be trained on LGB equality work. It should not be assumed that diplomats have an understanding of the issues, or feel comfortable talking about them to hostile audiences. To complement training there should be systematic sharing of lessons learned and good practice within the FCO, across Whitehall and with allied countries. This will help the UK government to remain at the forefront of global work on gay equality.

26. Stonewall believes that local LGB groups and international NGOs are critical actors in the FCO’s work for gay equality. Funding mechanisms such as the Ambassador’s small or discretionary funds and the Human Rights and Democracy Fund should prioritise support for such civil society actors.

To work more with bilateral allies and multilateral organisations

27. It is clear that the UK Government’s current call for global LGB equality is echoed by many other bilateral and multilateral organisations. Stonewall believes that bilateral actors must continue to work closely together in order to maximise efforts and complement multilateral processes.

28. The FCO should make sure that discussions take place with bilateral allies on a post by post basis on how to further LGB equality locally. In addition Stonewall would encourage the FCO to cultivate new global LGB equality allies, especially outside of Western Europe and North America, and to maintain consistent pressure on the Commonwealth and Council of Europe member states.

Work with local and international NGOs

29. The role of national NGO movements is obviously critical to work on gay equality. National NGOs or community based groups are often marginalised by their Governments and isolated from movements in other countries. A core element of the FCO’s strategy should be to empower national movements and work with them in country wherever possible.

30. Effective communication between the FCO and international NGOs such as Stonewall is also critical to success. Stonewall would welcome closer communication with the FCO to help ensure strategic alignment on key decriminalisation campaigns, the Commonwealth, Council of Europe and other focus areas.

31. Stonewall is the leading lesbian, gay and bisexual campaigning organisation in Britain and has a wealth of expertise on advancing legal protections for gay people and changing social attitudes. We would therefore be very keen to work with the FCO, and its partners, to identify how our experience can be utilised in an effective and sensitive way. In particular we would be keen to discuss how we can help support diplomats improve their understanding of LGB human rights issues; further develop the FCO’s toolkit; support UK business to advance gay equality worldwide; and ensure LGB human rights continue to be raised in international fora.

25 May 2012