Foreign AffairsWritten 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 LGB 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 LGB 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 Affairs Committee’s inquiry into the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) work on human rights and democracy in 2012.
Overall Stonewall welcomes the focus on the human rights of LGB people in the Human Rights and Democracy: The 2012 Foreign and Commonwealth Office 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. We note that much more work on gay equality is done by the FCO than the Human Rights and Democracy report is able to cover, including in Commonwealth countries which 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 that the decision to update the FCO’s LGBT Toolkit is a positive step towards increasing capacity on LGB issues.
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 equality for LGB staff in their workplace. Both the needs of British tourists and business overseas should be further 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. In particular we welcome the active role of the FCO at the United Nations Human Rights Council, the European Union and the Council of Europe.
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 2012 Foreign and Commonwealth Office Report
Equality and Non Discrimination Section
4. Stonewall welcomes the continued inclusion of the LGBT (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 wider civil society.
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 advancing LGB equality will work on this issue. Stonewall would strongly support a more robust system of deciding whether and how to work on gay equality.
Case Studies
7. Stonewall believes that the continued inclusion of case studies in the report is useful as it allows for countries that may not be on the list of countries of concern to be profiled for LGB human rights issues. It is also a useful way to showcase examples of effective diplomatic practice. It would be good to make more use of this section to profile the LGB rights work of the UK government in more depth.
Countries of Concern Reports
8. 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 LGB human rights.
9. There is, however a notable absence of information of the human rights of LGB people in some of the countries listed by the FCO as countries of concern. This includes Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sri Lanka 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.
10. 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.
British Nationals Overseas
11. 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.
12. 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.
Other Comments on the FCOs Gay Equality Work
Gay Equality and the Council of Europe
13. Stonewall welcomes the continued focus on LGB equality the UK has brought to the Council of Europe and in particular the £100,000 donation to support the LGBT Unit. Stonewall has been working with the LGBT Unit to share good practice with the six states that are signed up as project participants.
14. To ensure momentum is sustained on LGB issues at the Council of Europe, Stonewall suggests that the UK Government now presses for the Unit to have a regular institutional budget and not to be subject to project funding.
Gay Equality and the Commonwealth
15. Stonewall welcomes the UK Government’s role in encouraging the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) to focus on gay equality. In particular we are pleased that the UK played a leading role in the reform process and the development of the new Commonwealth Charter.
16. It is now important for the FCO to continue to press for these reforms to be fully implemented. In particular, Commonwealth countries must be supported “to take steps to encourage the repeal of discriminatory laws that impede an effective response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic” as agreed by Commonwealth Heads of Government. This must include the repeal of laws banning same-sex relations.
Gay Equality and the UN
17. Stonewall welcomes the UK’s commitment to support efforts in the various UN agencies to further global LGB equality. In particular we welcome the active role the UK has played raising the issues during the Universal Periodic Review Process and in supporting moves for a possible second UN Human Rights Council Resolution.
18. Stonewall hopes that the UK will continue to press for the agencies of the UN to work towards gay equality. In particular we hope the UK will:
Press for the inclusion of specific issues facing lesbians and bisexual women at the Commission on the Status of Women.
Press for the World Health Organisation to prioritise the concerns of LGB people.
Support the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation to prioritise LGB equality in education.
Business and Human Rights
19. Stonewall welcomes the inclusion of LGB equality in the UK Trade and Industry’s investment for British Businesses operating overseas. We welcome the website’s link to our Guide on Global Working which seeks to support business to support their gay staff overseas.
20. There exists a diplomatic opportunity for the UK Government 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.
21. 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. 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.
22. Stonewall is keen to work with the British Government to support UK head-quartered multinational companies to champion diversity.
Recommendations
A systematic, transparent and accountable process of where and how to work on LGB equality needs to be developed
23. 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.
24. Stonewall believes the process needs to be joined up with the Department of International Development. 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
25. Stonewall welcomes the updating of the LGBT Toolkit and recommends that it be regularly updated to ensure the most effective diplomatic tools and approaches to further gay equality are used.
26. 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 LGB equality.
27. 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
28. 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.
29. 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 continues 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
30. The role of national NGO movements is 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.
31. Effective communication between the FCO and international NGOs such as Stonewall is also critical to success. 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.
How the UK can support public awareness-raising around LGB equality in different countries.
How the UK can continue to raise LGB human rights in different international organisations.
24 May 2013