04/10/2012 | Writer: Nevin Öztop
The law is highly undefined and would make it illegal to discuss LGBT issues in the media, and include fines and prison terms.
The Ukrainian Parliament passed a bill banning any kind of public discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity on October 3rd, 2012. 289 out of 450 members of the parliament supported the bill, which is now waiting for its second voting.
Ukraine’s parliament validated a bill which bans “propaganda” of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues publicly. The law is highly undefined and would make it illegal to discuss LGBT issues in the media, and include fines and prison terms.
The Draft Law no. 8711 will have great impact on the rights of LGBT people in Ukraine as well as the rights of everyone to the freedoms of expression. The law would influence several other laws in Ukraine, including criminal law, and introduce sanctions for any product that would "promote homosexuality”. With this definition, “promotion of homosexuality” remains extremely undefined. The law would not only be incompatible with international human rights laws but also discriminate against LGBT people by prohibiting public discourse on issues that are related to the lives of LGBTs in Ukraine.
The law openly violates UN and European standards. Answering a question from GroenLinks in the Dutch national parliament, Netherlands Foreign Affairs Minister Uri Rosenthal said that, if the law passes, “Ukraine’s visa-free travel agreement with the EU would be put on hold indefinitely”.
The law has to be approved with a second voting and signed by the Chair of the Parliament and the President before becoming official. Elections will take place on 28 October 2012.
Tags: life
