ΓΙΑ ΤΑ ΓΚΕΙ ΔΙΚΑΙΩΜΑΤΑ ΣΤΗΝ ΚΥΠΡΟ.

Αντιγράφω από την Cyprus Mail.

‘Gay partners need rights’
By Stefanos Evripidou
Published on April 10, 2010
THE LEGAL recognition of same-sex partnerships in Cyprus is imperative in today’s society, said human rights watchdog, Iliana Nicolaou in her latest report on the rights of unmarried people who cohabit.
The ombudswoman, who also heads the Authority against Racism and Discrimination sent a report to the Interior Minister and House President arguing that the legal vacuum in Cyprus on same-sex partnerships constitutes a direct discrimination against EU citizens based on sexual orientation.
She proposes that the authorities plug this gap in the law through legal reform, in turn eliminating current inequalities in the rights of same-sex partners while helping to eradicate negative stereotypes and prejudices against people of the same sex who cohabit.
The report came about following two complaints by Cypriot citizens sent to Nicolaou’s office in the last five months. One involved a 24-year-old man from Paphos who reported that the state would not allow him to enter into a civil marriage with his same-sex partner of six years. Even if they got married in one of the European countries where same-sex marriages are legal (the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Sweden or Norway), Cyprus would still not recognise their partnership as legal.
The second complaint was made by another man who complained that his long-term same-sex partner would be forced to leave the island once his residence permit expired because of the absence of laws on same-sex partnerships.
In her conclusions, Nicolaou noted that the last century saw the basic components of the traditional definition of marriage change due to enshrined fundamental rights like the free development of personality, human dignity, the principle of equality between sexes. the ability to divorce and the introduction of civil marriages which took religion out of the equation.
“Finally, as noted, in several countries, the gender difference is no longer considered a component of a valid marriage,” she said.
The ombudswoman highlighted the legal vacuum that exists regarding the legal recognition of cohabitation between persons of the same or opposite sex. She noted that the constitution provides no reason to hinder the prospect of legal recognition of such relationships as it leaves it to the state to decide.
“In practice, the introduction of regulation for the legal recognition of cohabitation between individuals of the same and opposite sex would be a pragmatic response to a real social need,” said Nicolaou.
The need to legally enshrine cohabitation becomes more urgent, she noted, “considering that in Cyprus today, out of wedlock cohabitation, even if lengthy and steady, does not give rights or regulate property or other relations between partners”.
The anti-discrimination head highlighted that legal regulation of cohabitation would not undermine the institution of marriage, which continues to be the predominant basis of a family but would be a response to a changing social reality and the real needs of people who are equal members of society. This is confirmed by the relevant legislative provisions in many European countries and the requirements of European and international law to eliminate all forms of discrimination, she argued.
The right to marriage, as the legal protection of every other relationship in the privacy of individuals, addresses the implicit principle of respect for human dignity and the free development of personality.
“The state must ensure the same respect and protection to all citizens regardless of their sexual orientation. The complete disregard for social forms such as cohabitation without marriage and the consequences it produces (insurance, pension, tax, property) on the basis only of a different sexual orientation clearly violates the principle of non-discrimination. It deprives, ultimately, a portion of people from the practice of claiming their rights,” she said.
The ombudswoman recognised that authorities would probably find it easier to get a broader consensus on rights for heterosexual partners who live together rather than for same-sex partnerships. At the same time, Nicolaou said she could not ignore the obligation to respect the rights of a segment of society, arising from a series of binding legal regulations, prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
“In particular, the legal recognition of partnerships of the same sex, is considered, under present conditions imperative, under the principle of equal treatment, since the current legal vacuum creates inevitable inequalities against those persons without any convincing justification. “Moreover, the continuation of this situation and especially the legal denial of this social reality, reproduces negative stereotypes and prejudices against those persons,” she said.
By regulating same-sex partnership, this will eliminate discrimination against Cypriot citizens, as well as constitute an alignment with the fundamental principle of the free movement of persons within the European Union.
“Because, as noted in successive reports, this legal vacuum is not allowing the practical application of this principle for EU citizens residing in Cyprus with homosexual or heterosexual partners.
“Specifically, the exclusion of same-sex couples from the scope of the European directive 2004/38/EC, which was already part of the Cypriot legal system is direct discrimination against European citizens based on sexual orientation,” she said.
Nicolaou welcomed the prompt response of the Interior Minister to her report. “The Minister assured that the report will receive the necessary attention and efforts will be made to identify points where there could be a change in ministry policy in order to move towards the equal treatment and elimination of ‘any racial or other discrimination’,” she said.
Finally, she noted that if the authorities chose to recognise same-sex partnerships and rights of cohabiters, “this step would not endanger either the traditional concept of marriage or the traditional form of family, nor will it alter their fundamental characteristics”.
One cannot ignore the fact that there are people in society who cohabit and are not married, or even allow the practical degradation of such people.
“The gradual recognition of minority rights, including sexual, is an established feature of many modern democratic states in which the concepts of morality adjust continuously and are formed on the basis of social processes, while the relationship between law and society is characterized by a dynamic interaction,” she said.