Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1292560
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 27 SEPTEMBER 2020 Renée Laiviera While significant achievements in addressing the forms of discrimination that LGBTIQ+ people face have been made, more efforts are needed to ensure that every person is fully respected regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics Renée Laiviera is Commissioner for Promotion of Equality OPINION LGBTIQ+ equality in Malta DISCRIMINATION against LGBTIQ+ people undermines the human rights principles outlined in the Universal Dec- laration of Human Rights. In essence, "all States are obligated under international human rights law to promote and protect the human rights of all persons without discrimination". Yet in 70 countries, discriminatory laws criminalize private, consensual same-sex relationships whereas other countries, including Malta, have adopted laws that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. During Malta Pride Month, we cannot but reflect on Malta's achievements to date. Indeed, the LGBTIQ+ consulta- tive council was set up by government in 2013, when European Commissioner Helena Dalli headed the Ministry of So- cial Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties. The aims of the Council are to advise government on those issues which impact LGBTIQ+ persons and to put for- ward legislation, policies and other meas- ures to advance their rights. Moreover, "Civil Union law was enacted in 2014 in order to provide for same-sex couples who wanted to formalize their relationship but were not allowed to get married back then". In 2017, marriage laws were changed so that same-sex cou- ples could also get married. These achievements developed in a context where Malta has consistently been ranking as one of the most LGB- TIQ-friendly countries in the world to live in and has ranked top of the ILGA Europe Rainbow Index for the past five years in a row. Furthermore, Malta has made the shortlist to host Europe's largest annual celebration of Euro Pride in 2023. While significant achievements in ad- dressing the forms of discrimination that LGBTIQ+ people face have been made, more efforts are needed to ensure that every person is fully respected regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identi- ty, gender expression and sex character- istics. It is important to note that around 20% of the Maltese disagree that gay, les- bian and bisexual people should have the same rights as heterosexual people, and the same amount disagree that there is nothing wrong in a sexual relationship between two persons of the same sex. In this context, awareness-raising to challenge stereotypical perceptions and discriminatory attitudes towards LGB- TIQ+ persons is vital. The National Com- mission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) is currently implementing an EU co-funded project entitled 'Empower- ment for Diversity' (E4D). This project focuses on the grounds of sexual orien- tation, gender identity, sex characteris- tics and gender expression and seeks to address the national societal and cultur- al impacts which have resulted from the recent legislative advancements through awareness-raising initiatives, capacity building and various analytical activities. Furthermore, the NCPE is empowered by Chapter 456 of the Laws of Malta to investigate complaints of alleged discrim- ination on the grounds of sexual orienta- tion and gender identity in employment, education and vocational training as well as by banks and financial institutions. As Michelle Bachelet, UN High Com- missioner for Human Rights, said in Sep- tember 2018 "The struggle for the rights of LGBTI people is a core part of the human rights struggle". As a society, we must stand united against discrimination and for the right of all to live free and equal in dignity and rights. cemeteries, etc.); that there are limitations on the type of fire- arm, ammunition, traps or call- ing devices used; even the exist- ence of such things as 'hunting seasons' – pretty much all of it was introduced for the first time in 1981… only to be pretty much ignored anyway, for the better part of the next three decades. From that perspective, it would be patently absurd to argue that there has been no improvement at all since those distant times. But then again, there's a reason why BirdLife Malta limited their comparison only to the past eight years. That, roughly, is how long ago (May 2013, to be precise) the Wild Birds Regulatory Unit was first set up within the Par- liamentary Secretariat for Ag- riculture, Fisheries and Animal Rights; and the WBRU itself was only one small part of a much wider reform of hunting regulations at the time. In October that year, Parlia- mentary Secretary Roderick Galdes announced other impor- tant amendments to hunting legislation: including doubling the fines for illegal hunting, and suspending hunting licences for repeat offenders. Interesting- ly enough, these measures fol- lowed the umpteenth massacre of protected birds – Booted Ea- gles, I believe – suggesting that, from 2013 onwards, the govern- ment intended to finally clamp down on illegal hunting, once and for all. Galdes even hailed his own amendment as "the most com- prehensive revision of hunting legislation in Malta since the transposition of the EC Birds Directive into Maltese law in 2006". Yet fast-forward only seven years, and – just like what happened in the construction sector, and so many others – the incidence of illegal hunting can once again demonstrably seen to have skyrocketed, in spite of all the recent amendments and 'improvements'. And once again, it appears to be a case of having all the nec- essary regulatory paraphernalia in place – in this case, success- fully ticking off all the European Wild Birds Directive boxes as we went along: WBRU? Check. Administrative Law Enforce- ment Agency? Check… … yet at every level, not a sin- gle one of those 'checks' really corresponds to a tangible reality on the ground. The WBRU? It exists, yes… but ever since its inception in 2013, it has consistently been more concerned with seeking further derogations from the European Directive, than with enforcing the laws that are al- ready in place. And besides: since last January, it has been transplanted from the Animal Rights secretariat to (unaccountably) the Gozo Min- istry: i.e., from the auspices of a parliamentary secretary (Gal- des) who actually seemed to give a toss about regulating the sector… to a minister who just happens to be a very outspoken, very enthusiastic practitioner of hunting himself (and boy, does it show...) Likewise, the ALE remains directly responsible for the full spectrum of hunting law en- forcement of hunting laws; but where its staff complement has until recently always been beefed up to coincide with the hunting season – this year, the department was left with only 15 officers (and one vehicle) to monitor the activities of over 10,000 licensed hunters and trappers. The result? More illegal hunt- ing, more massacres of pro- tected birds… and, I fear, more complacency from a general public which – like myself, until this week – has been lulled into believing that all those 'reforms' have actually made any differ- ence whatsoever. And this, I suspect, is why 'more legislation' so often translates into 'less regulation'. It might not solve the problem at hand… but it does create the illusion that there isn't even any problem to begin with...