Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 34: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the work he is undertaking to seek the protection of the rights of expression and assembly for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in eastern Europe amidst recurring threats of violence and prohibition of lesbian and gay pride marchers in the region. [13731/11]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Ireland is committed to safeguarding the rights of all citizens across the European Union and deplores violence or the threat of violence against any groups or citizens. As the Deputy will be aware, Ireland actively supports the promotion and protection of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons. This has been particularly evidenced through our engagement with other EU Member States on LGBT issues at the United Nations, in particularly at the Human Rights Council. For a further elaboration of Ireland's recent activities in this respect, I would refer the Deputy to my reply of Thursday, 2 June 2011 to Oral PQ 13732/11, posed by your party colleague, Deputy Martin Ferris.

Ireland will continue to support the rights of, and express solidarity with, LGBT communities through our missions abroad, however I understand that the Deputy has expressed an interest in three specific states; Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.

Hungary

Regrettably some previous LGBT Pride parades in Budapest, in particular those held in 2007 and 2008, were marred by the presence of elements intent on intimidating the participants, both verbally and physically. The right of pride marchers to enjoy the parade without fear is strongly supported by many like-minded Embassies in Budapest; on the occasion of last year's parade, Ireland joined with other Embassies in issuing a statement expressing solidarity with LGBT communities in Hungary. Referring to the violence which had been directed against events in previous years, the Embassies supported the right of these communities to march. I very much welcome the fact that last year's parade passed without major incident and am pleased to note that difficulties over this year's parade route have now been resolved. I hope that Budapest's 16th Pride festival (culminating in a parade on 18 June) can take place in an equally peaceful atmosphere. Our Embassy in Budapest will again associate itself with any joint statement issued in advance of the parade.

Slovakia

The first gay pride parade in Bratislava took place in May 2010 but was regrettably disrupted by protestors who attacked participants. The Irish Ambassador attended last year's parade as an act of solidarity with the marchers. The Irish Embassy also participated in a joint statement issued by a number of Embassies in Bratislava expressing support for the LGBT community in Slovakia. This year's Pride parade will take place on 4 June. The Embassy will again join with like-minded Embassies in issuing a statement of support for the event. I hope that the regrettable scenes of last year can be avoided.

Romania

In Romania, GayFest, the annual LGBT Pride festival of Bucharest (which first took place in 2004) receives funding from the Romanian Ministry of Health and the National Council for Combating Discrimination. This year a gay pride parade will take place in Bucharest on 4 June. The Irish Embassy joined other like-minded Embassies in Bucharest in expressing support for the event. The parades have not been without opposition in the past and they have been the subject of unsuccessful court challenges and counter-demonstrations by far-right groups which have previously descended into violence. However, the 2010 and 2009 parades passed off largely without violent incident and I would hope to see this year's event take place in a peaceful and supportive atmosphere.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 36: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in view of the recent attempt to introduce a homophobic bill introducing capital punishment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons in Uganda, the action he will take to ensure that this bill is not reintroduced by the new Ugandan Government; the work of his Department to promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons internationally to seek an end to the criminalisation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13730/11]

Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Since the first introduction of the anti-homosexuality legislation as a private member's bill in 2009, Ireland, together with its EU partners and civil society organisations in Uganda, has been very active in highlighting the human rights implications of the draft anti-homosexuality bill and expressing strong opposition to the adoption of this bill. Ireland has been particularly vocal in pointing out the inconsistencies between this draft legislation and Uganda's domestic and international human rights obligations.

Irish representatives have met with several senior members of the Ugandan Government, including the Prime Minister, to discuss the draft bill. It was raised with the Ugandan Foreign Minister during a visit by my predecessor to Uganda last year. In addition, Ireland's Ambassador to Uganda has met directly with Mr. David Bahati M.P., who is the sponsor of the Bill, to articulate the Government's position, and to make clear that adherence to international human rights standards is the foundation of Ireland's relationship with Uganda.

The current situation is that the previous session of Parliament concluded without the bill being passed. If the bill is to be placed on the agenda of the new parliament it will have to go through full parliamentary process again. Repeated assurances have been given at the highest levels of the Ugandan Government that the bill, should it be placed before Parliament for a vote, will not pass. Our Embassy in Uganda will continue to monitor the situation closely. If a new bill is proposed, Ireland will again join with EU and other partners in expressing opposition, at the highest level, to its adoption.

In the broader work of promoting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons internationally, on 22 March 2011 at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council, Ireland actively supported a Joint Statement on behalf of 85 countries from every continent, including five African States, entitled 'Ending acts of violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity'. We were one of fifteen EU member States who were part of a cross regional core group which worked to prepare the statement in Geneva. The Joint Statement demonstrates the increasing commitment across the international community to the promotion and protection of the human rights of all persons, irrespective of their sexual orientation and gender identity. The Statement called on States to end acts of violence, criminal sanctions and related human rights violations committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity

The Joint Statement builds on a December 2008 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Statement on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, which was supported by 68 countries including Ireland and all EU Member States. In June 2010, the European Union Working Party on Human Rights (COHOM) adopted a 'Toolkit to Promote and Protect the Enjoyment of all Human Rights by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) People'. Ireland participated fully in the elaboration of this comprehensive toolkit which guides the work of all European Union (EU) diplomats, including Irish, in overseas missions.