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Areas of Anti-Gay Bias Web Filter Blocks Scottish Gay Magazine |
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By Rex Wockner International News Report Cyprus' Parliament Eliminates Areas of Anti-Gay Bias
Cyprus' parliament enacted legislation June 8 eliminating areas
of discrimination against gay men in the criminal law.
According to the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), lawmakers equalized the male age of consent (by raising the age of consent for heterosexual males from 16 to 18 -- women can have sex at 16), eliminated the pejorative description of gay sex (replacing "unnatural licentiousness" with "intercourse between men"), and deleted discriminatory provisions on privacy (sex between more than two men had been classified as taking place "in public"). Provisions banning "indecent behaviour or invitation or provocation or advertisement aimed at performing unnatural acts between males" were altered to apply only to actions directed at persons under 18. The changes were a belated response to a 1993 victory at the European Court of Human Rights by gay activist Alecos Modinos who had challenged Cyprus' total ban on gay-male sex. In 1998, parliament repealed the outright ban but simultaneously created the discriminatory provisions described above. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe then ruled that the 1998 changes did not fully comply with the terms of the Euro Court's ruling. (Under the European Convention on Human Rights, the Committee is empowered to ensure that actions taken by governments and parliaments in response to a judgment of the European Court fully rectify the human-rights violations identified in the judgment.) In a press release, ILGA commented: "ILGA Europe ... welcomes the fact that the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe has insisted that the original legislative changes of 1998 were insufficient. There is little doubt that only a few years ago they would have been unlikely to insist on the additional changes. This is a further indication of the consensus among the governments of Europe that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the criminal law is unacceptable." The Council of Europe was founded following World War II and works to strengthen democracy, human rights and the rule of law in its 41 member states. The European Convention on Human Rights is the most important of its many human-rights treaties. Violations of the convention are settled by the European Court of Human Rights. The Council is governed by the foreign ministers of its member states (the Committee of Ministers) and by representatives from national parliaments (the Parliamentary Assembly). For more information, visit www.coe.fr. Web Filter Blocks Scottish Gay Magazine
Rothnie initially promised to investigate the blockage but later directed Hein to contact Websense directly. ScotsGay is a glossy newsmagazine with no erotic content. |
