mps disagree on drugs, rights of lesbians

By Alex Ndegwa (East African Standard)

KENYA – May 12, 2006: Delegates to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) conference in Nairobi disagreed on the rights of lesbians during a session on combating violence against women.

Trouble started when the Swedish delegation on Thursday moved a motion to amend a draft resolution to include bisexuals, lesbians and women addicted to drugs among women groups vulnerable to violence.

The motion was seconded by the Irish and Norwegian delegations, but met stiff opposition from delegates from the Gulf region, led by Iran, and African delegates.

The Swedish delegation wanted the women treated as disadvantaged women, same as women living with disabilities, the girl-child and women in situations of armed conflicts.

Persecuting women
David Norris, a senator from Ireland, backed the Swedish proposal, saying excluding lesbians and women addicted to drugs from the category was imprudent. He said the women were among the "most vulnerable to violence against women."

He said: "It would be a mockery to democracy and the upholding of human rights values if we fail to protect these women from discrimination and violence."

Norris turned his anger on Iran, accusing the regime of persecuting women over their sexual preferences.

"The Iranian regime has continued to perpetuate gross human rights violations against lesbians, which should not be allowed to continue," he said.

He claimed that Iranian authorities had murdered women accused of lesbianism and those engaging in drugs and sex outside marriage. The accusation drew sharp criticism from the Iranians, who said the senator should confine himself to matters on the agenda.

Motion defeated
The session, hosted by the Third Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights, was on How Parliaments Can and Must Promote Effective Ways of Combating Violence Against Women.

When the matter was put to the vote, Muslim and African nations joined hands to defeat the motion. The proposal for the amendment was shot down with 23 nations voting against, 17 for, and three abstained. However, other proposals in the draft resolution were passed unanimously.

They included calls for parliaments to demonstrate commitment to eliminating human trafficking, female genital mutilation and other forms of violence against women through enacting efficient laws to combat the injustices.
 
States persecute MPs
The committee said an increasing number of MPs in opposition parties face persecution by their Governments. The persecution methods were said to be changing from torture, disappearances and murder, to politically motivated court proceedings. The committee said the use of sophisticated methods of torture was increasingly being used to silence the opposition.

British MP Ann Clwyd, who chairs the committee, said the number of MPs whose human rights have been violated by their governments rose from 40 in nine countries in 1977 to 240 in 35 countries currently.

She said the cases include disappearances, torture and murder. Cases reported this year were in Bangladesh, Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Ecuador, Eritrea, Honduras, Indonesia, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mongolia and Myanmar.

Other reported cases were in Pakistan, Palestine, Israel, the Philippines, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey and Zimbabwe.
The committee, made up of five MPs, was set up in 1976 and meets four times annually. Clwyd said the committee’s aim was to ensure that MPs’ work in a free environment.

Formal complaints
She urged MPs to stand up for the rights of their colleagues, adding that the committee had not received complaints from families, colleagues, human rights groups or confidential sources on the persecution of legislators.

"The committee cannot act on its own accord and has to get a formal complaint," she said.

Clwyd said no report had been received from Kenya over harassment of MPs, detention or mysterious deaths. She said upon receiving complaints, the committee communicates to respective countries for official reactions.

"We then send missions and observers to the affected countries and the committee can, as a last resort, go public if the allegations are serious," she said.

Clywd said 11 MPs were in jail in Eritrea, adding that the committee encountered problems contacting the Eritrean authorities over the issue.

Elsewhere, President Kibaki and First Lady Lucy on Wednesday evening hosted IPU delegates at State House, Nairobi. Speaking during the banquet, the IPU Vice-President, Mrs Margaret Mensah William, thanked Kibaki for allowing the Kenyan Parliament to host the 114th IPU assembly.