During the EP plenary session (15-18 May 2017) in Strasbourg, MEPs debate and vote on the implementation of the Council's LGBTI Guidelines, particularly in relation to the persecution of (perceived) homosexual men in Chechnya, Russia. Statements by Soraya POST (S&amp;D, SE), Ulrike LUNACEK (Greens/EFA, AT), Malin BJORK (GUE/NGL, SE), Mark DEMESMAEKER (ECR, BE), Christos STYLIANIDES, Member of the EC in charge of Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Fredrick FEDERLEY (ALDE, SE) and Seb DANCE (S&amp;D, UK).&nbsp;

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

vote

POST, Soraya (S&D, SE)

LUNACEK, Ulrike (Greens/EFA, AT)

STYLIANIDES, Christos (CY)

DEMESMAEKER, Mark (ECR, BE)

fight for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people (T)

BJÖRK, Malin (The Left, SE)

DANCE, Seb (S&D, UK)

FEDERLEY, Fredrick (Renew, SE)

Implementation of the Council's LGBTI Guidelines, particularly in relation to the persecution of (perceived) homosexual men in Chechnya, Russia: extracts from the vote and from the debate (16/05)

SOUNDBITE (English), Soraya POST (S&amp;D, SE), Author, I have received reports about honour killings, families have murdered their own children in shame of them being gay. This is what happens when politics act as if human rights are only for few, when they dehumanize groups of people. Right now the European Union is the global stronghold of protecting the ID of equality, of all your rights for all.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ulrike LUNACEK (Greens/EFA, AT), Author, This is a life of fear that nobody, nobody on this planet should be allowed to live and nobody who protects the perpetrators should not be brought to justice. We demand from the Russian Federation and the Chechnya regime to protect LGBTI people and also to speak out and say this is not against any religious traditions, this is something being lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or intersex is something that has existed all over the planet, in all times, in all &eacute;poques, in all religions, in all cultures, everywhere and exists and shouldn't be worked against.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Malin BJ&#214;RK (GUE/NGL, SE), Homophobia is so patriarchal I cannot find words for it; it's such a despicable attitude towards nations, towards people, towards gender, towards love, towards women, towards men despicable and of course the whole gender issue is called into question by that. We must therefore act against homophobia.

SOUNDBITE (Dutch), Mark DEMESMAEKER (ECR, BE), So the question to the Commission is this, what are you going to do, so that our own LGBTI directives are implemented? It's not sufficient to express unease; all the victims of persecution, all the protesters have to be immediately released and the authorities have got to deliver to their international pledges.

SOUNDBITE (English), Christos STYLIANIDES, Member of the EC in charge of Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, We will continue to call on the Russian authorities for an effective and thorough investigation into the reports of abductions and killing of gay men in Chechnya. This is indispensable so that anyone found guilty of complicit in such crimes will be brought to justice.

SOUNDBITE (Swedish), Fredrick FEDERLEY (ALDE, SE), Of course, all of this has to do with Putin&rsquo;s policy regarding LGBTI people, it's been his policy for a long, long time. Chechnya is like a laboratory, if you like, with regards to the way in which he sees human rights. Once again this is something that we must stand firm against.

SOUNDBITE (English), Seb DANCE (S&amp;D, UK), I am a gay man and I am able to be here with other gay men, other lesbians, other LGBTI people and do the work that we do because I know I am not gonna be dragged from my seat by the authorities. And I don't know if there is anybody here watching in Chechnya or in Russia; you are not the problem if you are LGBTI, you are not the illness. It is the people who were doing this to you, they are the problem and it is this organization, the international community who will stand to defend you.

Opening of the vote on the resolution as a whole - the resolution has been approved