on the occasion of the International Conference on „Promoting Human Rights for Lesbians and Gays in Ukraine“ on the 4th and 5th of October, 2008 in Kiev

 

I send  my kindest regards to all participants of the conference in Kiev from the I send  my kindest regards to all participants of the conference in Kiev from the German Capital.

You gave your conference a programmatic title. It’s called: „Lesbian and gay rights are human rights!“ And indeed: The right of equalization, of sexual self-determination, of being different in the first place is an elementary human right. Or to put differently: The battle against discrimination and for equal civil rights is not an issue of lower concern. Who excludes or threatens human beings because of their religion, their skin colour or their homosexuality, attacks the whole society. Because this is about the basic rules of our living together. It’s about our central values like humanity, tolerance and the liberty, allowing others to be different.

Regarding Germany we can say today: The engagement of many gays and lesbians for Regarding Germany we can say today: The engagement of many gays and lesbians for decades starts to pay back. The acceptance has grown distinctively. And also concerning the legal equalization, we achieved a lot. Hence, there’s no criminal law anymore that discriminates homosexuals. We have a law that legally acknowledges same-sex partnerships. And we do have – more than ever in our history – a tolerant atmosphere in our society. Berlin, for example, is nowadays reputed to be one of the gay metropolis in Europe. Gay-Lesbian Culture and Gay-Lesbian life styles are deeply rooted.

All these are important successes. Although, these progresses don’t mean that Homosexuals in Germany can by all means live free of discrimination. There are still exclusions, reservations, and there’s bullying. And we still haven’t yet achieved a complete equality in legislation.

But at the same time we also know, that things in Germany were pushed forward much more in the last decades compared to other countries. Therefore we have to stand up, further on for social respect and the legal equalization of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgenders all over the world. We have to raise our voices vigorously when it comes to compliance with human rights standards. And we have to campaign for a social life that is fair and determined by mutual respect, where diversity is viewed as enrichment and not as blemish.

In this respect there’s still a lot of work left to be done. We won't get liberality and open mindedness for free. We will have to continue our efforts to get it.Especially important is that Gays and Lesbians who are threatened by repression and persecution can count on wide international support.

Having said this I wish you a very successful conference in Kiev.

- Klaus Wowereit