EuroPride Human Right conference – Oslo sets the agenda

The City of Oslo and the LGBT-association welcomed cities and NGOs from across Europe to the 2014 EuroPride Human Right conference on 26 and 27 June. The conference addressed challenges lesbians and gays meet in the daily life of European cities, the links between discrimination due to gender and ethnicity as well as sexual orientation, and how cities, public authorities and civil society can join forces and make lesbian and gay rights a reality in Europe. Day one targeted international and European issues, with speeches and workshops lead by the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights of the UN, and the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Unit of the Council of Europe. Day two targeted the provision of equal municipal services. At the conference, Vice Mayor Hallstein Bjercke presented a new action plan for diversity and freedom, against discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. It is a plan for human rights – forming one of the pillars of the city’s diversity policy – Oslo as a city for all, Oslo Extra Large. The aims of the new plan are to enhance the knowledge about gender identities among the citizenry of Oslo, combat harassment and discrimination, and ensure that municipal services are accessible for all.

The plan is inspired by the ethos of Intercultural Cites program of the Council of Europe and the concept of the diversity advantage. The message from Oslo is that discrimination is unjust and unfair. It is also an obstacle to the city's growth and creativity. Discrimination and anticipated discrimination restricts the freedom and available options of lesbian and gay, and force lesbian and gay people to avoid or opt out of education, professions, organizations and residential areas. The delegates to the conference had the good fortune to learn about public policies to promote, defend and guarantee the citizenship rights of homosexuals and transsexuals in the city of Barcelona. In the workshops participants also learned about the very concrete measures and initiatives taking place in the cities of Lisbon, Berlin, Manchester and London. The delegates were concerned to hear from NGOs in Latvia, Lithuania and Ukraine about the more difficult situation for lesbians and gays in Eastern Europe. LGBT rights are human rights. The conference confirmed the relevance of the ideal standards and values of the Council of Europe, to the city’s work on diversity and anti-discrimination. The City of Oslo is grateful for the support from the Council of Europe, in sponsoring the international guests.