Sexual and reproductive rights and LGBTIQ+ rights could be completely erased from the European Parliament’s Rule of Law report for the first time, the Socialists and Democrats warn today.
This afternoon, MEPs in the European Parliament committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs (LIBE) will vote on the 2024 Rule of Law report. Prepared by rapporteur Ana Catarina Mendes (S&D), this report is the Parliament’s answer to the European Commission’s 2024 Rule of Law report.
Separate votes in the LIBE committee will be held on all sections of the report dealing with LGBTIQ+ rights and sexual and reproductive rights. For the first time ever, this opens up the possibility that conservatives could erase all references to these topics in the Parliament report.
Ana Catarina Mendes, Rapporteur and S&D vice-president, said:
“If you are pro-Rule of Law, if you are pro-EU, then you must defend LGBTIQ+ rights and sexual and reproductive rights as a cornerstone of the Rule of Law. This goes to the heart of what it means to defend equality before the law.
“When illiberal governments are banning Pride marches and rolling back rights, I urge all pro-European members of the LIBE committee to carefully consider the message we send today. This house has a proud history of defending rights for all people and we should live up to that history.
“In the spirit of cooperation and compromise I have worked with groups from left to right, including the EPP, to improve this report. But as a pro-European, I cannot understand why another pro-European group would target LGBTIQ+ rights or sexual and reproductive rights in this way.”
The sections of the report on the EPP chopping block include those relating to: the recognition of same-sex partnerships or parenthood; the fight against hate crimes and hate speech on LGBTIQ+ grounds, sex characteristics and sexual orientation; freedom of expression and assembly for LGBTIQ+ groups and beyond; banning conversion practices; legal gender recognition; and other areas.
The S&D Group is proud to stand for sexual and reproductive rights, and rights of the LGBTIQ+ community, including most recently in support of people in Hungary.
Separately, an EPP oral amendment is expected to request the deletion of a reference to the EU Ethics Body in the Parliament report.
The Parliament’s Rule of Law Report also highlights important topics such as shrinking space for civil society, independence of the judiciary, independent and free media, as well as the growing challenges posed by algorithm-driven content on social media and its impact on disinformation and democratic discourse.
