Hélène Goudin (IND/DEM). – (SV) The June List believes that the EU is a union of values that must operate on the principle that everyone has equal value and equal rights. This principle is fundamental to all activities and has also been laid down in the UN’s General Declaration on Human Rights. The EU Member States have ratified a number of legally binding international agreements based on this principle of equal treatment and non-discrimination.

The right not to be exposed to irrelevant special treatment on the grounds of sexual orientation is, then, a fundamental human right. In the debate, this right is sometimes regarded as a negotiable benefit. It is important for us always to have the UN’s declarations on human rights in mind when we debate legislative proposals in this Chamber.

It is only in more recent years that the EU Member States have seriously begun to deal with the issue of homophobia. According to Swedish statistics, the average citizen has a 4% to 6% risk of being exposed to what is referred to as unprovoked violence. Among lesbian and bisexual women, the corresponding figure is between 15% and 24%, while between 28% and 36% of homosexual and bisexual men have been exposed to unprovoked violence. The fact that sexual orientation determines to what extent someone is in danger of being exposed to violence is, of course, unacceptable.

It is important for us, as politicians, to make it clear that all human beings have equal rights and obligations. If we tamper with that principle, we bring fundamental human rights and the UN’s declarations into question.