Conference for LGBT families in Europe

1. Conference for LGBT families in Europe Overview of the work of the Council of Europe in the field of family law Sabrina Cajoly - Council of Europe Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs/ Directorate of Standard-Setting www.coe.int

2. INTRODUCTION THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE IN BRIEF

3. General data • International Organisation distinct from the EU 47 Member States Observers = Canada, Mexico, Holy See,Japan, USA Applicant State = Belarus

4. Objectives • Protection and promotion of common values • Democracy, Human rights, Rule of law • Awareness and development of Europe's cultural identity and diversity • Solutions to the challenges facing European society (e.g discrimination against minorities, xenophobia, intolerance, bioethics and cloning, terrorism, trafficking in human beings, organised crime and corruption, cybercrime, violence against children) • Consolidation of democratic stability in Europe by backing political, legislative and constitutional reform

5. Institutions

6. The European Court of Human Rights • ECHR = concrete regional reflection of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the European level • Obligatory jurisdiction • Binding decisions (condition for accession) • Individual petition against alledged violations

7. PART 1 General work of the Council of Europe on discrimination based on sexual orientation

8. ECHR • ECtHR case-law: from Dudgeon v UK (1981) to EB v France (2008) • Protocol n°12: general prohibition of discrimination

9. PACE • Adoption of Recommendations: • Recommendation 924 (1981) on discrimination against homosexuals • Recommendation 1470 (2000) on situation of gays and lesbians and their partners in respect to asylum and immigration in the member states of the Council of Europe • Recommendation 1635 (2003) Lesbians and gays in sport • Draft recommendation on the legal recognition of same-sex couples (in progress) • Draft recommendation on freedom of assembly and expression of LGBT

10. Congress of Local and Regional Authorities Recommendation 211 (2007) on freedom of expression Secretary General public declarations Commissioner for Human Rights public declarations and annual report Other: campaigns, training, publications Other institutions

11. Committee of Ministers • Statements • Standards ?

12. PART 2 CoE’S INTERGOVERNMENTAL WORK IN FAMILY LAW

13. Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs (DG-HL)

14. CJ-FA • Objective: harmonise policies and adopt common standards and practices in member States in the field of family law. • Priority areas: family law and protection of children (Third Summit of Heads of State and Government held in Warsaw in May 2005 and the Programme “Building Europe with and for the Children) • Main adopted texts: • 1975 European Convention on the Legal Status of Children Born Out of Wedlock, Recommendation (84)4 on parental responsibilities and the White Paper on principles concerning the establishment and legal consequences of parentage • 1980 European Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Concerning Custody of Children and a Restoration of Custody of Children • 1996 European Convention on the Exercise of Children’s Rights (2000) • 2003 European Convention on Contact Concerning Children (2005)

15. Draft European Convention on Adoption (revised) 1/2 • Objective: • harmonise the law of the member states by setting minimum rules on adoption • set core principles: best interest of the child, child’s consent to an adoption, the right of the adopted child to know his or her origin • Takes into account: • the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989 • the European Convention on the exercise of children’s’ rights (ETS No.160) • the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights

16. Added value: updates the 1967 Convention on the adoption of children takes into account social changes over the last 40 years deals with national adoption complements the Hague Convention of 1993 on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption offers the possibility to the States which wish to do so to extend the scope of the revised Convention to adoptions by same-sex couples Status: adoption expected in the near future Draft European Convention on Adoption (revised) 2/2

17. Feasibility study (1/2) • Scope: • Rights and legal status of children being brought up in various forms of marital or non‑marital partnership and co‑habitation • Feasibility study on the appropriateness of preparing a standard on this issue • Methodology: • independent expert • proposals concerning the possible follow‑up to be given

18. Feasibility study (2/2) • European Conference on Family Law 2009 • Possible outcomes: • Types of standards: conventions / recommendations • Standard-setting process • Revision of the Convention for children born out of wedlock? • Monitoring mechanism

19. Conclusion • Discrimination based on sexual orientation and LGBT families: becoming a CoE’s priority? • Possible contributions of NGOs and activists to the work of the CoE

20. Thank you for your attention! www.coe.int