Congress urges Government to grant asylum to gays

MADRID – The Foreign Affairs Commission of Spain’s Congress unanimously agreed last week to urge the Government to grant asylum to homosexuals, transsexuals and bisexuals (spelt gais in Spanish) who are persecuted in their country of origin and find themselves in this country. There are over 75 countries in the world where homosexuality is forbidden; in seven of them, the penalty is death. The Law of Asylum and Refuge of 2009 already allows people who are persecuted for their sexual orientation to apply for refuge in Spain; but, as with too many sensible laws, it has never been applied, despite the fact that there are almost 300 of these applications, according to Socialist Deputy Delia Blanco.

The unanimous decision was the result of hard-nosed negotiation that rose from two things: the PSOE denouncing anti-homosexual laws in Russia; and another motion from UPyD (Unión, Progreso y Democracia) party, which condemned homophobic legislation in countries such as Uganda.

The agreement came about when it no longer included names of specific countries – at a time when Spain was scratching for every vote to become a non-permanent member of the UN Council; and once UPyD removed their demand that cooperation with countries that maintain homophobic or discriminatory legislation. Sweden, the Commission was reminded, cancelled its cooperation with Uganda because that African country approved legislation criminalising homosexuality – later annulled by the country’s Constitutional Court. Norway, Denmark and Holland are preparing similar laws.

Opposition to the decision came principally from right-wing parties, in particular the Partido Popular (PP), which is in Government with a significant majority in both Congress and the Senate.