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CEP template 2012

Diversity and social cohesion: The case of Malta Helena Dalli Human rights are universal and indivisible, and therefore belong to all human beings indiscriminately. In view of this, politicians cannot allow themselves to selectively choose which rights they support publicly and which rights they would rather shelve. We are dutybound to safeguard and promote the human rights of all, and show leadership in ensuring equal treatment in practice. This duty simply does not allow us to hide behind our own culture or tradition to justify unfair or unequal treatment of certain groups of people or individuals for no other reason than who they are. LGBTI legislation The government that I form part of was elected on an agenda that focuses on the enhancement of human rights and equality. During the first weeks in government, I tabled a bill amending the civil code to allow transsexual persons to marry a person of the opposite sex. This followed an out-of-court settlement of a case filed at the European court against Malta by a transsexual woman who had, until then, been denied her fundamental right to start a family. In less than two years from the election of the new government, there has been a change in the Constitution of Malta prohibiting discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as the introduction of the Civil Unions Act which allows same- and opposite-sex couples to enter into a union with the same rights and obligations as civil marriage. In October of this year I presented to parliament the first reading of the Gender Identity, Gender Expressions and Sex Characteristics Bill. This bill provides all persons with new rights to gender identity, bodily integrity and physical autonomy. Apart from our legislative endeavours, we are in constant contact with national and international human rights civil society organisations (CSOs). My ministry has partnered with a number of these organisations on projects with varying scopes. A number of these projects are intended to encourage the integration of migrants and other minorities as well as providing social support to individuals suffering from discrimination. We strongly believe that CSOs have the necessary expertise to help us work on the right set of laws, policies and supporting structures. Indeed, we do our best to support non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and their work ‘on the ground’, and we believe that the partnership is providing good results to both sides as well as the ultimate beneficiary – the public. For the coming year we plan to strengthen our human rights and equality institutional framework to ensure the promotion and adherence to our national and international human rights obligations. In fact, we will be setting up an independent Human Rights and Equality Commission (HREC) based on the UN’s Principles Relating to the Status of National Human Rights Institutions, widely known as the Paris Principles. In February 2014 we initiated a thorough process of public consultation regarding this institution. We started with a scoping exercise inviting civil society organisations, government entities and individuals to propose methods on how Malta can better protect and promote human rights and equality overall. The scoping exercise also asked all stakeholders to propose the models of entities they considered best able to achieve this. Following this, exercise plans have been made to publish a white paper for further consultation prior to the formulation of the necessary legislation. Clearly, we want the process to give us the best results and hence we have embarked on the widest possible consultation process. This is an opportunity to raise awareness on equality and human rights, and the challenges ahead. Ultimately, a country can have some of the best mechanisms, but if people do not know about their rights and remedies, injustice and discrimination is bound to continue. On the same lines, victims of discrimination and other human rights breaches need to have faith in the institutions and believe that the remedies that they can expect to receive are effective. Unity in diversity: Services for integration The government is also in the process of setting up its own department for integration to promote the protection of human rights, equality and integration. The purpose of this new structure will be to ensure that governmental services are in themselves streamlined for all, as well as encouraging greater social cohesion between all members of society, irrespective of their background or characteristics. Integration, in this sense, is a wide concept that transcends diversity and is meant to create the conditions for all individuals in Malta to feel that they are an integral part of Maltese society, and subsequently to meet their full potential. We will ensure that all persons enjoy the same rights, and are afforded the same legal and institutional protection. We will ensure that this department takes concrete action through various projects and initiatives to promote integration, and also to ensure the proper mainstreaming of each person within its ranks. For this reason, we are adopting a horizontal approach to equality and providing equal status to all grounds of anti-discrimination in the law by improving protection on grounds that were previously lagging behind. Furthermore, the department for integration will be working within government structures to help them deal effectively with minority issues. In particular, it will continuously work with the police and the armed forces to ensure best practices in the protection of all individuals, especially when dealing with cases of hate crime and gender-based violence. Commonwealth Governance 74 Handbook 2014/15


CEP template 2012
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