By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

VIENNA, Austria – Beginning in 2019, same-sex couples will be allowed to marry in Austria.

On Tuesday, December 5^th, Austria’s Constitutional Court published a ruling that lifts the ban on same-sex marriage by the end of 2018 –  unless the government lifts the ban prior to that.

The words “two people of different sex” will be removed from Austria’s marriage law and same-sex couples will have access to the same benefits and privileges as those currently granted to heterosexual partners, including adoption and support for fertility treatments.

Same-sex couples have been allowed to enter into civil partnerships since 2010, but have not been given the option to legally marry.

The ruling was prompted by the Court’s examination of a 2009 law, following a complaint made by two women already in a civil partnership who were now allowed to enter into a legal marriage by authorities in Vienna.

The womens’ lawyer, Helmut Graupner, spoke of the the ruling on social media and applauded Austria’s Court for recognizing equality for same-sex couples as a “fundamental human right.” All the other European states with marriage equality introduced it as (just) “the political way.”

“The distinction between marriage and civil partnership can no longer be maintained today without discriminating against same-sex couples,” the Court stated. It also noted that keeping the two institutions separate suggests that “people with same-sex sexual orientation are not equal to people with heterosexual orientation.”

The decision brings Austria in line with more than a dozen other European countries that have recently legalized gay marriage. The Netherlands was the first. That decision came in 2001. There are now 25 countries in the world that have legalized same-sex marriage. Several European countries, including Bulgaria, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, have yet to follow suit.

The decision did not come without criticism. The far-right Freedom Party claimed that the ruling disrespected the concept of traditional marriage. “Now there is equal treatment for something that’s not equal,” said the party’s secretary general, Herbert Kickl.

The archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schöborn, told news outlets that he remained hopeful that the decision would be overturned in Austria, a largely Roman Catholic nation.

Despite the push-back, the Austrian People’s Party, led by Sebastian Kurz, winner of the general election in October, said it would accept the ruling.

“We are very happy,” said The Homosexual Initiative of Vienna chairman Christian Hoegl. “We want to use the opportunity for a renewed call for a fundamental reform of marriage.”

For more information, please see:

BBC News = Austrian Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Same-Sex Marriage – 5 December 2017

Chicago Tribune – Austrian Constitutional Court Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage – 5 December 2017

The Independent – Austria Court Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage From Start of 2019, Ruling all Existing laws Discriminatory – 5 December 2017

The New York Times – Austria Allows Gay Marriage in Court Ruling – 5 December 2017

Reuters – Austria’s Supreme Court Paves way for Same-Sex Marriage From 2019 – 5 December 2017

By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

REYKJAVIK, Iceland – Over 400 political leaders from around the world gathered in Iceland on Wednesday, November 28^th to discuss gender equality.

The group, comprised mostly of female political leaders, convened to address barriers to progress in the quest for gender equality.

The summit, held annually, is sponsored by the Women Political Leaders Global Forum, an organization intent on increasing the number of female political leaders in the world, in collaboration with the Council of Women World Leaders, a network for female prime ministers and presidents.

The theme of this year’s summit was “We can do it!”, a reference to Iceland’s success in achieving gender equality.

Iceland is known for being a champion of gender equality. For the past nine years, the World Economic Forum has identified the country as having the smallest gender gap, with pay being a factor considered along with life expectancy and access to educational opportunities. Iceland has the highest employment rate of females worldwide, with 8 out of 10 women there employed.

Iceland was the first country in the word to elect a female president. In 1980, Vigdis Finnbogadottir defeated three male candidates.

There is a great disparity in the ratio of male to female political leaders in other parts of the world. Women make up only 7 percent of heads of state and comprise less than a quarter of parliamentary seats worldwide.

The pay gap is another topic of concern. The World Economic Forum’s most recent index suggests that under current trends it will take another 217 years for the pay gap to close between men and women. In Iceland, the pay gap is projected to close by 2022.

On November 20^th, the European Union recommended a two-year plan to close the gender pay gap. The plan recommends sanctions for companies that do not provide equal pay as well as the monitoring of policies to ensure discrimination is not taking place.

On average, women earn 16.3 percent less hourly than men. This number has remained steady for the past five years.

In addition to addressing pay gaps and the lack of political diversity, the summit addressed the recent tide of allegations of rampant sexual harassment throughout the world.

“That kind of behavior, which is now deemed widely unacceptable, has been one of the barriers to women getting ahead,” said New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark. “Lots of sectors — parliaments, film industries and others — are having to face their past and say, ‘We are going to do it better.’”

While strides have been made in terms of achieving greater gender equality, proponents believe there is much left to be done. At the summit, Finnbogadottir received an honorary award at and addressed the crowd.  “Gender equality has changed tremendously in Iceland since then but we still got some ways to go,” she said.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – EU Proposes Two-Year Plan to Close Gender Pay Gap – 20 November 2017

The Guardian – Only 23% of the World’s Politicians are Women. It’s Time for That to Change – 29 November 2017

Press Herald – Iceland Summit Stresses Gender Equality in Politics – 29 November 2017

The Washington Post – Women Leaders Tackle Gender Equality at Iceland Summit – 29 November 2017

The New York Times – A Man Among Female Leaders: ‘The Risk of Mansplaining Is Very High’ – 2 December 2017

By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

MOSCOW, Russia – FIFA’s anti-discrimination advisers are warning LGBTQ soccer fans that displays of affection at next year’s World Cup games could be met with violence.

Fare, an anti-discrimination organization that campaigns for equality in soccer, is partnering with FIFA to control fan behavior at the World Cup games next year.

Hate crimes against LBGTQ people in Russia have doubled since the country instituted a law banning “gay propaganda” in 2013. The law has thwarted gay pride marches and allowed gay rights activists to be detained. It is also believed to have incentivized and condoned violence against LGBTQ people.

Similar concerns were raised at the 2014 Winter Olympics Games in Sochi following the enactment of the “gay propaganda” law.

The legislation was deemed illegal by Europe’s top human rights court in June, but Russia says it will not honor the ruling.

“(Offenders) have become more aggressive and less fearful,” said Svetlana Zakharova, a Russian LGBT Network Board Member. “It seems to them that, to some extent, the government supports their actions. Many perpetrators openly talk about their crimes as noble deeds.”

Researchers say that the number of hate crimes that has occurred in the country in recent years is likely to be much higher than documented, as many crimes go unreported or are not investigated or prosecuted.

Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia in 1993 but remained classified as a mental illness until 1999. Russia was ranked the second least-LGBT friendly nation in Europe, behind Azerbaijan, in 2016.

For the first time in FIFA’s 113 year history, the organization has added a human rights element to its statute.

“If there are any cases of abuse, or even possibility of human rights defenders or journalists being forced into a difficult corner, then according to our statutes and human rights policy FIFA will intervene,” said Federico Addiechi, Head of Sustainability and Diversity at FIFA.

FIFA and Fare will have crowd-monitors at the games. They will be on the lookout for displays of racism, political extremism and homophobia. Matches will be stopped or abandoned if such displays occur and persist.

Fare plans to administer cautionary guides to fans traveling to the tournament. The guides will include information about the current LGBTQ situation in Russia and will advise people to use caution when traveling in areas not considered to be welcoming to the LGBTQ community.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – LGBT Hate Crimes Double in Russia After Ban on ‘Gay Propaganda’ – 21 November 2017

Newsweek – Anti-LGBT Hate Crimes Double Since ‘Gay Propaganda’ Law in Russia – 23 November 2017

The Guardian – Gay Fans Warned Holding Hands at Russian World Cup Will be Dangerous

The New York Times – Ahead of World Cup, Fans Are Warned About Homophobia and Racism in Russia – 28 November 2017

NBC News – ‘Danger’ for Gay Fans at World Cup in Russia, FIFA Advisers Warn – 29 November 2017

By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Cheers erupted as Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb army commander responsible for mass murder and other crimes against humanity during the Bosnian War, was sentenced to life in prison by an international tribunal on Wednesday, November 22^nd.

The verdict was read by presiding judge Alphons Orie, who called Mladic’s crimes “among the most heinous to humankind.”

Between 1992 and 1995, Mladic oversaw some of the most brutal and horrific crimes against humanity carried out in Europe since World War II. During these years, he lead the Bosnian Serb forces on a relentless ethnic cleansing campaign to rid the country of non-Serbs and became known as the “Butcher of Bosnia.”

The war began after Bosnian Muslims and Croats voted for independence in a referendum strongly opposed by Bosnian Serbs. The country soon descended into war between Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Serbs.

Mladic was in charge of the army until the conflict came to an end in 1995, at which time he was indicted on war crimes and went on the run. He was captured in 2011.

In the worst atrocity committed in Europe since World War II, Mladic directed the massacre of more than 7,000 Bosnian Muslims at a town called Srebrenica in July 1995. Men and boys between the ages of 12 and 77 were rounded up and machine-gunned by troops in a field outside of town and then buried in mass graves.

Other crimes committed under Mladic’s unrelenting reign included mass rapes of Bosnian Muslim women and girls, the indiscriminate murder of civilians, deportations and destructions of homes and mosques. Many were imprisoned in camps where they died of malnourishment and disease. Upwards of 100,000 lives were lost between 1992 and 1995.  Another 2.2 million people were displaced.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia found him guilty on one count of genocide and nine crimes against humanity. The trial lasted for 530 days and included over 500 witnesses and 10,000 exhibits. Mladic has denied all the charges against him and plans to appeal.

U.N. Human Rights Chief Zeid Ra’as al-Hussein called Mladic “the epitome of evil,” and said that his prosecution was “the epitome of what international justice is all about…Mladic presided over some of the darkest crimes to occur in Europe since World War II, bringing terror, death and destruction to thousands of victims, and sorrow, tragedy and trauma to countless more.”

For more information, please see:

BBC  News – Ratko Mladic, the ‘Butcher of Bosnia’ – 22 November 2017

CNN – Ratko Mladic Guilty of Genocide, Sentenced to life in Prison – 22 November 2017

NPR – Remembering the ‘Monstrous’ Legacy of Ratko Mladic – 22 November 2017

The New York Times – Mladic Conviction Closes Dark Chapter in Europe, but New Era of Uncertainty Looms – 22 November 2017

The Washington Post –  Ratko Mladic, the ‘Butcher of Bosnia,’ Guilty of Genocide in Last Balkan war Crimes Trial – 22 November 2017

BBC News – Ratko Mladic Jailed for Life Over Bosnian War Genocide – 23 November 2017

Huffington Post – Ratko Mladic Sentence – 26 November 2017

By Jenilyn Brhel
Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

WARSAW, Poland – An estimated 60,000 far-right demonstrators marched through Warsaw on Poland’s 99th Independence Day.

On Saturday, November 11^th, tens of thousands of people gathered in what is being described as one of the biggest gatherings of far-right supporters in recent years.

The march, organized by far-right groups, is held annually on Poland’s Independence Day. The march has become an international magnet for far-right supporters and white supremacists.

The crowd welcomed far-right leaders from Britain and Italy. Richard Spencer, the American white nationalist who organized the Charlottesville, Virginia protest that killed a young counter-protester, was scheduled to attend but cancelled his plans after the Polish government advised him that he was not welcome in the country.

The National Radical Camp (NRC) was one of the lead organizers of the march. The NRC has previously marched against Muslim immigration into the country, gay rights and the European Union. Anything that is considered to undermine Polish Catholic values is a target of the nationalists.

Tomasz Dorosz, a member of the NRC, took the stage on Saturday. “Europe and the world is in decay: culturally, politically, economically. We Poles have to be the alternative,” said Dorosz. “There will be a national Poland or none.”

Demonstrators wearing masks carried signs containing such phrases as “Clean Blood”, “Pray for an Islamic Holocaust” and “Europe Will Be White.”  They threw red-smoke bombs as they marched.

One far-right demonstrator interviewed by a Polish television station said he was on the march to “remove Jewry from power.”

“It’s 50,000 to 100,000 mostly football hooligans hijacking patriotism,” said one counter-protester. “For me, it’s important to support the anti-fascist coalition, and to support fellow democrats, who are under pressure in Poland today.”

The march has grown in numbers steadily since it began in 2009. Nick Loweles, member of the anti-extremism group Hope Not Hate, said that “the numbers attending this year seem to be bigger and, while not everyone on the march is a far-right activist or fascist, it is undoubtedly becoming more significant and is acting as a magnet for far-right groups around the world.”

A smaller group of about 5,000 counter-protesters showed up at the march. Several counter-protesters carrying a banner that read “Stop Fascism” were injured when nationalists pushed and kicked them. A heavy police presence and separation of the groups kept further violence at bay.

Many criticize the Polish government and believe that its behavior has fostered intolerance and xenophobia and emboldened the nationalists.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Warsaw Nationalist March Draws Tens of Thousands – 11 November 2017

The New York Times – Nationalist March Dominates Poland’s Independence Day – 11 November 2017

Aljazeera – Why 60,000 People Joined a Nationalist March in Poland – 12 November 2017

CNN – Thousands of Nationalist Protesters Disrupt Poland Independence Day – 12 November 2017

The Guardian – ‘White Europe’: 60,000 Nationalists March on Poland’s Independence Day – 12 November 2017

The Washington Post – ‘Pray for an Islamic Holocaust’: Tens of Thousands From Europe’s Far-Right March in Poland – 12 November 2017