Thursday 25 April 2013

Independent: Government sets up LGBT consultative council

http://www.independent.com.mt/mobile/2013-04-22/news/government-sets-up-lgbt-consultative-council-1441890305/
Monday, 22 April 2013, 17:58

The government has appointed a consultative council tasked with preparing legislation and making recommendations on issues concerning LGBT people.

Civil Liberties Minister Helena Dalli announced that the council will involve NGOs which are involved in LGBT issues, namely the Malta Gay Rights Movement, Catholic LGBT group Drachma and the affiliated Drachma Parents Support Group, university organisation We Are, the Aditus Foundation and LGBT Labour.

Dr Dalli said that these NGOs had the necessary experience and know-how – as well as access to research – to qualify as experts in the sector.

The council’s first priority will be the preparation of legislation which would allow same-sex couples to obtain civil unions. Their subsequent task will be to prepare legislation which would regulate the recognition of transgendered people.

The minister pointed out that the council was set up in the wake of the first reading of a bill to amend the Civil Code to enable people who undergo gender reassignment surgery to marry persons of the opposite gender, and stressed that said that it was government policy to respect diversity and oppose all forms of discrimination.

The council had been promised in the Labour Party's electoral manifesto.

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