With the publication of the new LGBTIQ+ National Action Plan (PAN), the government is sending an important signal: Equality and the protection of LGBTIQ+ people remain declared policy goals. Rosa Lëtzebuerg asbl welcomes the fact that many of the community’s concerns have been addressed and that numerous measures have been formulated in the areas of awareness-raising, education, health and support.
The political demands submitted by Rosa Lëtzebuerg in advance are based on a broad internal organisational process: as an umbrella organisation, we have developed a comprehensive position paper together with our member organisations and representatives of the community in several workshops, in addition to our political demands. This paper reflects the concrete needs and expectations of queer people in Luxembourg – it is therefore not only professionally sound but is also supported by a broad section of the community.
Rosa Lëtzebuerg welcomes the fact that many elements from this position paper have found their way into the action plan. The recognisable commitment of the Ministry for Equality and Diversity (MEGA) to actively involve civil society in the development of the action plan is particularly positive. In several phases, queer organisations, including Rosa Lëtzebuerg asbl, were invited to contribute their expertise and perspectives. This form of structured dialogue is an important step towards participatory policy-making and is expressly recognised by us.
At the same time, however, a sobering overall picture emerges: while the ambitions of the MEGA are clearly recognisable and reflect a serious desire for progress, it is clear that the political will for structural change is not shared by the entire government with the same single-mindedness. There are noticeable gaps in several areas between fine-sounding declarations of intent and actual political implementation.
What is needed now is coherent and cross-departmental action by all ministries – because equality must not be seen as the task of a single department, but is a political responsibility of the entire government.
The new action plan falls short of expectations in several key areas for Rosa Lëtzebuerg – especially when it comes to concrete legal progress and tangible improvements in the everyday lives of queer people.
We take a particularly critical view of the area of health. Two central demands of our organisation were not included in the PAN despite several discussions and even an emergency meeting with the Ministry of Health. For example, there is still no clear commitment to the ban on gender reassignment surgery on intersex children, a long-standing demand of Rosa Lëtzebuerg, where the previous government promised a legislative proposal by the end of 2021, and access to healthcare services for trans people continues to be subject to conditions that contradict self-determination. These setbacks compared to the previous action plan are particularly regrettable and, from our perspective, incomprehensible.
Another weak point is the accumulation of non-binding references to the formation of working groups. Several such groups have already been set up in the past – often without any significant results that would have been reflected in legislation. Many issues have been discussed in working groups for over 10 years, but it is now time for analysis and discussion to finally be followed by binding political action.
Rosa Lëtzebuerg is therefore calling for a structured, permanent and resourced involvement of queer civil society in all relevant bodies. Serious involvement must not be limited to invitations – it must be accessible at a low threshold and must not be made more difficult due to a lack of resources.
The content of the action plan also remains too vague in the area of education. For Rosa Lëtzebuerg, one thing is certain: a sustainable improvement in the reality of life for LGBTIQ+ people begins with well-founded awareness-raising work in the training of key professional groups. We are therefore calling for content on sexual, romantic and gender diversity to be integrated into the basic training of teachers at all school levels as well as healthcare professionals. This is the only way to ensure professional and respectful treatment of queer people – and to effectively and sustainably counter discrimination, tabooisation and insecurity.
Conclusion :
Le nouveau plan d’action est un pas important dans la bonne direction, mais il reste trop prudent, trop vague et trop disparate sur des points essentiels. Rosa Lëtzebuerg asbl suivra de près la suite du processus, s’impliquera de manière constructive et continuera à affirmer clairement que les droits et les réalités quotidiennes des personnes LGBTIQ+ ne peuvent être négociés ou reportés, mais doivent être concrètement protégés et promus.