04 Dec European Parliament urges Croatia to protect gay citizens before joining EU
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution which reminds Croatia of its obligation to protect gay citizens from homophobia and homophobic violence before it joins the EU in 2013.
Last year, the European Parliament said Croatia, Macedonia and Turkey had to prove they could offer “genuine protection” to gay people in order to become member states.
Candidate countries were reminded that protections such as anti-discrimination laws were “non-negotiable”.
But this summer, a Pride march in the coastal town of Split ended in violent clashes.
The resolution adopted by the Parliament says in part that it is “deeply concerned by the violence against participants in the LGBT pride march in Split on 11 June 2011 and the inability of the Croatian authorities to protect the participants”.
Croatian authorities are urged to “investigate and prosecute the crimes committed and to develop strategies for preventing similar incidents in the future”.
The text also calls for them to “quickly adopt and implement an action plan against homophobia”