International

The SP is absolutely delighted by the award of the Nobel Prize for peace to the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which, as SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel says, is certainly deserved. ‘The OPCW is playing an important role in relation to the conflict in Syria and has demonstrated this year that it can react quickly and effectively to a crisis,’ he says. ‘The importance of the organisation has grown markedly. The award is at the same time an encouragement to more countries to join the ban on chemical weapons.’

At the request of SP Euro-MP Dennis De Jong and others, a debate took place in the European Parliament this morning on the persecution of the LGBT community in Russia. ‘Homosexuals in Russia are confronted daily with intimidation and violence,’ says De Jong. ‘Instead of dealing with this vigorously, the Russian government is passing legislation forbidding so-called homosexual propaganda. To date the EU’s reaction has been confined to fine words. I want now to see more effective measures, such as the recognition as refugees of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals who are forced to leave their own country as a result of violence. We could also suspend visa liberalisation with Russia: no gifts for human rights abusers.’