Today, FOCUS: THE IDENTITY TRUST publicly says to all our politicians:
GIVE US OUR NORTHERN IRELAND BILL OF RIGHTS
Today at Runnymede political leaders from across the globe are meeting to celebrate the signing of the MAGNA CARTA. This document led the way to and formed the foundation on which all Bills Of Rights across the globe are constructed.
The “ Good Friday Act” enshrined in law the principle of the creation of a Bill Of Rights for the people of Northern Ireland. It is a sad indictment of politicians in Northern Ireland that despite the passage of such a large period of time we are no nearer to the enactment of such a Bill of Rights.
This week as a Charity which advocates for the Human Rights and Equality of Transgender and Intersex individuals and their families, we look on enviously at our fellow citizens on the rest of the island of Ireland who are eagerly anticipating the passage at Committee stage in Dail Eireann on Wednesday of one of the most liberal and progressive pieces of Gender Recognition Legislation globally, thanks to the tenacity and resilience of “ European Citizen of the Year” Dr Lydia Foy and her legal team in FLAC ( led by Michael Farrell, former leader of Peoples Democracy and tireless campaigner for Civil Rights for all across the entire island of Ireland).
We demand a Bill Of Rights in N.I. which protects the Human Rights and Equality of All
•To have our true gender recognised in law on the basis of self-determination i.e. without the need for pathologisation by the medical profession or judgement by anyone else (Repeal and replace The Gender Recognition Act 2004)
•That Gender Non-conforming Children and Transgender and Intersex Adolescents be able to have their true gender recognised and respected on the same basis of self-determination
•That Intersex and other individuals who do not self-identify within the gender binary as currently legally recognised have the right in law to be legally recognised in their unique gender identity as they choose to self –determine ( Repeal current legislation in relation to Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages to reflect the true diversity within human-kind)
•That the right of Transgender and Intersex Children to consent to their own permanent surgical or medical interventions to align their bodies to best fit their self-determined and expressed gender identity be enshrined as an essential right ( Fully enact the UN Charter on the Rights of the Child)
•The enactment of an Equal Marriage Act
•The full implementation of CEDAW
•The full implementation of the UN Security Council Resolution1325
•The full enactment of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
•The equal recognition under the law of all forms of committed relationships between those couples who for whatever reason want a legally recognised civil partnership rather than a marriage.
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It is essential that we point out at this stage that whilst FOCUS: THE IDENTITY TRUST fully supports the current campaign for Equal Marriage in the LGB Community here, Transgender individuals who have their tue gender legally recognised already enjoy the right to marry.
