Romania’s Parliament will vote on a ‘Russian-inspired’ child protection bill this month that critics say is a pretext to clamp down on LGBT rights.
Gender identity
The bill, described as protection and promotion of children’s rights, prohibits the dissemination, by any means, of information on homosexual sexual orientation and gender identity among minors.
Critics say the effect of the bill is to illegally censor information about sexual orientation and gender identity among the under 18s.
Same-sex advocacy group ACCEPT has written to parliamentary commissions to explain that the law is not only unconstitutional, but simply unenforceable.
It would mean that young people would not be able to access any information relating to LGBT issues that are relevant to their personal identity and sexual and mental health.
Pride parades
LGBT issues in public, on TV and on social media or in Pride parades would be vulnerable to the law.
The proposal came from seven lawmakers of the conservative wing of the ethnic Hungarian party, UDMR, which has close ties to Hungary’s illiberal Prime Minister, Viktor Orban.
Romania’s Senate already passed the bill in early May and it is expected to be submitted to a plenary vote before the end of June.
The bill is a carbon copy of a law passed in Hungary and is influenced by Russian anti-LGBT initiatives.
Russian disinformation
Moreover, it is part of the Russian disinformation narrative which aims to create tension and division in Europe commentators say, as Universul.net has reported.
“There is LGBT publicity, books. How can you stop a kid going to a film, reading an article or to bookshops?” Teodora Ion-Rotaru told Universul.net on Friday.
“It paints LGBT behavior as deviant. The World Health Organization says that LGBT is normal behavior, not pathological or deviant but normal and natural.”
“It is sinister and has its roots in Russia which forbids this public discussion under the guise of pretending to protect children. Instagram, TikTok, Facebook…. What are we going to do? Chase people and take down online content?”
Hungry children
“In Romania, we have kids who go to bed hungry, we have tens of thousands who have no running water, no doctor, no dentist, no teacher in their village. This is what Romanian parliament doing to protect children?” she added.
Reacting to the original Hungarian law last year, child advocate group Eurochild said the law uses child protection as „an excuse to curtail the rights of children.”
It said it was “deeply concerned” by the legislation which “contravene the rights of the child and stigmatise LGBTQI+ persons…. “We join the international community in condemning this law.”
Universul.net has appoached Eurochild for a comment on the Romanian bill.
Human rights
If it passes, it could potentially harm Romania’s position with European countries over doubts it is committed to upholding human rights. It could even have a negative influence on Romania’s accession to the OECD.
Romania could be seen as following in the footsteps of an illiberal, Russian-influenced agenda at a time when Russia is seeking to divide the West even further.
The seven lawmakers who individually submitted the bill are not in Romania’s governing coalition, but are connected to a conservative wing of the party.
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