Marriage Equality

Amnesty International opposes discrimination in civil marriage laws on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and calls on states to recognize families of choice, across borders where necessary. States should not discriminate against minority groups based on identity.

Background

The right of adults to enter into consensual marriage is enshrined in international human rights standards.

Article 16, Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.

For more than a decade, this non-discrimination principle has been interpreted by UN treaty bodies and numerous inter-governmental human rights bodies as prohibiting discrimination based on gender or sexual orientation. Non-discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation has therefore become an internationally recognized principle and many countries have responded by bringing their domestic laws into line with this principle in a range of spheres including partnership rights.

Marriage Equality

Amnesty International's efforts to end discrimination and persecution based on sexual orientation and gender identity is focused on certain grave violations of human rights, and the promotion of non-discrimination at the local, national and international level.

Civil marriage between individuals of the same-sex is an issue in which fundamental human rights are at stake. Amnesty International believes that the denial of equal civil recognition of same-sex relationships prevents many people from accessing a range of other rights, such as rights to housing and social security, and stigmatizes those relationships in ways that can fuel discrimination and other human rights abuses against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The failure of a state to recognize these relationships has grave consequences for same sex couples and their children, these include:

Prohibiting a partner from making decisions on a partner’s behalf when she or he is sick;
Prohibiting a partner from visiting a partner’s child in hospital;
Preventing couples from sharing equal rights and equal responsibility for children in their care;
Preventing a partner and children from receiving employment-based benefits and being covered by health insurance;
Preventing inheritance from a deceased partner going to a surviving partner if he or she dies without a valid will.

Judicial bodies worldwide are increasingly recognizing that sexual orientation discrimination is incompatible with national and international human rights standards, and there is now a global trend toward protecting the equal right of same-sex couples to have their relationships recognized in civil law.

In 2001 the Netherlands became the first country to offer full civil marriage to same sex couples and since then several states have followed suit, namely Belgium, Canada, Norway, South Africa and Spain. Same sex couples have also been recognized through civil unions or domestic partnerships in Andorra, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and Uruguay.

In the United States, same-sex couples can marry in Massachusetts and Connecticut, while civil unions that carry all the state rights of marriage are legal in New Jersey, Vermont and New Hampshire. Domestic partner laws carrying all or some spousal rights are available for same-sex couples living in California, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Oregon and Washington. Between June 14th, 2008 and November 4th, 2008, same sex couples in California were also able to marry but this no longer became possible with the passing of Proposition 8.

» More on Marriage Equality in California
» Read press Release on Marriage Equality in New York
» LGBT Human Rights on ou Blog