Averof Neophytou's 20 Proposals for the LGBTQI+ Community

We are glad to see political leaders taking the concerns of the LGBTQ+ community seriously and that is why the publication of the updated responses to the Accept-LGBTI Cyprus questionnaire last Monday 30 January 2023 was met with a mixture of relief and surprise at the responses, or lack thereof, of the candidates.

When the questionnaire first appeared a day ago, many were curious why the President of DISY had not yet replied. Personally, I received my share of criticism and frustration from people who questioned the motives behind the delay. DISY's official stance was that it does not respond to questionnaires and that, besides, all questions were answered verbally at an Accept meeting with the President in November. Given that the government, with the support of DISY, have made significant progress on LGBTI rights in recent years, both quietly within ministries and government departments, and publicly through several actions, I felt that a questionnaire response would be an excellent opportunity to show this progress in the party's thoughts. Last June, after all, LGBTQ+ issues were heard and addressed at the party's ideological conference.

To everyone's surprise, the party president went against protocol and answered the questionnaire in person on Monday during a meeting with Accept, which delighted many.

The questionnaire, which contains 10 questions about the positions of each candidate on LGBTQI+ rights in Cyprus, was completed by Averof Neofytou himself and in it he agreed with all the positions of the organisation. He also promised to send concrete commitments on what he would do for Cyprus' LGBTQI+ community when elected president.

Averoff Neofytou understands the importance of promoting LGBTQI+ rights not only as a political issue, but as a reflection of the values of justice, equality and respect that are the foundation of a just society. 

He notes in his letter that he has demonstrated his commitment to these values through his previous actions and initiatives, such as the passing of the Civil Union Law in 2015, the criminalisation of homophobic and transphobic rhetoric, and the passing of a law allowing judges to use both homophobia and transphobia as aggravating factors when serving sentences when necessary.

He also notes that both DISY and he supports the Bill on Legal Gender Identity Recognition submitted by the government to Parliament and, in addition, are opposed to conversion therapies, “a harmful and discredited practice that seeks to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.” 

In addition, Averof supported the LGBTQI+ community by participating in the Cyprus Pride March in 2015 and the ILGA-Europe conference held in Nicosia in 2016, 'while the Democratic Rally constantly participates every year in the Cyprus Pride March'. He also added that "Recognising the need to cooperate with European actors, our policy group 'LGBTIQ & Allies' has joined the European European Centre-Right LGBT+ Alliance, a pan-European political network of the Center-Right that cooperates with the European People's Party (EPP) on LGBTQI+ issues."

In his letter to Accept, Averof Neofytou sets out 20 concrete proposals for the LGBTQI community in Cyprus that he promises to implement if elected president. These proposals, which as a friend said already serve as an Action Plan for the LGBTQI community, show the dedication of Averof Neofytou to creating a brighter future for all Cypriots, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or gender characteristics. He himself had the courage to propose them and he can implement them.