Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vučić has appointed an openly gay politician to his cabinet, in a historic first in the conservative country. Mr Vučić, who leads the right-wing Serbian Progressive Party, has been Prime Minister since 2014 and recently won re-election. This month he has been outlining his new government and re-appointing his Cabinet. As part of the

Wrong and outdated views towards LGBT people endanger their fundamental rights

In some Member States, doctors still view homosexuality as a disease and transsexuality as a mental disorder, according to findings from a new report by the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA). Such negative views of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people in society, among professional groups and policy makers hampers efforts to counter

Botswana government loses battle to ban gay group

Botswana’s highest court has said the organization Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals of Botswana (LEGABIBO) can be allowed to register. A five-judge bench at the Court of Appeals said the refusal had been unconstitutional. Activists launched their legal battle after the Home Affairs Ministry rejected an application to register the gay rights lobby group. But judges

Chilean officials oppose intersex children ‘normalization’ surgery

The Chilean government has urged doctors in the South American country to no longer perform surgeries that “normalize” the sex of intersex children. Undersecretary of Health Jaime Burrows and Undersecretary of Assistance Networks Gisela Alarcón in a document the Chilean Ministry of Health released last week expressed its opposition to “unnecessary ‘normalization’ treatments of intersex

The New Zealand government is changing the way it records gender – allowing people to identify as “gender diverse”. The government’s official data collection body  Statistics NZ announced the change, which will be the new standard across government agencies. It explained: “‘Gender diverse’ will join ‘male’ and ‘female’ categories in a new gender-identity classification released today

Norwegian government proposes extending trans protections to children

The government in Norway has proposed extending the right of its citizens to change their legal gender to children. Under the proposal, children aged seven and up would be allowed to choose which gender to be legally recognised by, as long as they had parental support. Those aged 16 and above would be allowed to

Italy passes gay civil union motion for first time

Measure commits government ‘to promote the adoption of a civil unions law’. The Lower House of Italy’s parliament Wednesday (10 June) passed a motion on gay civil unions for the first time. Several similar measures have been rejected in the past. The motion, proposed by the ruling Democratic Party, commits the government ‘to promote the adoption

Cyprus government makes significant step towards equality for all families

Today the Cypriot government approved a long-awaited bill introducing civil partnerships for all couples. The bill is now with the Cypriot parliament for final approval. Today, the National LGBT* Organization LGL takes the opportunity to congratulate the Cyprus Government for the introduction of civil partnerships. Together with ILGA-Europe, LGL wishes best of luck for a

Puerto Rican government to no longer defend marriage ban

The Puerto Rican government on Friday announced it will no longer defend the U.S. commonwealth’s same-sex marriage ban. “Because of sexual orientation, Puerto Rico has denied rights that others enjoy,” said Justice Minister César Miranda during a press conference in San Juan. “This is not correct.” The announcement coincides with a brief Gov. Alejandro García

Russia is furious that United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon ordered that all UN employees in legally recognized relationships should have equal partner benefits regardless of where they are working. The Russian Government has warned it may intervene at the United Nations to stop gay and lesbian employees of the UN receiving equal partner benefits