Swedish Embassy held round table discussion on human rights

On 17 December the Embassy of Sweden in Vilnius (Lithuania) organised a round table discussion  “Human rights and antidiscrimination in social field: legal regulation and problems” with the participation of human rights experts, lawyers and representatives of NGO sector.  Vladimir Simonko, a LGL Chair Board,  gave a speech on LGBT issues in Lithuania. Photos by

On 12 December 2013, the High Court of Australia issued its judgment in The Commonwealth v Australian Capital Territory, a case relating to the status of the Marriage Equality (Same Sex) Act 2013, a regional law enacted in October 2013 which permitted same-sex marriage in the Australian Capital Territories (ACT). As was expected, the High Court

Equality days in Klaipėda on 13 December, 2013

On 13 December 2013 in the course of implementing the project “Diversity LT” under the EU programme PROGRESS the representatives of the national LGBT* association LGL together with the partners from the National Equality and Diversity Forum (NEDF) participated in the event of “Equality days ” in Klaipėda. The representatives of the LGL and other

President Obama sending lesbian sports icon Billie Jean King to Olympics in Sochi

Billie Jean King, recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009, is part of the delegation that will be representing the US at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. King, 70, is not only one of the world’s most famous athletes, she’s also one of the world’s most famous lesbians and a tireless advocate

The European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs adopted a recommendation for a future EU roadmap against homophobia and discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. The report builds on ten previous requests by the Parliament in the last three years to roll out an EU equality roadmap, or strategy,

Straight from the heart: ‘Gay for a Day’ campaign goes viral

MUMBAI: Celebrity hairstylist Sapna Bhavnani was ill at ease the whole of Wednesday after the SC judgement re-criminalising homosexuality. “As a woman in India today, you have to face so much injustice. This verdict was the last straw,” says Bhavnani, part of what she calls the Aam Aurat Party. Late night, she decided she had to fight

Thursday, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) explained that under EU law, an employee who is in a same-sex civil partnership should receive the same benefits as foreseen for married employees—in case a civil partnership is the highest form of union they can access. A French man entering a registered partnership took his employer

LGL presents report on homophobic and transphobic hate crimes in Lithuania

In 2013 LGL, a national non-profit, non-governmental organization which advocates for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT) in Lithuania, supported by the regional subdivision of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) ILGA-Europe, implemented a project “Documentation of homophobic and transphobic violence in Lithuania”. During the project, victims

Yesterday, the European Parliament voted its annual report on human rights in the world. The report reviews the situation of human rights (including the human rights of LGBTI persons) worldwide, and makes annual recommendations for EU action. Initially drafted by Eduard Kukan, a Slovak MEP from the EPP group, this year’s annual report was mostly

Lithuanian Parliament endorses constitutional amendment linking family to marriage

On 10 December 2013 the Lithuanian Parliament voted in favour of the Constitutional amendment, which redefines a constitutionally protected concept of “family life” as emanating from traditional marriage by a man and a woman and stipulates that family arises from motherhood and fatherhood. After the first hearing, 65 MPs voted yes for amending the Constitution,