Today the EU’s 27 foreign affairs ministers adopted a ground-breaking global policy. The LGBTI Guidelines instruct EU diplomats around the globe to defend the human rights of LGBTI people. The Guidelines will be binding. The EU’s diplomatic efforts will revolve around four priorities: Eliminate discriminatory laws and policies, including the death penalty Promote equality and non-discrimination at
Author Archive: Eglė
A prominent US Christian group that purported to rid gay people of same-sex attraction through prayer has said it is shutting down. Three-decade old Exodus International made the announcement alongside an apology from President Alan Chambers to people “hurt” by its treatment. He acknowledged “the shame and guilt you felt when your attractions didn’t change.
The Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania passed a ruling on Thursday, ordering Vilnius authorities to review their decision regarding the venue for an LGBT pride march scheduled for July. Having heard the organizers’ appeal, the court ruled that Vilnius City Municipality had made a non-substantiated decision to move the planned event from central Gedimino Avenue,
The Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania is scheduled to start hearing Vilnius Municipality’s appeal regarding the location of a planned LGBT march on Tuesday. The case will be heard without holding a public hearing and without the attendance of the parties involved. Read more at 15min.lt
A group of Lithuanian lawmakers have turned to EU institutions, asking for their position as to whether bills put before the Seimas do not violate human and sexual minority rights. The bills include proposals to ban “violation of constitutional moral values” and state that “every child has the natural right to a father and mother,
The controversial legislative proposals to ban abortions and to introduce administrative sanctions for “homosexual propaganda” have received no attention by the President in the course of her annual statement, which was read in front of the Lithuanian Parliament on 11 June 2013. It seems that the President has closed her eyes by refusing to refer to some
The group of the Lithuanian MPs seeks to establish that the criticism of homosexuality and attempts to change one’s sexual orientation would not be qualified as discrimination or harassment on grounds of sexual orientation. The MPs propose to amend the Criminal Code by inserting a provision that “the criticism of sexual behavior or sexual practices, convictions or
Today the European Parliament adopted a new version of the European Union law on asylum procedures. The text contains notable improvements for LGBT asylum-seekers. The new Directive now foresees that some asylum-seekers “may be in need of special procedural guarantees due […] to their age, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity […]“. When receiving an asylum application, Member
An LGBT pride march scheduled to be held in Vilnius in July is an opportunity for Lithuania to get positive attention from Europe and to demonstrate its human rights progress, Vilnius-based ambassadors of some Northern and Western European countries have told BNS. The embassies of the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Finland say
Lithuania (on behalf of the EU and its Member States) delivered a speech at the meeting of the Executive Board of the World Health Organisation (WHO) which was debating LGBT health issues and said that the EU welcomes the initiative towards improving the health and well-being of LGBT people and suggesting broadening the topic to