Vilnius Pride took place on the 1st of July, Mayor participated at the event

Thousands of LGBTIQ community members and its allies marched in a successful Vilnius Pride event which took place on the 1st of July. Newly elected Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas also joined the Pride march this year. According to the organizers of the event, “LGBTQ+ people in Lithuania are still being used as political tools –

Klaipėda district mayor Bronius Markauskas says that he himself will not support the initiative of the Lithuanian Family Movement to adopt a declaration “On stopping genderism propaganda and LGBTQ+ ideology in the municipality” and will urge his colleagues not to support it as well, BNS reports. Lithuanian Family Movement  (Lietuvos šeimų sąjūdis) is a non-governmental organization closely allied

Authorities took first steps to preserve LGBTIQ heritage in Lithuania

After the massive success of Baltic Pride 2022 in Vilnius, the National Museum of Lithuania took the first steps to preserve the vibrant LGBTIQ heritage in Lithuania. Last year, the Museum’s History Collections Department began collecting exhibits from the LGBT+ community and approached  Lithuanian Gay League (LGL) for cooperation. LGL began its LGBTIQ human rights advocacy work

“Direction: Employment” is an innovative training program for vulnerable young people, which enhances their employability in competitive, high-technology industries and the IT sector. The project aims to unleash the potential of NEET young people from vulnerable groups, and increase their employability by providing a market-specific IT training program in Bulgaria, Lithuania, Italy, Slovenia and Portugal.

Lithuania did not ensure equal opportunities for asylum seekers and migrants who came to Lithuania through Belarus and violated their rights, the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson of the Republic of Lithuania stated in its report. This, according to the Office, could have been avoided by using alternative measures to detention, reports delfi.lt. The

The First EU LGBTIQ Equality Strategy Discussed at the National Human Rights Forum

On 9 December, 2022 the National LGBT rights organization LGL organized a discussion “The first EU LGBTIQ equality strategy 2020-2025: will LGBTIQ-inclusive policy become integral to Lithuanian strategic targets?” at the National Human Rights Forum. The first EU LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025 calls on the EU Member States to draw up national action plans for

Report on Hate Speech and Euroscepticism Shows Little Progress on LGBTI rights

In September, 2022 the Human Rights Monitoring Institute in Vilnius published a national report on Hate speech and Euroscepticism. The study was conducted among young people (16-25) over 10 years, from 2010 till 2020, with some events from 2021 included. Here are some main findings concerning the LGBTI issues: Indeed, the report shows a social

Enrique Anarte Lazo: LGBTQ people across the Baltics fight for their rights

Around 10,000 people from across Eastern Europe attended an LGBTQ Pride event in Lithuania over the weekend, many of them hopeful for their futures. Around 10,000 people, mostly young adults, flocked to the capital, Vilnius, from across Lithuania — a country of 2.8 million and the biggest Baltic country — and its neighbors Latvia and

In the run-up to Vilnius’ traditional Baltic Pride festival, which is returning to Lithuania’s capital this 1-5 June, Vladimir Simonko, head of the national LGBT+ rights organisation LGL that organises the festival, tells us what residents of Vilnius and visitors can expect during Baltic Pride 2022. LGL’s leader also reveals why Vilnius holds a special

The Winners Received the National Equality and Diversity Awards

On the 26th of April, 2022 the National Equality and Diversity Awards were presented at a solemn ceremony at the National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. The most important human rights awards in Lithuania are given for merits in the fields of gender equality, dialogue between nations, LGBTI+ equality, age, disability,

On 21 March, 2022 a peaceful protest near the Lithuanian Parliament in support for same-sex partnership and LGBT equality, initiated by actress Elžbieta Latėnaitė, was held. A crowd of LGBT persons and their allies called for the Law on Partnership not to be removed from the agenda of the Parliament. “I hope that some politicians

LGBTI Human Rights in 2021: Hostile Rhetoric, Hatred, and Community Resilience

The international LGBTI rights association ILGA-Europe has published a review of 2021, which reveals the situation of LGBTI rights in Europe and Central Asia. The publication reviews legal, political and social developments in 54 countries and 4 European institutions, revealing key trends in LGBTI human rights. On the one hand, the year 2021 was marked