Prominent activists from Eastern Europe gather in Oslo for EuroPride

LLH – The Norwegian LGBT Organisation, Amnesty International and the Norwegian Helsinki Committee have launched an initiative to bring prominent LGBT activists from Eastern Europe together at EuroPride 2014 in Oslo, Norway. Uniting against the homophobic backlash in Eastern Europe, prominent LGBT activist from six countries will meet and develop common strategies at Pride House

LBTQI summer festival SAPFO FEST in Lithuania

‘Sapfo Fest’ is an independent community-initiated festival in the Baltics dedicated to LBTQI community. A community-led festival, the ‘Sapfo Fest’ seeks to empower LBTQI people and combat prejudice and discrimination, as well as to increase the visibility of LBTQI individuals in Lithuania. Whereas the visibility of gay men in Lithuania has been growing steadily and

ILGA publishes State-Sponsored Homophobia Report

ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) published the 9th edition of State Sponsored Homophobia. A World survey of Laws: Criminalisation, Protection and Recognition of Same-Sex Love. The research, conducted by Jingshu Zhu and Lucas Paoli Itaborahy, provides a detailed account of the legal situation of LGBT people all around the world. In the paragraph

Lithuania: two parties in the ruling coalition express their anti-LGBT agenda

Representatives of the Lithuanian Labour Party and Order and Justice express their views on LGBT issues to lrt.lt. The deputy chairman of the Lithuanian Labour Party Kęstutis Daukšys was asked a question about the party’s short program, which states that Members of the European Parliament representing the Labour Party are going to protect people from

The Lithuanian Office of the Inspector of Journalist Ethics concluded that two fairy tales that promote tolerance for same-sex couples are harmful to minors and should be marked by the index “N-14”. According to experts, stories written by the Lithuanian author Neringa Dangvydė violate the Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect

Fines that go up to 6,000 litas for “public defiance of family values” are being discussed in the Parliament, while MPs themselves don’t seem to to have a clear definition of what is “public defiance of the family”. This is the third attempt by MP Peter Gražulis to restrict the freedom of expression of LGBT*

Candidates to Lithuanian Presidency express their views on LGBT* issues.

On April 24, LRT (National Lithuanian Radio and Television Network) invited presidential candidates to participate in a discussion regarding important social issues. President Dalia Grybauskaite was busy with her schedule and could not attend, but the other candidates- Zigmantas Balcytis, Arturas Paulauskas, Naglis Puteikis, Bronis Rope, Valdemaras Tomasevskis and Arturas Zuokas- shared their opinions about

Six volunteers, board and staff members from LGL travelled to Berlin for an encouraging training for LGBT activists  “Together against Homophobia and Sexism in Europe” which took place on March 22-30. The organizers – Tanja and Diana from Solar e.V. and Faustin from TransInterQueer (TrIQ) – provided activists from Portugal, Austria, Lithuania, Germany and Poland

In relation to the conference of the EU parliament speakers which took place in Vilnius on the 6-8th of April, association LGL has sent out the letters to the members of national delegations. LGL requested them seize an opportunity to express disapproval of the draft amendments restricting LGBT persons’ rights which are to be considered

This week LGL has submitted a report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights regarding the article 12 on the right to protection of health. In the report LGL has commented on the current situation in Lithuania regarding access by transgender persons to gender reassignment treatment. In the report

In 2013 ILGA-Europe supported 10 partner organisations in 8 countries within its project aimed at increasing the advocacy capacity of LGBTI human rights defenders and raising awareness of policy-makers and other relevant stakeholders about human rights of LGBTI people. The program was supported by the US State Department. Within this program 10 small-scale projects in

Lithuania ‘gay propaganda’ bill fails to get the votes

A bill that would have introduced Russia-style gay propaganda laws to Lithuania has failed to get the votes today (13 March). Lawmakers made their decision on a bill that would have outlawed gay pride parades, pubic speeches in support of LGBTI rights, gay rights campaign materials and audio-visual materials in support of the rights of