On February 25th – March 1st, 2015 four representatives of the national LGBT* rights association LGL participated in the fifth partners’ meeting in the course of Grundtvig Learning Partnership “Queer Pathways into Diversity: ‘Being Different’ as a Key Factor in LGBT*Q European Adult Education (QuPiD)” in the Republic of Malta. During their visit, the LGL’s
News / LGBT Guide LT / From the World
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
In its annual report concerning the state of human rights throughout the world, the international non-governmental organization Amnesty International criticized Lithuania’s violation of LGBT* rights. “The law designed for the ‘protection of minors’ against the detrimental effect of public information violates the freedom of self-expression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people,” states the
On February 4th, 2015 lawmakers in Slovenia extended all marriage rights, including adoption, to gay couples by a vote of 51 to 28, with five absentations. The measure passed in the Slovenian Parliament by a 51-28 vote margin. United Left MP Matej Vatovec said parliamentary support ensured Slovenia would become a ‘truly tolerant and inclusive
The national LGBT* rights organization’s LGL Board Chair Vladimir Simonko has been honoured with a nomination for the International Award at Ireland’s LGBT* awards ceremony, “The Galas 2015.” This award is given for activism in the field of LGBT* rights in countries where the LGBT* community most often faces discrimination. The National Irish LGBT* Federation
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry formally introduced Randy Berry as the special U.S. envoy to promote global LGBT rights on February 27, 2015. “We have a moral obligation to speak out against the persecution and the marginalization of LGBT persons,” said Kerry during a State Department reception where he formally introduced Berry. “The United
Amid the European Commission’s (EC) analysis whether the Lithuanian Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information is in line the EU acquis, a group of MEPs on February 26th, 2015 criticized the Baltic state for the continuing discrimination of LGBT* people, reports Lithuanian news agency BNS. “I think we
On the 26th of February, 2015 the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament (LIBE) had a debate on the Lithuanian anti-propaganda law and the situation of the rights of LGBT* people in Lithuania. Dutch Member of the European Parliament Sophie in ‘t Veld (ALDE/D66) asked for a debate with the European Commissioners after the
French President Francois Hollande has vowed to introduce tougher penalties for racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic crimes in the wake of last month’s terrorist attacks in Paris. Speaking yesterday at an annual dinner hosted by the country’s Jewish community, the President called for “faster, more effective sanctions” against hate speech and added: “I want such speech to
Members of a Swiss legislative committee on Friday overwhelmingly recommended their European country extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. The Legal Affairs Committee of the National Council, which is the lower house of the Swiss Federal Assembly, by a 12-2 vote margin approved the “marriage for all” initiative the Green Liberal Party introduced. One lawmaker
The State Department on Monday announced it has named Randy Berry as its special envoy to promote global LGBT rights. Berry, who is openly gay, has been the consul general at the U.S. Consulate in Amsterdam since August 2012. He was the consul general at the U.S. Consulate in Auckland, New Zealand, from 2009-2012 and
Finnish President Sauli Niinistö on Friday signed into law a bill that extends marriage rights to same-sex couples. Niinistö signed the measure roughly four months after lawmakers in the Scandinavian country narrowly approved the measure. They considered the bill after supporters of marriage rights for same-sex couples collected more than 166,000 signatures to bring it before the