Office of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania, led by PM Saulius Skvernelis, has prepared a draft resolution proposing Lithuanian President to honour leader of the Polish ruling party “Law and Justice” Jaroslaw Kaczynski, infamous for is anti-LGBT rhetoric, with one of the highest state decorations of the Lithuanian Republic. Last word regarding the
News / LGBT Guide LT / From EU
This September Lithuanian Parliament began to review a new legislative proposal on Lithuanian Law of Equal Treatment amendments, initiated by the Office of the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson. While the draft law introduces quite a few well-needed changes, such as including the definition of associative discrimination, it does, however, ignore the burning questions of transgender individuals,
According to Eurobarometer on Discrimination 2019, 30% Lithuanians are in favor of same-sex marriages to be allowed throughout the Europe, while in neighboring Latvia even less, 24% respondents support the same notion. Numbers concerning this question are significantly higher in Estonia and even Catholic-majority Poland, 41% and 45% respondents respectively agree that same sex marriages should be
Europe is at a dangerous crossroads and that’s why this is a critical time for the Commission to adopt a comprehensive LGBTI strategy over the next five years, says ILGA-Europe, in advance of the Finnish Presidency conference on advancing LGBTI equality in the EU. On 23 September The Finnish Presidency of the Council of
With the popularity of social media, each internet user now has the right to openly express their thoughts on various issues. Many commenters on online forums have moved to social media, where one can speak out without moderation. Facebook, the most popular social media platform in Lithuania, has given its users unprecedented visibility and freedom
Older LGBT people face multiple discrimination: not only because of their age, but also because of their LGBT identity. In Lithuania, this is an especially sensitive problem, and one that is rarely discussed. Although LGBT people in Lithuania are becoming more and more open about their sexual orientation and gender identity, LGBT seniors rarely choose
Since 2013, Malta has dramatically transformed its image with regards to implementation of LGBTI rights. Civil Union and Cohabitation bills, as well as a law establishing basic rights for transgender and intersex people, have been passed. The latter was the first-ever law implemented by any country to protect the rights of intersex people. Malta was
On October 24, 2018 Ignas Rekasius, a project manager at the National LGBT* rights organization LGL, took part in an advocacy network meeting in Brussels concerning the approaching elections of the European Parliament (EP) next year. On the eve of the annual conference of ILGA-Europe—an international umbrella association of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex
In 2010 the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted the Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)5 on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity. All Member States including Lithuania agreed upon this Recommendation. In July, 2018 the National LGBT* Rights Organization LGL prepared a documentation report to assess what actions have
The UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz, published his first report on 11 June 2018. The report highlights that LGBTI people are particularly vulnerable to violence, ill-treatment and discrimination, many facing it every day, at the hands of state authorities, individuals, criminal gangs,
On March 22th, 2018 the representative of the National LGBT* Rights Organization LGL Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius participated in the 5th European Commission’s Meeting of the Sub-group on Countering Hate Speech Online in Brussels (Belgium). The meeting served as an opportunity to discuss joint efforts by the Governments of the Member States, civil society organizations and
The on-arrival training provided by the National Agency for João and Arnold, our EVS volunteers, took place near Trakai. During this three-days training, nine volunteers from different projects got together in a secluded villa, 15 kilometres away from Trakai’s centre. With an age range from 19 to 28, coming from Italy, Germany, Austria, Portugal, Romania