The Vilnius District Court on Friday rejected an appeal from a same-sex couple seeking to have their marriage recognised by the Lithuanian authorities, reports lrt.lt. The two male claimants were asking the court to oblige the Vilnius City Civil Registry Office to register their marriage and to have it entered into the Register of Marriage
News / Human Rights
Baltic States have joined 35 other countries in a statement of support coinciding with the 28th Budapest Pride Festival in Hungary. Issued by the U.S. Embassy in Hungary, the statement is in effect a call for Budapest to rescind legislative amendments which are seen as discriminating against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) persons
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
For the first time in Lithuania’s history, three same-sex couples are going to court to defend their right to start a family and register their marriage in Lithuania. According to the Association of Tolerant Youth, which initiated these strategic cases, they aim to resolve the main obstacles in recognizing and regulating these couples’ relationships. “When
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered its judgment in the case of Macatė v. Lithuania (application no. 61435/19) at a public hearing on 23 January 2023 in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg. The applicant, Neringa Dangvydė Macatė (1975-2020) was an openly lesbian children’s author who wrote a book titled “Gintarinė širdis”
Russia must create a “legal framework” for same-sex couples, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled on 17 January 2023 in Fedotova and Others v. Russia. This also applies to 46 Council of Europe member states, including Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Ukraine and others which have not yet adopted an LGBTIQ-inclusive
From 26th to 27th, 2022 Lithuanian lawyers Monika Antanaitytė and attorney-at-law Aivaras Žilvinskas met with the legal experts of the organization Deystvie (Bulgaria) in Bucharest (Romania). The latter are representing applicants in the principal case Baby Sara (European Court of Justice judgement in case No C-490/20) which concerns the recognition of the family rights of LGBTIQ
Riga Pride returns to Latvia this week with the most anticipated March for Freedom on Saturday, 18th of June. Showing support and solidarity to the LGBTQ community in Ukraine, Riga Pride will take place this year together and as part of Kyiv Pride with the message “Until we are all free”. With 40 events throughout
When the war started in Ukraine Olena Globa spent six days in the basement in Kyiv trying to survive during the Russian shelling. In a time of need she received help from the US LGBTQ+ organization PFLAG. Olena was able to flee to the United States where her son lives and is now using every
On 3 June, 2022 the Baltic Pride 2022 International Conference Proud Cities Summit // Lithuanian Diversity Charter Annual Conference was held in partnership with the Lithuanian Diversity Charter at Vilnius Town Hall. “Proud Cities Summit” is an international conference where mayors from Europe and Canada, business, public sector and NGOs representatives gathered to share their
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
Recently one Iraqi man reported to LGL that he will be able to reunite with his same-sex partner as both men were granted an asylum by the Lithuanian authorities in late December, 2021. Only a few asylum applications resulted in positive decisions since in the increased migration flow from August, which leaves the majority of