LGBT Catholics from over 31 countries have launched a global network, as the Pope rallies against same-sex marriage. As he opens the Church’s annual synod, Pope Francis this week suggested that same-sex marriage is a “passing fad”. The Pontiff insisted the church cannot be “swayed by passing fads or popular opinion”, adding: “God’s dream for
News / Human Rights
On the 1st of October, 2015 the European Commission (EC) published the results of the latest Eurobarometer survey “Discrimination in the EU in 2015”. 27718 respondents from the European Union (EU) (including 1004 respondents from Lithuania) took part in the survey that has been conducted from May 30 to June 8, 2015. Lithuanian respondents indicated
The specialists of the Migration Department at the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania encountered an unusual situation – a man from Belarus handed a request to temporarily stay in Lithuania. He expects to get a permit, and, according to the law, a citizen of another country is permitted to legally stay in
On Friday 2 October, Polish President Andrzej Duda vetoed the Gender Accordance Act, to the dismay of activists in Poland and all over Europe. This was a prime opportunity for Poland to join their European counterparts, such as Malta and Ireland, who have improved gender recognition provisions in 2015. ILGA-Europe had previously urged President
The Vatican on Saturday sacked a gay priest after he came out as gay on the eve of a major meeting of bishops where the Church’s stance on homosexuality is expected to be discussed. Monsignor Krzysztof Charamsa, a Polish theologian, had worked at the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Vatican’s doctrinal arm, since 2003. He
Hundreds of LGBT rights advocates from across Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to gather in Honduras this week for a conference designed to spur further participation in the political processes of their respective countries. Randy Berry, the special U.S. envoy to promote global LGBT rights, is among those who are scheduled to speak
On 1 October 2015, we will celebrate the 25th annual UN International Day of Older Persons. Leading up to 1 October, ILGA-Europe will be running ‘Silver Rainbow’ – a social media campaign to highlight life experiences of older LGBTI people. What is Silver Rainbow? The campaign aims to raise awareness of the specific needs
The LGBT support group has gained even more members since its recent ban. Last week Russian media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, banned a number of LGBT groups registered on the country’s most popular social network VKontakte. The media watchdog forced VK – the Russian version of Facebook – to officially ban the groups, which included Children
The court has provided protection for a man tricked into visiting the country by his parents. Shivy, 18, is technically an Indian citizen – but has been living in the USA for fifteen years. The court move comes after he alleged that his parents tried to forcibly marry him off to a man after tricking him
Jure Poglajen, a Slovenian dentist, and his partner of more than four years last month spent two weeks on the Greek island of Lesbos. The couple had gone to the town of Molyvos, which is on the island’s northern coast, for what Poglajen described as a “normal vacation.” The two men soon found themselves
Last week the United Nations convened its first meeting to address the issue of human rights violations against people with ambiguous genitalia, also known as intersex. The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights meeting, held in Geneva, builds off a 2013 report by the U.N.’s Special Rapporteur on Torture calling on the
September is not only the month of the first yellow leafs on trees and the beginning of school; September is the month of Bisexuality Visibility Day and Bi-Sexuality Awareness Week! Let’s go a bit more in depth into the topic and discover more about these two very important events within the LGBT* agenda. What is