On 5th of October a Written Declaration on access to gender reassignment treatment in Lithuania was tabled in the current session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The document refers to the proposal of the amendment to the Civil Code prohibiting gender reassignment surgery. The legislative initiative is included in the

Lithuania is part of the 12th session of the Universal Periodic Review which will occur from 3rdto 14th October, 2011. The aim of this review (according to Article 5 of the Resolution of General Assembly of the UN N°60/251) is to share the situation and the efforts of each country about human rights improvement. As

A document has been elaborated by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in order to encourage the promotion of LGBT Rights. This “LGBT Toolkit” has been sent to British embassies and diplomatic instances over the world so that they integrate it in their relations with the host countries. The FCO wants to express its

Today, the Council of Europe launches its socio-legal report on discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. This is the first ever report covering all 47 member states of the Council of Europe on a range of human rights issues that are pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people: attitudes

On 6th of December Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her speech at the United Nations in Geneva called on all countries to respect the civil rights of LGBT individuals. She talked about why countries need to recognize LGBT rights and treat them as regular human rights. “Being LGBT does not make you less human,”

(March 22, 2011) In a stunning development for the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, today, Colombia delivered a Joint Statement during General Debate that called on States to end violence, criminal sanctions and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender

BRUSSELS, 21 March 2011 — Members of the European Parliament have reacted to recent developments in national laws affecting transgender people. On 16 March 2011, the new Law establishing procedures for change of name and sex in the civil register came into force in Portugal. The new law does not require divorce, sterilisation, hormonal treatment

Lithuanian conservative parliamentarians led by the chairman of the Committee on Health Affairs registered a proposal to amend the Civil Code with a prohibition of gender reassignment surgery on March 9. The members of the Seimas who submitted this draft amendment to the Civil Code state that if the permission to undergo gender reassignment surgery is replaced with the prohibition of such surgeries, ‘the

1 October 2010. Johannesburg. Sixty-three countries have sponsored a landmark United Nations-backed human rights resolution on “the Rights of Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association”, drawing to an end a hard-fought campaign by civil society groups, including the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law (ICNL), Article 19, World Movement for Democracy, and CIVICUS: World Alliance for

STRASBOURG, 22 September 2010 — Yesterday European Commissioner for Fundamental Rights Viviane Reding presented the 2010-2015 Strategy for equality between women and men in the European Union. The European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights welcomes the inclusion of gender identity in EU gender equality efforts. In June 2010, the European Parliament called on the Commission

Today the European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgement in a case of P.B. and J.S. v. Austria. The Court said Austria violated the European Convention on Human Rights by excluding same-sex partners from insurance cover and once again affirmed same-sex partnership constitute ‘family life’ under the Convention. The Court decided by five votes

Question. Some of our readers are upset about your decision to speak for gay and lesbian rights. Our people  are awaiting the “Baltic Pride” parade  with anxiety because to them it seems to be a challenge. The society is not used to such events and thus, reacts  very sensitively to any schooling from outside. Besides