VILNIUS, Lithuania — It may not be on the level of Uganda’s draconian anti-gay legislation, which applies the death penalty to some homosexual relations, but Lithuania this month enacted a law that observers are calling worryingly homophobic.The “Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information” came into force on March

Strasbourg 17.02.2010 – The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Thomas Hammarberg, published today letters sent to the Prime Minister of Lithuania and to the Speaker of the Seimas (Parliament) on discrimination issues, minority rights and steps taken to investigate whether the CIA detained terrorist suspects on Lithuanian territory. The letters follow the Commissioner’s

Today the plenary session of the European Parliament adopted reports on the accession to the European Union for Croatia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey. All three reports call on candidate countries to provide genuine protection to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender minorities, and remind candidate countries that the protection of all minorities

Dear Mr Stundys, On behalf of Human Rights Watch, I urge you as Chairman of the Standing Committee on Education, Science and Culture to exercise your influence to ensure the plenary assembly of the Seimas will pass a version of the ‘Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information’ that

  Warsaw, Poland – October 8, 2009–In Warsaw, Poland, during an important regional human rights conference, the U.S. State Department raised concerns for the first time over human rights violations directed at lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities in Europe and North America. At the annual human rights meeting of the Organization for Security

We, the undersigned Members of the Swedish Parliament, are hereby writing to express our concern regarding the potential adoption, by your Parliament, of law that forbids information considering homosexuality and bisexuality. Full  text of letter is here.

August 31, 2009 Mr. Stasys Šedbaras, chairman of the Committee on Legal Affairs Dear Mr. Šedbaras: The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) would like to express our deep concern that the proposed amendments to the Criminal Code XIP-668(2) and the Administrative Code XIP-667(2) will violate the human rights to freedom of expression

The European Committee of Social Rights, which monitors state compliance with the European Social Charter, has today found that Croatia’s limited curriculum covering sex education discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation.  The Committee affirmed that the state has an obligation to ensure that educational materials do not reinforce demeaning stereotypes and perpetuate forms of

HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE Resolution adopted on 22 June 2009 CONF/HR(2009)RES1 Call on the President of Lithuania not to sign the “Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information” because of its homophobic content. The Human Rights Committee of the Council of Europe INGO Conference, Gravely concerned at a growing climate

EUROPE: Lithuania Throttles Gay Rights By Pavol Stracansky BRATISLAVA, Jun 19 (IPS) – Rights groups are calling on EU leaders to act after Lithuanian lawmakers approved controversial legislation that they say makes homosexuals “second class citizens” and breaches European conventions on human rights. The legislation passed by Lithuania’s parliament this week bans the discussion of

The lack of respect, protection and fulfilment of the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people is still an area for concern in Latvia and Lithuania. Amnesty International is concerned that in these countries, human rights including the rights to freedom of expression and assembly are not fully guaranteed. With this document,

European Parliament’s Intergroup on gay and lesbian rights urges the Parliament of Lithuania (Seimas) to stop the anti-democratic law amendments which would severely impair the freedom of speech of LGBT citizens. Lithuanian government has proposed to amend the law on protection of children and if passed, it will criminalise public information of any kind on