On 14 January the European Parliament adopted a report on the “Situation of fundamental rights in the European Union 2004-2008”, drafted by Italian MEP Giusto Catania. The report asks Member States and the European Institutions to adopt recommendations made by the Fundamental Rights Agency on homophobia as a matter of urgency. In addition, the Parliament

Ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted to be here. I would like to thank the French Minister of State for Human Rights, Ms Rama Yade, for co-hosting this event with us and for her inspiring words. The statement on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity that was [will be] delivered in the General Assembly

On 18 December 2008, in New York, the UN General Assembly was presented with a statement endorsed by 66 states from around the world calling for an end to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The statement, read out by the UN Representative for Argentina Jorge Arguello, condemns violence, harassment, discrimination, exclusion, stigmatisation,

Šarūnas Birutis, a member of European Parliament from Lithuania, outraged by photographs of gays at the European Parliament. He states that sexual minorities conduct ‘aggressive policy’. “Sexual minorities lobbyists are particularly actively working at the European Parliament with an aim of legalising child adoption by same-sex couples” a statement distributed by the Euro parliamentarian’s office

The Seimas eventually managed to pass the Law on Equal Treatment by which discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and other grounds was banned. Yet, before voting took place, a provision appeared in the bill which allowed non compliance with the equality principle in educational and training institutions of religious communities. On Tuesday, 64

In its 2008 report on the state of human rights worldwide, Amnesty said: “Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) peoples’ human rights were not respected and several LGBT events were cancelled in a discriminatory manner. (The Lithuanian) parliament also discussed banning information which would put homosexuality in a positive light to minors.” The report also

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) peoples’ human rights were not respected. Several LGBT events were cancelled in a discriminatory manner and parliament discussed banning information which would put homosexuality in a positive light to minors. On 21 May, the mayor of Vilnius, Juozas Imbrasas, refused permission for a European Union (EU) sponsored anti-discrimination truck

Artūras Tereškinas A foreign observer visiting Lithuania would be puzzled: on March 11, 2008, Lithuanian neo-Nazis marched the streets of Vilnius with no official permit or interruption from the police, shouting xenophobic and anti-Semitic slogans. Yet other social groups, most notably gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT), have not had this freedom. The Council of

Any peaceful demonstrations, including those of gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transsexuals, cannot be prohibited just because some people are hostile to their rights. The state’s responsibility is to guarantee that all legally organized demonstrations are peaceful, Lietuvos rytas daily reported. These were the sentiments expressed by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg

Amnesty International is concerned that Lithuania is failing to respect the rights of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. On 24 October, the city council of the capital, Vilnius, refused to grant permission for a 30 metre rainbow flag, a symbol of the LGBT rights

Research conducted for the new Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) indicates that 46 percent of Brits believe they have faced some form of discrimination. The new commission, which incorporates the Commission for Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission, is being launched today. Its Chair, Trevor Phillips, said: “We live

Terry Davis In 1936, the SS Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler created the Gestapo’s Central Office for the Combating of Homosexuality and Abortion. As a result, an estimated 100,000 men were arrested as homosexuals, and some 50,000 of these men were sentenced. Some spent time in regular prisons, some were forcefully castrated as an alternative to incarceration,