2007 has been proclaimed the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All. One of the first political accomplishments of the year has been the unfortunate creation of a new European-level political group entitled Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty (ITS). Ironically, this was made possible through the accession of newest EU Member States Bulgaria and Romania. It is

NGOs from around the world welcomed a landmark statement on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity, delivered at the United Nations Human Rights Council by Norway on behalf of 54 States. The statement condemns human rights violations directed against people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, commends the work of UN mechanisms and

The European Parliament’s Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights launched its new website in a meeting organised during the November Strasbourg session of the European Parliament. After having closed the website for several weeks, the Intergroup’s website features a refreshed design, improved functions to help raise awareness and ease of communication. A fuller brief of

ILGA-Europe welcomes this long-awaited decision and thanks the Latvian politicians who supported this amendment and stood against prejudice and discrimination. However, ILGA-Europe remains concerned that it took Latvia such a long and bitter battle to implement this legislation despite the country’s obligation as EU member state to implement EU directives. During the parliamentary debate, some

In the spirit of the two declarations adopted during the previous Workers Out Conferences held in Amsterdam in 1998 and in Sydney in 2002 as well as the one carried at the International LGBT Forum of EI-PSI in 2004 and the goals that were determined at the time, the delegates to the third “Workers Out!”

The Employment Equality Directive requires EU Member States to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination in the field of employment. This book is the first to assess to what degree the Directive’s requirements have been met by the twenty-five Member States and by Bulgaria and Romania. The authors discuss the relevant aspects of EU law and provide

Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to be able to take part in these first world “Outgames”, at least as a speaker, for I think that events like this help to raise the profile of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities across the world through sport. Please allow me to begin my speech with

Traditionally, gay and lesbian employees in USA have found little in the law to protect them from discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Times are changing, however, and a growing number of employers are finding themselves responsible for providing a workplace that’s free of harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation. While there is no

Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freiberga has asked Parliament to revise the amendments to the Labor Law passed last week, which allowed for the discrimination of employees on the grounds of their sexual orientation. In a letter to Parliament Speaker Ingrida Udre, Vike-Freiberga wrote that a person’s right to employment is not tied with his or her private

In adopting a joint resolution from the PES, ALDE, Greens and GUE/NGL political groups, by 301 in favour to 161 against with 102 abstentions, Parliament deplores the fact that the Council has been unable to adopt the 2001 Council Framework Decision on combating racism and xenophobia. MEPs urgently call on the future Finnish Presidency of

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) expresses its serious concern about inflammatory statements made by far right politicians, including Ministers, against lesbians and gay men. We condemn this dangerous populism, which attempts to scapegoat minority communities. We reaffirm: our opposition to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation; and our support for the rights of