Representative of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania in Marijampolė county and a member of the Liberal Movement party Paulius Uleckas received an official warning from the Ethics Commission of the Liberal Movement party regarding his shocking remarks about LGBT* people. Mr. Uleckas was asked to apologize the LGBT* community for his homophobic statements.

Puerto Rico governor bans anti-transgender discrimination

Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla on Monday issued two executive orders that extend rights to transgender people in the U.S. commonwealth.One of the orders that García signed specifically prohibits hospitals from discriminating against potential patients based on their gender identity when they seek treatment in an emergency room. The second mandate allows trans Puerto

Domestic violence in LGBT community hidden despite high rates

Domestic violence remains an “invisible” issue in the LGBT community, with many victims feeling too ashamed to make a complaint or seek support, a report in Australia has found. Currently there is also a study in Lithuania running, focussing on the local LBT community. Despite research that shows that one-third of people in a same-sex

The first third-gender passport has been issued in Nepal

Nepal has joined the few countries which allow third gender passports, as it issues its first one. The country issued the passport, which allows ‘other’ as a gender category alongside ‘male’ and ‘female’. Monica Shahi was the first person to receive such a passport. The only other countries which allow third-gender, or gender ‘x’ passports

Roland Emmerich responds to Stonewall ‘whitewashing’ criticism

‘When this film finally comes to theaters, audiences will see that it deeply honors the real-life activists who were there’   Openly gay director Roland Emmerich has responded to criticism that his new film Stonewall whitewashes the riots and ignores the drag queens and transgender women of color who started the LGBTI rights movement. The trailer released earlier

Polish Senate votes on first-ever Gender Accordance Act

The Polish Senate has voted to pass the Gender Accordance Act after a lengthy debate which lasted several days. However, the Act was passed with significant last-minute amendments which unfortunately could add another layer of procedural difficulty to the gender recognition process. The Gender Accordance Act is an attempt to codify the legal gender recognition

Iceland: Reykjavik street turns rainbow for Gay Pride

A huge rainbow has appeared in the centre of Iceland’s capital city – but it’s underfoot. One of Reykjavik’s central streets has been painted in rainbow colours as part of the city’s annual Gay Pride festival, the Visir news website reports. Dozens of people gathered to help to transform the road, including Mayor Dagur Eggertsson,

Europe’s biggest LGBT sporting event

EuroGames 2015 – one of the world’s largest LGBT – sports events Over 5000 athletes from 71 nations are to gather in Stockholm to compete in 27 different sporting events. “Sport is not as far ahead as the rest of society when it comes to LGBT issues. We hope to improve and change that through

Gay Pride to take place in Uganda, despite hostility

The country’s LGBT community is preparing for its annual gay pride parade, taking place this weekend. This year’s event has special significance – it has been a year since the controversial anti-gay law was scrapped – giving marchers even more reason to celebrate. Richard Lusimbo – who is heading up the committee behind this year’s parade –

LGBTI rights language stripped from UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals

The UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for member states will contain no language that could be interpreted as shielding the rights of LGBTI people in order to placate developing nations The sustainable development goals set for United Nations members to the year 2030 will not contain any reference to the rights of LGBTI people

The publication “Equality and Diversity Mainstreaming: Review of the Best Practices in the EU Member States” (in Lithuanian) seeks to encourage the broader discussion among the decision and policy makers, implementers, non-governmental organizations and the members of the general public about the necessity of equality and diversity mainstreaming into the processes of the public policy

Only in Amsterdam: the 20th edition of Amsterdam’s Gay Pride Canal Parade

On the 1st of August, 2015 a half of million visitors from around the world turned out for the 20th edition of Amsterdam’s Gay Pride Canal Parade. Tens of thousands of representatives of the LGBT* community and human rights activists, including Vladimir Simonko, Executive Director of the national LGBT* rights organization LGL, sailed the channels