On November 13th, 2014 Mexico City lawmakers approved a bill that would allow transgender people to legally change their gender without a court order. Members of Legislative Assembly of the Federal District, in which Mexico City is located, approved the measure by a 42-0 vote margin. Six lawmakers abstained from the vote on the measure
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The national LGBT* rights organization LGL initiated a meeting with the Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament Seimas and the leader of the Lithuanian Labor Party Loreta Graužinienė on September and November this year. Both times were unsuccessful. The Office of the Lithuanian Speaker of the Parliament claims that Ms. Graužinienė has no time for a
The Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament Seimas and the leader of the Lithuanian Labor Party Loreta Graužinienė declared that Latvia’s foreign minister Edgars Rinkevics should have disclosed his sexual orientation prior to the assignment to the post. “But I think that the Minister should have done it prior to the appointment to the post rather than
The Constitutional Court of Slovakia has decided that several questions that could limit the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT*) persons will be opened to a public vote, a move which advocates say is unconstitutional. It follows a petition initiated by the Alliance for Family, a conservative national organisation that collected more than the 350,000 signatures required
The Anti-Homosexuality Act was passed earlier this year, but was struck down by the country’s Constitutional Court in August, who found that Parliamentary procedures had been abused to pass it illegally. However, politicians in the country have refused to accept defeat on the legislation, and have been clamouring to put the homophobic law back into place. Human
In a landmark ruling, Malaysia’s Putrajaya Court of Appeal ruled on Friday (Nov. 7) that it is unconstitutional for the state of Negeri Sembilan to criminalize transgender individuals for “cross dressing,” reports the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). Citing articles of the Constitution of Malaysia that protect fundamental liberties, including equality, freedom
On November 5th, 2014 the national LGBT* rights organization LGL applied to Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania under Vilnius Regional Administrative Court’s judgment to reject LGL’s appeal against social video censorship. On October 23rd, 2014 LGL appealed to Vilnius Regional Administrative Court, requesting to revoke the decision by the Lithuanian Office of the Inspector of Journalist
Baku is hosting First European Games in June, 2015. Nefes LGBT Azerbaijan Alliance in collaboration with Free LGBT will hold “Compete for Equality” campaign during this event, reports Nefes LGBT Azerbaijan Alliance. The target group of this campaign is European Parliament, International Olympic Committee, ILGA World and ILGA Europe, Olympic Committees and Ministries of Foreign Affairs of
In a peaceful demonstration, gay rights activists have marched in the capital of Montenegro to demand more rights. In this year’s event, demonstrators were outnumbered by police 100 to 1. Up to 200 gay rights activists marched peacefully in the capital of Montenegro, Podgorica, on Sunday, reports ILGA-Europe. Demonstrators carried signs reading, “Let’s Love Each
The Austrian winner of the 2014 Eurovision Song Contest will perform live at the Vienna International Centre in the presence of the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, during the Secretary-General’s visit to the United Nations in Vienna. During the event both the UN Secretary-General and the singer will address the audience of UN staff, diplomats
On October 25th, 2014 the national LGBT* rights organization LGL applied to the European Commission (EC) under the European Union (EU) directive infringement process. A formal complaint, prepared in collaboration with the European LGBTI organization “ILGA-Europe”, states that the Lithuanian authorities have violated the EU Treaty, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and the Audiovisual
On October 29, 2014 a draft gender recognition bill has been presented at the Maltese parliament for the first reading. The law, if enacted, would fully respect trans people’s human rights. The law will introduce the right to gender identity and enact a simple administrative procedure based solely on self-determination. Upon a notary declaration that