Rainbow Days 2017 Festival Started with a Discussion on Partnership Law in Lithuania

On 9th May, 2017 the National LGBT* rights organization LGL, together with Vilnius Univerity’s Institute of International Relations and Political Science, and Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, member of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania, invited to a discussion on Partnership Law in Lithuania.

The institute of partnership is important not only to same-sex couples, but also for not married different-sex couples. Even though the right to register a partnership was established in the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania since 2001, there is still no legislation regulating these partnerships. Why Lithuanian politicians are reluctant to take the final step, even though the majority (84 %) of country citizens are in favor of partnerships between women and men? Or are we still not ready to give legal status to same-sex couples? What steps must be taken to reach a broader consensus in the society on this question?

The institute of partnership in Lithuania – is it only a moral (value) issue? Or is it a practical way to solve both different-sex and same-sex couples problems? All of these questions were discussed during the event at the Vilnius Univerity’s Institute of International Relations and Political Science.

Participants of the discussion: Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen (Lithuanian Parliament member, Human Rights Committee member, Liberal Movement), Mykolas Majauskas (Lithuanian Parliament member, Suicide and Violence Prevention Committee chairperson, Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius (National LGBT* rights organization LGL, human rights policy coordinator), Doc. Liutauras Gudžinskas (Vilnius Univerity’s Institute of International Relations and Political Science lecturer). Discussion moderator – journalist from the news portal DELFI.lt Mindaugas Jackevičius.


© Giordano Campanelli

More information about the programme of the Rainbow Days 2017 can be found here.