Lithuania (on behalf of the EU and its Member States) delivered a speech at the meeting of the Executive Board of the World Health Organisation (WHO) which was debating LGBT health issues and said that the EU welcomes the initiative towards improving the health and well-being of LGBT people and suggesting broadening the topic to explicitly include intersex people.

“Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is prohibited under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union as well as the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. Such values are very close to the EU’s heart and are widely promoted across all policies.

Harmful behaviours, lack of access to prevention and health care services, and inadequate treatments are frequently a consequence of stigma and discrimination, and often result in health inequalities for LGBTI persons. Accordingly, we believe that all discriminatory legislation, policies and practices against LGBTI persons must be removed, such as inadequate health service provision, denial of care, compulsory treatments and violation of privacy rules. In this way, we can improve access of health care to such vulnerable groups and improve national health outcomes.“

Read more at IILGA-Europe.org