“Baltic antidiscrimination project” 2002 06 – 2003 04

Period: June 2002 – April 2003

The overall objective of the project was to improve the understanding of issues related to anti-discrimination through improved knowledge and promote and disseminate the values and practices underlying the European dimension of the fight against sexual orientation discrimination. The project produced a guide in English and three national languages “Sexual Orientation Discrimination in the Baltics”. At the first phase, three National Strategy Meetings (NSM) were held in Vilnius, Riga and Tallinn to identify areas in need of reform for improving the life of gay and lesbian people in each Baltic country with respect for the standards in the European Convention on Human Rights. At the second phase, the results and findings of the NSMs were discussed and summarised at the international seminar in Vilnius.

The project supplemented the efforts to promote measures to combat discrimination and therefore focused on its support where it is most needed – on the difficult or unpopular aspects of democratic practice, where local advocacy bodies are weak and where professional expertise is particularly lacking.

The project strengthened non-governmental bodies and associations in the Baltics which can make a continuing contribution to the promotion of a pluralist democratic society and which are operating in the areas of anti-discrimination and human rights advocacy with the following objectives:

•improve the understanding of issues related to discrimination through improved knowledge and measurement and through the evaluation of the effectiveness of policies and practice;

•develop the capacity of target group (in particular local and regional authorities, independent bodies responsible for the fight against discrimination, the social partners and non-governmental organisations) to address discrimination effectively, in particular through support for the exchange of information and good practice and networking at national level;

•promote and disseminate the values and practices underlying the fight against sexual orientation discrimination.

Sexual Orientation Discrimination in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania