Nazis considered homosexuality a disease, therefore homosexuals were subjected systemic persecution, arrest and imprisonment at concentrations camps. Many of the 5000 to 10000 imprisoned homosexuals fell victims of various dehumanizing pseudo-medical experiments and, as they were considered the “lowest caste”, experienced the harshest forms of torture. However, many representatives of the Lithuanian state institutions in

Lithuanian President will Consult with the Church on LGBT issues

On 9th September, 2019 in an interview the Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda underlined the “need to take the opinion of the Catholic Church into account regarding LGBT issues”. “Position of the Church on LGBT matters was, is and will be important to me. Will it be the only one? No. However the is no doubt

Countries without same-sex marriage saw rise in homophobia, study shows

European countries that do not legally recognize same-sex relationships, including Lithuania, have seen a rise in homophobia over the last 14 years, a new study by Hungarian researchers suggests. The study, co-authored by Judit Takacs of the Hungarian Academy of Science, shows that, by contrast, acceptance of gay and lesbian relationships increased in countries that

Hate crime training for police officers took place in Kaunas

On November 8 2018, National LGBT* rights organization LGL organized a training for law enforcement officers in Kaunas, led by the Deputy Head of the Mainstream division of the Lithuanian Police Academy Vilius Velička and an expert on victomology Aliona Palujanova. Furthermore, the participants had a chance to meet an investigator within the Democracy and

LGL representative participated in EU advocacy network meeting in Brussels

On October 24, 2018 Ignas Rekasius, a project manager at the National LGBT* rights organization LGL, took part in an advocacy network meeting in Brussels concerning the approaching elections of the European Parliament (EP) next year. On the eve of the annual conference of ILGA-Europe—an international umbrella association of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex

Conference on the rights of transgender people in Lithuania

On September 6th 2018, the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania held a conference on the state of the rights of transgender persons, during which international and local human rights experts as well as medical and legal representatives discussed the situation in Lithuania ahead of decisions on the pending gender reassignment bill drafts. Prof. Vytautas Mizaras

Foreign Affairs Minister visits LGL office

On Monday, September 17th, LGL welcomed the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Republic of Lithuania Mr. Linas Linkevičius, at our office in Vilnius. Together with Donatas Butkus, director of the Human Rights Division of the United Nations, International Organizations and Human Rights Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he expressed his solidarity with the

Yet Another Allegedly Homophobic Arson Attack in Lithuania

On August 10th, 2018 following a series of arson attacks directed at the premises of the National LGBT* rights organization LGL and the apartment of its co-founder and Executive Director Vladimir Simonko, a wave of solidarity amongst the LGBT community in Lithuania emerged. As such, Romas Zabarauskas, an openly gay film director in Lithuania, had

Ministers and representatives of the member countries of the Equal Rights Coalition have met in a global conference in Vancouver, Canada. In the conference, spanning from the 5th of August to the 7th of August, the representatives have pledged to build a world where no one is left behind – regardless of their sexual orientation,

Belarusian activist: Russian repression is good for Lukashenko

Originally published on manoteises.lt Winter is an especially busy time for human rights activists, with lots of significant days, events and news to be presented to decision makers. This isn’t always easy in Lithuania, but in Belarus, it’s even more difficult, especially in the context of the worsening situation to the East. As Barys Zvoskau