The Portuguese Parliament voted today for the inclusion of gender identity as a protected ground of discrimination in the field of employment. Gender identity will now be added to sexual orientation and several other grounds in the non-discrimination clauses of the Portuguese Labour Code. The proposal by the Socialist Party was approved with votes from
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On January 14, 2014 Austria’s top court lifted a ban on gay adoption, bringing the country into line with many other EU countries. The Constitutional Court said the law contravened the European Human Rights Convention. Explaining the decision, chief judge Gerhart Holzinger said there was ‘no objective argument for a differing rule based solely on
Members of a commission charged with writing Thailand’s new constitution this week said they have proposed the inclusion of “third gender” people in its non-discrimination clause. Kamnoon Sittisamarn, a spokesperson for the Constitution Drafting Committee, a panel the Thai military created after scrapping the country’s previous constitution following last May’s coup, told Reuters on January
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon reaffirmed his opposition to laws that criminalize homosexuality on January 12, 2015. “I staunchly oppose the criminalization of homosexuality,” said Ban during an event in the Indian capital of New Delhi that marked the 70th anniversary of the U.N.’s founding. “I speak out because laws criminalizing consensual, adult same-sex relationships violate
Nils Muižnieks, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, has criticized recent comments in a newspaper interview about homosexuality and society by Latvian President Andris Bērziņš, the LETA newswire reported on January 12, 2014. “Latvia, along with other Council of Europe Member States, is bound by the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees
Well-resourced, well-aimed victim support is vital in ensuring victims of crime have real access to justice for their plight and that their rights are respected. In the first comprehensive assessment of victim support services in the European Union, the EU Agency for Fundamental rights (FRA) noted that, despite positive developments, many Member States face considerable
A collection of the most important publications of the national LGBT* rights association LGL have reached the library shelves of one of the largest LGBT*-themed museums in the world, the Schwule Museum, Berlin. Since its founding in 1985, the museum has grown into one of the world‘s most significant institutions for archiving, researching and communicating
Manifestations of solidarity and support continue to hit the web and social media after the tragic event which unfolded in Paris on the 7th of January. Charlie Hebdo is a French weekly newspaper collecting cartoons, reports and satirical jokes with a non-conformist tone. Openly anti-religious and left-wing, the newspaper dealt with many of the most
In December 2014 LGBT* rights activists, from all regions of the world, came together and signed a joint letter to US President Barack Obama. Twenty four representatives of the world’s leading LGBT* rights organizations, including the national LGBT* rights association LGL, called on the President to actively contribute to the overall effort to bring justice and
Meet the new EVS volunteers who have just joined our team! Within a 10 month project “Promoting Human Rights Activism in Lithuania” under Erasmus+ programme two volunteers will carry out their voluntary service at LGL’s office. Alice After an intense month of preparations, we finally touched the Lithuanian ground. Reading some information from some
On the occasion of Human Rights Day, GALE presented the first world map on the implementation of the right to education for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students. The map was presented at a UNESCO symposium in Paris on the progress of the global strategy to fight homophobic bullying. Of the 96 countries surveyed,
On December 16th, 2014 the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Science and Culture postponed the adoption of the controversial amendment to the Lithuanian Criminal Code, removing criminal liability for homophobic hate speech. 5 members of the Committee were in favor of the proposed amendment, 3 voted against, while the others abstained. This outcome was sufficient for