A sticker with a sign “STOP AIDS”, depicting two men having sexual intercourse, is discriminatory and violates principle of equal opportunities, concluded the Lithuanian Office of Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson. The sticker was noticed at a supermarket security room in July, 2014. The supermarket’s security officers refused to remove it when asked by LGL’s staff member.
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National LGBT* rights organization LGL has many years of experience in cooperating with Lithuanian law enforcement authorities. We provide information and assist the members of the local LGBT* community, who become victims ofhate crimes or hate motivated incidents. LGL staff also assists in submitting complaints regarding violations of the Lawon Equal Opportunities. Similarly, LGL serves
Last Friday, October 10th, The Association LGL hosted a delegation from Dutch political party “Democrats 66”. The Dutch politicians, who ranged from just beginners to seasoned politicians, visited LGL to learn about the situation of politics and human rights in Lithuania. Hans Hindriks, the leader of the delegation, volunteered in Vilnius a couple of years
Since its establishment in 1993, the national LGBT* rights organization LGL has accumulated a number of publications which form what may be rightfully described as the biggest LGBT*-themed library in Lithuania. A few decades ago, in an era prior to the internet, the basic means to communicate knowledge was the book. Foreign publications had inspired
Estonia made history today when the country’s parliament passed the gender-neutral Civil Partnership Act on a close vote of 40 to 38 on October 9, 2014. The new law acknowledges civil unions for all couples, regardless of the gender of the partners, and grants same-sex couples rights and responsibilities similar to a marriage between a
On October 1-5, LGL hosted in Vilnius the fourth meeting of the QuPiD project, which revolved around the topic of legal and policy implications on LGBT*IQ adult education. QuPiD, Queer Paths into Diversity is an international project aiming at the cooperation of organizations fighting the discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The project
Last Friday, national LGBT* rights organization LGL received an exclusive invitation from the Ambassador of Ireland to his residence for an official reception for human rights activists. David Noonan, the new ambassador, was received by Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė only a few weeks ago. One of his first objectives was to show support for LGBT*
National LGBT* rights organization LGL organized an international conference “Tackling Homophobic and Transphobic Bullying: Challenges and Effective Responses”, which took place in Vilnius on October 2, 2014. The presentations on homophobic and transphobic bullying were given by a team of international experts: Marinus Schouten (GALE – the Global Alliance for LGBT* Education, the Netherlands), Michael Barron
An LGBT rights resolution was adopted on Friday by the United Nations Human Rights Council on a vote of 25–14, with seven abstentions. The resolution is rather anemic, simply calling for a report from the U.N. high commissioner for human rights on combatting human rights violations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
The Council of Europe has warned Lithuania over its failure to adopt laws that would allow gender reassignment surgeries. This week the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers, which monitors the implementation of rulings of the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights, applied the so-called “enhanced supervision procedure” for Lithuania. The decision was taken after all earlier
23 Members of Parliament addressed Minister of Education Dainius Pavalkis, inquiring about a newly published textbook of the Lithuanian language. The textbook, intended for 4th graders, contains a story of a girl who comes to a new school pretending she is a boy and is happy that everyone believes her. According to some politicians, the
To celebrate International Bi Visibility Day, the national LGBT* rights organization, LGL, sent postcards to Lithuanian Members of Parliament. The postcards, which included an explanation of bisexuality along with key facts, reached the mailboxes of all 140 MPs on Tuesday. Thanks to LGL, Lithuania was one of the few countries in the world to celebrate