‘Some things you should not need to camouflage’ The Swedish Armed Forces have launched a new Pride campaign, calling on all service members to be free to serve openly. With new posters being put up across the country, it shows a woman in uniform against a camouflage background. But there is one thing that stands
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From the 4th to the 12th of July, 2015 the representatives of the national LGBT* rights organization LGL participated to the international project “Open Your Mind 2” under the ERASMUS+ programme, youth exchange for young people on human rights and equal opportunities, organized in Rustavi, Georgia. The project “Open Your Mind 2”, gave the opportunity
Member of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania Juras Požėla appealed to the Chief Official of the Ethics Commission (COEC) to evaluate the remarks on LGBT* persons delivered by the representative of the Government of the Republic of Lithuania in Marijampolė county Paulius Uleckas. Member of the Liberal Movement party Mr. Uleckas expressed his
‘It means that we exist in the eyes of the state, and I think that cannot be underestimated’. The Irish parliament Wednesday (15 July) passed the Gender Recognition Bill. This means transgender people will now be able to change the gender on their birth certificate and passport without a letter from a medical practitioner. Ireland is the fourth country
On Saturday the 6th of June, 2015 Lithuanian-American citizen Auris Jarašūnas married his partner Robbie Sutton in the city of Los Angeles. “I met my partner seven years ago. Quickly we became inseparable, and we were dreaming that maybe one day we will be a fully recognized family. Like a fairy tale, the laws of
On the 9th of July the European Parliament voted to put human rights, including of LGBTI people, at the heart of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The Parliament emphasises the “need to focus on strengthening and consolidating … respect for diversity and the rights of minorities, including … the rights of LGBTI persons.” (see par. 22)
The Vice President of the European Commission has said he wants all 28 EU countries to recognise or legalise same-sex marriage. Speaking at an Equality Gala in Brussels hosted by ILGA-Europe and attended by Executive Director of the national LGBT* rights organization LGL Vladimir Simonko, Dutch politician Frans Timmermans said the ultimate goal was to get all
In a last-minute move, the governor of Istanbul banned Sunday’s Pride Parade, using the month of Ramadan as a justification. In previous years, Prides were also held during Ramadan, without obstruction by the state and tens of thousands people participating. As demonstrators gathered to start the Pride Parade, defying the ban, they got violently attacked
This June, Riga hosted Europride 2015. Ten years on from when the first Latvian gay pride took place in Riga, several hundred thousand people will come from across the continent to show their support for gay rights. Proof that the Baltic States have become a much more hospitable place for the LGBT community? Perhaps not.
Turkish police on Sunday used tear gas and water cannons against people who were about to take part in a Pride march in Istanbul. The Istanbul LGBTI Pride Committee in a press release said local authorities announced “at the last minute” that they had banned the event — which had been scheduled to start in
The government in Norway has proposed extending the right of its citizens to change their legal gender to children. Under the proposal, children aged seven and up would be allowed to choose which gender to be legally recognised by, as long as they had parental support. Those aged 16 and above would be allowed to
Lithuania has recently started discussing its attitudes towards homosexuality, in what remains a novelty for a country ranked among the most homophobic in the EU. While data shows that attitudes remain largely the same, many agree that the debates are proof that a change may be coming, albeit slowly. The discussions were largely sparked by