On September 25th, 2018 the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Lithuania began the procedure aimed at determining whether Constitutional provisions regarding freedom of movement of family members apply for same-sex couples. The case dates back to 2015 when a Belarussian citizen married to a Lithuanian man and applied to the immigration authorities for permission

LGL Representative Participated in a Meeting at European Commission Headquarters

On 26th September, 2018 Eglė Kuktoraitė, Communications Coordinator of the National LGBT rights organization LGL, participated in a meeting at the European Commission Headquarters in Brussels (Belgium), attended by the representatives of the European Commission, social networks and NGOs. During the meeting the representatives of Google+, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and Youtube discussed the upcoming

LGL’s Intern Nele: LGBT Advocacy in A Challenging Environment

Coming to Lithuania, I had only a vague idea of the country, the LGBT rights situation, or the work I was going to be doing. I knew Lithuania was considered one of the most homo-, bi- and transphobic countries in the European Union: that it was one of very few European countries without any legal

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

“Call It Hate” training on campaigning in Sofia (Bulgaria)

On September 18 – 19, 2018 Ignas Rėkašius – LGL‘s Project Manager – took part in the training on campaigning as part of the international project “Call It Hate: Raising Awareness of Anti-LGBT Hate Crime“, held in a newly established LGBTI+ community center Rainbow Hub in Sofia, Bulgaria. During the two-day training, the participants discussed

LGL’s Intern Eros: Learning from the Context of LGL

It is always important to consider things in context. This means both on the local scale, as well as globally. Working for non-profits and NGOs it can be easy to get caught up in a small silo or on a highly broad conceptual global scale, and while it’s important that work is done in both

Human Rights Abuses in Chechnya: 15 OSCE Countries Invoke Vienna Mechanism

On August 30, 2018 fifteen governments in Europe and North America, including Lithuania, released a statement in request for Russia to put an end to serious human rights violations and abuses in Chechnya, involving systematic persecution, detention and torture of perceived or actual homosexuals. Acting as members of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in

In September, 2018 Remigijus Šimašius, the Mayor of Vilnius, recorded a video inviting the residents and quests of Vilnius to participate at the Baltic Pride March for Equality, which will take place in Vilnius on 8 June, 2019. ”Dear friends from all over the world, I am very proud to stand here in support for

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

LGL Representatives Participated in an NGO Exchange Programme in Helsinki

On 20th-24th August, 2018 the representatives of the National LGBT* rights organization LGL participated in an NGO exchange programme in Helsinki (Finland). During the exchange week, LGL’s communication coordinator Eglė Kuktoraitė and LGL member and volunteer Nadežda Petruchina learned about the activities of the local LGBTI organization Seta and participated in meetings with representatives of

LGL Presents Educational Material for LGBT Activists in Hostile Environments

In August, 2018 the National LGBT rights organization published educational material for LGBT activists operating in hostile environments. “Restricted Expression: Guidelines and Recommendations for LGBT activists in hostile environments” looks at legislations, both enacted and proposed, aimed at limiting the freedom of speech and expression in Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine. The publication also provides guidelines