In a 23 against 18 vote (6 abstentions)*, the United Nations Human Rights council voted in favour of a resolution condemning violence discrimination against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. The resolution establishes the new position of an independent expert, whose role it will be to assess the implementation of
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Transgender people won a major victory on July 12, with France about to join a growing number of countries that allow people to legally change their gender without surgery. This means no more psychiatrist certificates, no more proofs of sex reassignment surgery: above all, an end to the demand for sterilization. The National Assembly voted
More than 150 activists from around the world gathered in Uruguay last week for the first global LGBT rights conference to have taken place in Latin America. Uruguayan Minister of Exterior Relations Rodolfo Nin Novoa on Tuesday spoke at the opening of the conference that is taking place in his country’s capital of Montevideo. “We
In a very welcome update from Bosnia and Herzegovina, LGBTI people are to be better protected, thanks to updates to anti-discrimination legislation. Last Thursday, July 14, the House of the Peoples adopted amendments to the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination. Sexual orientation and gender identity were more accurately defined in local languages by the
Thursday, June 30th, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Taddeucci and McCall v Italy, that the refusal to grant one partner in a same-sex couple a residence permit violated their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, particularly Article 14, prohibition of discrimination, taken with Article 8, respect for family life. The
A Czech court has struck down the country’s ban on gay people adopting children – though only for individuals. The country had maintained a law that outlawed gays and lesbians who are in registered partnerships from adopting children, either together or as an individual. However, the Czech Constitutional Court has overturned a law which banned
On June 28th, 2016 the Lithuanian Parliament voted in favor of the constitutional amendment, which seeks to eliminate same-sex couples from the ambit of the constitutional concept of family life. 74 MPs voted in favor of the constitutional amendment, 19 MPs voted against and 20 MPs abstained. This vote implicates that no sooner than in
On 17 June, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevičius met with the Swedish Minister for Culture and Democracy Alice Bah Kuhnke, who came to Vilnius to take part in human rights events and to express support for the Baltic Pride March for Equality on 18 June. Linkevičius hailed the excellent and intensive
After the Baltic Pride 2016 March for Equality, which took place on Gediminas Avenue on June 18th, all LGBT* community members and friends were invited to the art factory LOFTAS for a delightful Baltic Pride Park Concert. Baltic Pride Park Concert featured the legendary winner of the Eurovision Song Contest Dana International, who is well
On 18th June, 2016 a crowd of 3000 Lithuanian LGBT* community members and their allies participated in the March for Equality on the central avenue in the downtown of Vilnius to celebrate the Baltic Pride 2016, the most important LGBT* (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community event in the Baltic states, organized by the National
Supporters of Baltic Pride 2016 had an opportunity to take part in an exceptional gala dinner, and enjoy a delicious three-course menu alongside first class entertainment. The host, comedian Paulius Ambrazevičius, lead the participants through the evening, which included extraordinary performances by La Diva Live (Belgium) and Ruslanas Kirilkinas (Lithuania), introductions from LGBT* activists, and
The National LGBT* Rights Organization LGL invited to the one-day international human rights conference “Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Relationships: Emerging International Consensus and Local Opportunities”, which has been organized within the framework of the Baltic Pride 2016 events on 17 June 2016. It was organized with the view of discussing the international and European movement