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No. 212, April 2013 - in this issue...

ILGA-Europe

Access to goods and services

Bias motivated violence

Data collection

Employment

Equality and non-discrimination

Family

Freedom of assembly

Freedom of expression

Health

Human rights defenders

Notice board


ILGA-Europe

ILGA-Europe is looking for a Programmes & Policy Officer

Do you want to work with LGBTI issues and be responsible for coordinating capacity building / advocacy projects at regional and pan-European level for an international non-governmental organisation based in Brussels? Have a look here for a challenging and exciting job opportunity.

Closing date for receipt of applications: 17.00 CET, Wednesday 29 May 2013.

Intern opportunity at ILGA-Europe

ILGA-Europe is seeking an intern for a three-month period during the summer to work with the staff team in Brussels. The internship opportunity is opened to individuals who are members or affiliated with ILGA-Europe’s member organisations. This is a paid internship.

Call for participants: Security training – assessing security situations and developing security plans

ILGA-Europe is organising a training for LGBTI Human Rights defenders from the European region on security issues. The training shall take place in Istanbul, Turkey, on 1 and 2 July 2013. Deadline for applications: 6 May 2013

Read more about the call for participants here

ILGA-Europe at regional conference in Oslo

ILGA-Europe participated in the Oslo Conference on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (15-16 April 2013), which was the concluding conference following regional convenings in Brasilia, Kathmandu, Paris and smaller meetings in Paris. The meeting, which was hosted by the governments of Norway and South-Africa, gathered representatives of governments and civil society from across the world. The conclusions of the co-chairs of the meeting included a reference to the need for better integration of LGBT issues in the work of the United Nations, through the future establishment of a relevant mechanism.
Further information about the proceedings at this conference can be found here

 

Advocacy training on asylum and victims’rights

On 19 and 20 April, ILGA-Europe organised an advocacy training on asylum and victims’rights. The training was held in Brussels, and 28 participants took part. The aim of this meeting was to prepare an optimal transposition of several new EU Directives in national law: i) The Victims' Rights Directive; ii) The Asylum Qualification Directive; iii) The Asylum Procedure Directive (soon to be adopted).
Read more about the Victims' Rights Directive here
Read more about the transposition of the Asylum Qualification Directive here


Access to goods and services

European Parliament tells Commission to step up work on trans issues

On 16 April, the European Parliament asked the European Commission to step up its work against the discrimination faced by trans people when purchasing or accessing goods and services. This is the latest in a series of Parliament request in favour of trans people's rights since 2010.


Bias motivated violence

Homophobic incidents in FYR Macedonia

On 20 April, activists from the NGOs, LGBT United and the Coalition for the Sexual and Health Rights of Marginalized Communities were attacked by a group of football supporters in the Macedonian town of Bitola.

ILGA-Europe's submission to the OSCE-ODIHR 2012 Hate Crimes Report

ILGA-Europe together with a number of our member or partner organisations published a submission, which provides the ODIHR with factual country-by-country data on homophobic and transphobic incidents recorded in 2012 in many countries of the OSCE region. 

Data collection

Be prepared - results of the largest European LGBT survey soon to be published

On 17 May, International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) will publish the results of its online survey on the experiences of hate crime and discrimination by LGBT people. The results draw on the responses of over 93,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual or trans people living in the EU Member States and Croatia, making it the largest such survey of its kind to date.

Report on social situation of LGBT people in Poland

Campaign Against Homophobia has issued a new report on social situation of LGBT persons in Poland. The publication shows results of the biggest in Poland quantative research conducted on the group of 14,000 LGBT persons. The questions pertain to spheres of life such as education, work and family life in the context of discrimination or the influence of non-heterosexual orientation on social functioning.


Employment

EU Court addresses homophobic recruitment in football

On 25 April 2013, the Court of Justice of the European Union, delivered its preliminary ruling in the case of Asociaţia Accept v Consiliul Naţional pentru Combaterea Discriminārii concerning public statement made by Mr Becali, a patron of SC Fotbal Club Steaua București SA, who categorically stated that he would never hire a homosexual player.


Equality and non-discrimination

Nils Muižnieks: "Human rights protection is under strain in Europe"

On 25 April, Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, presented his first annual report as Commissioner. Among a wide range of human rights issues, the human rights situation of LGBTI people was a central theme in the Commissioner’s work in 2012. Particular attention was given to freedoms of expression and assembly and the situation of trans and intersex persons.

Albanian Prime Minister meets LGBT activists and shows full support

On 22 April, the Albanian Prime Minister, Dr. Sali Berisha from the right-wing Democratic Party, welcomed two LGBT activists. He is the first Albanian Prime Minister to do so, after being the first Albanian politician to have declared himself in favor of marriage equality almost 4 years ago after the elections of 2009.

Read more about the meeting here

Joint call by NGOs on the horizontal anti-discrimination Directive

On 22 April, Social Platform, Amnesty International and the Open Society Foundations jointly addressed Mr. Deaglán O’Briain, Chair of the Working Party on Social Questions to call on the Council to maintain an open, transparent and regular dialogue with civil society on the negotiations of the Article 19 Equal Treatment Directive - also called the horizontal anti-discrimination Directive.

Roundup of developments at the Parliamentary Assembly's April session

Find here a summary of the developments at the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly's April session related to LGBTI issues. On the agenda was (i) freedom of expression and assembly, (ii) a report on Turkey which called on for Turkey take every step, educational measures included, to combat all forms of discrimination and adopt appropriate legal and constitutional provisions, (iii) an attempt to include in a Resolution on "violence against religious communities", recommendations which tried to place freedom of religion above other rights in areas unrelated to violence, (iiii) a report and resolution on "putting an end to coerced sterilisations and castrations" of tran people. 


Family

French parliament says “OUI” to marriage equality

On 23 April, the French National Assembly adopted in the final reading a law extending the right to marriage and entitlement to apply for joint adoption to same-sex partners. The law needs to be signed by the French President to come into force.

Decision of Slovenian Constitutional Court on inheritance rights of unregistered same-sex partners

On 9 April, the Constitutional Court of Slovenia announced its decision that the Inheritance Act is against the Slovenian Constitution, because of unequal treatment of same-sex partners in comparison to different-sex partners in access to inheritance rights. 

Lesbian couple from Gibraltar wins case on second parent adoption

On 10 April, the Supreme Court of Gibraltar ruled in favour of a lesbian couple where one of the partners had been denied the right to second parent adoption of their child.
Read more about the ruling here

Freedom of assembly

Vilnius authorities appeal against pride march location ruling

Vilnius authorities said in the appeal submitted to the Supreme Administrative Court of Lithuania  that it had the right to propose a location for the event other than demanded by the organisers. The march, part of the Baltic Pride, is planned for late July.

Budapest Pride march gets the green light

The police in Budapest did not attempt to prevent this year's Budapest Pride March. The march will take place on Saturday, July 6, as part of a week-long series of diverse cultural and social events from June 30 to July 7. In 2011 and 2012 the Budapest Police refused to grant a permit for the march, claiming that the event would obstruct traffic. In both cases the Municipal Tribunal overturned the decision, affirming the right to freedom of assembly for LGBT people.


Freedom of expression

LGBT rights in Ukraine closely scrutinised as European Parliament consents to easier visa rules

On 18 April, the European Parliament gave its binding consent for easier EU visa rules for Ukrainian citizens. ILGA-Europe called prior the voting on the Members of the European Parliament not to turn a blind eye to human rights abuses, and hope to have seen the report on visa facilitation back to the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee for reconsideration and thus postpone the vote.


Health

New publication: Health and Wellbeing of LGBTQI Youth

The publication by IGLYO (International Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Queer Youth and Student Organisation) identifies the key health issues and concerns for LGBTQI youth, outlines the main approaches to addressing inequalities, and suggests recommendations for improving health and well-being and access to services. The publication has been written by LGBTQ youth, for LGBTQ youth and anyone interested in promoting health and wellbeing of LGBTQI young people.


Human rights defenders

Turkish human rights defender awarded by IGLHRC

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) has decided to award Yasemin Öz the Felipa de Souza Award. The Felipa de Souza Award recognises the courage and activism of grassroots groups and individuals working for the fundamental human rights of all people. Yasemin Öz is a prominent human rights lawyer, a nationally-recognized feminist and a leading LGBT activist from Turkey.


Notice board

Job opportunity: Senior Legal Adviser on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity at ICJ

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is recruiting a Senior Legal Adviser to lead their work on sexual orientation and gender identity. The ICJ works to promote the human rights of LGBT persons by encouraging the use of international human rights law by domestic activists and courts; participating in litigation through amicus briefs and expert opinions; providing training; and producing new legal tools for practitioners. Application deadline: 8 May

Internship opportunity: Social Enterprise Intern at Social Platform

Social Platform is currently looking for a Social Enterprise Intern, to work in the field of social economy and social entrepreneurship. The main activities will include: (i) researching on the social economy and social entrepreneurship environment, (ii) Identifying interested partners on a European and national level to participate in a social entrepreneurship event, and (iii) event preparation, logistics and dissemination.

Networking Conference preparing the Lithuanian Presidency

In view of the upcoming Lithuanian EU Presidency - from July to December 2013 - the event organised by Social Platform will gather representatives from the Lithuanian government, research institutes and social civil society organisations (CSOs) to discuss the social priorities for the Lithuanian EU presidency. The meeting also aims at building alliances between European and Lithuanian CSOs.

Legal resource: Casebook on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Justice

In 2009 the International Commission of Jurists began to gather together national court decisions that addressed questions concerning sexual orientation and gender identity. Altogether, the Casebook consists of 108 cases, from 41 countries across a variety of regions, covering a span of more than forty years.

 


ILGA-Europe Rainbow Digest is published by ILGA-Europe - the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans & Intersex Association
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ISSN 1998-8117
Editor: Mehmet Akin
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This publication has been produced with the financial support of the Rights Equality and Citizenship (REC) programme 2014-2020 of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of ILGA-Europe and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission.



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