ILGA-Europe
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The ILGA-Europe Annual Conference was concluded on Saturday 26 October. Members, activists, policy makers and researchers had been discussing and sharing knowledge on the conference theme Family matters! Reaching out to hearts and minds, and on other LGBTI issues. The Annual Conference 2013 was greeted by high level politicians - such as Ivo Josipović, President of Croatia; Nils Muižnieks, Council of Europe Human Rights Commissioner; Robert Biedroń, General rapporteur on the rights of LGBT people of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly. The Annual Conference 2014 will be held in Riga between 9 to 12 October.
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Asylum
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Micro Rainbow International launched a new report entitled “Poverty, Sexual Orientation and Refugees in the UK”, which is the only report ever published in the UK on the issues of poverty faced by lesbian and gay refugees .
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Europe's leading civil society network for refugees, European Council of Refugees & Exiles (ECRE) accepted its first LGBTI member, ORAM - Organization for Refuge, Asylum & Migration. Among 81 refugee organisations across 37 countries, ORAM is the only ECRE member dedicated exclusively to advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex refugees.
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Bias motivated violence
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On Sunday, 3 November, the "Rainbow Coffee" traditionally held at the community center of the project LaSky in St.Petersburg was attacked by two assailiants. They entered community center pretending to be "looking for a friend". Then one of them pulled a pneumatic gun and opened fire while the other was brandishing a baseball bat.
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Education
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OBESSU, Organising Bureau of European School Student Unions, has launched the campaign “Education, we have a problem!” on social inclusion in education. The campaign will run from October 2013 until February 2014, and ILGA-Europe has joined as a supporter of the campaign.
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Employment
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Two new resources focus on the working conditions for LGBT performers. Firstly there is “I can act but I won’t pretend” from Equity in the United Kingdom, and secondly "Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity Diversity in Entertainment" from SAG-AFTRA, two American labor unions, Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
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The Netherlands Institute for Social Research has carried out a study on lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) employees. Are there any differences in the work experience, social attitudes at work and well-being of LGB and heterosexual employees in the Netherlands in 2012, and if so, how can these be explained?
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Enlargement
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On 16 October 2013, the European Commission issued its annual Enlargement Strategy and Progress Reports on EU accession and pre-accession countries. ILGA-Europe welcomes the fact that the European Commission has put a strong emphasis on LGBTI issues in this year’s strategy committing to step up its political support and addressing consistently the human rights concerns of LGBTI people during the accession negotiations with the countries.
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Equality and non-discrimination
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Prominent Polish LGBTI human rights activists and the first openly gay member of the Polish Parliament, Robert Biedroń, is now appointed as General rapporteur on the rights of LGBT people of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly.
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The LGBTI Support Centre and the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights of the Republic of Macedonia, supported by Front Line Defenders has launched a radio campaign titled "Macedonia has love for all". The campaign is focused on condemning violence and giving support to LGBTI people in Macedonia.
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Equinet, the European Network of Equality Bodies, has launched a report on how equality bodies can promote equality & non-discrimination for LGBTI people. The perspective has benefited from the assistance of the ILGA-Europe whose staff met with the Equinet Secretariat to provide advice and information that assisted in the design and analysis of the survey questionnaire.
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At the end of September, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presented a ‘Democracy reform package’, including constitutional reforms, an anti-discrimination bill and a proposal for an amendment to hate crime and hate speech law. Unfortunately, the package leaves out measures that would protect LGBT people from violence and discrimination.
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Family
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A law proposal on civil unions in Malta has been tabled. The law, which is expected to be adopted in November, will grant recognition at par with marriage and is open to both same-sex and different-sex couples. Moreover the proposal also includes adoption and parenting rights, and that foreign marriage will be recognised as marriage.
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Freedom of assembly
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On 20 October, the first LGBTI Pride March took place in Podgorica. The Pride March was supported by the Montenegrin government and the Montenegrin police provided adequate protection to the participants from numerous and violent protesters by escorting the marchers to military base outside the city after the event.
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Freedom of expression
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On 11 October 2013, the Moldovan Parliament abolished a law banning ‘homosexual propaganda’. This law was adopted on 23 May 2013 and was almost identical to the Russian law banning the dissemination of information on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) issues. ILGA-Europe criticised Moldova for the adoption on such discriminatory law and is pleased it has been abolished.
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Health
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On 3 October, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution, which calls on Council of Europe Member States to “undertake further research to increase knowledge about the specific situation of intersex people", ensure that no-one is subjected to unnecessary medical or surgical treatment that is cosmetic rather than vital for health during infancy or childhood, guarantee bodily integrity, autonomy and self-determination to persons concerned, and provide families with intersex children with adequate counselling and support.” This is the first resolution of its kind by any European institution. The language of the resolution signals a shift from the current medical domain to a human rights approach, and addresses the right to bodily integrity, autonomy and self-determination while calling for the end of cosmetic medical and surgical treatment.
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From 22 to 29 November 2013 marks the date for the first ever European HIV testing week. It provides an unprecedented opportunity for partners (civil society, healthcare organisations, healthcare professionals and policy makers) across Europe to unite for one week to help more people become aware of their HIV status. The theme for the week is Talk HIV. Test HIV. and has been introduced to encourage people to openly talk about the benefits of HIV testing and to increase dialogue between all partners in the field. ILGA-Europe is a supporter of the European HIV testing week.
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Members of the European Parliament were due to vote on a report on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights on 22 October. Instead the MEPs send the report back to the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality. Authored by Edite Estrela MEP (S&D, Portugal), the report calls for universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights throughout Europe.
Read the reaction from the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights here
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Notice board
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The European Women's Lobby is recruiting a new Secretary General to ensure the full operational and strategic management and leadership of the organisation, including the Secretariat. Deadline is 17.00 (CET) on 10 November 2013.
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The END FGM European Campaign is looking for a committed individual to support the Campaign Team in its online communications, media and public engagement, and event organisation. This position will be based in the Amnesty International European Institutions Office, Brussels with the rest of the END FGM European Campaign Team. The traineeship will last for six months, starting at the beginning of December 2013. Deadline: 9.00 (CET), 12 November 2013.
Read more about the internship opportunity here
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Wild, wild web: Is the Internet a lawless no man’s land? Based on the recent public debate on data protection and massive privacy infringements, this course will explore the connection between cyber security and human rights.
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