ILGA-EUROPE
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ILGA-Europe's 15th Anniversary: Alecos Modinos
Read the 10th article in the celebration of the 15th Anniversary of ILGA-Europe - this time a contribution from Alecos Modinos, awarded at Annual Conference 2009 for his great work for LGBT rights in Cyprus and his international involvement in ILGA-Europe.
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ILGA-Europe invited to a hearing on Human Rights in Western Balkans in the European Parliament
The Subcommittee on Human Rights of the European Parliament organised on 10 November 2011 a hearing on Human Rights in Western Balkans. ILGA-Europe was invited to attend the hearing and to speak to the Members regarding the LGBTI rights in Western Balkans.
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Annual Conference 2011 concluded in Turin
On 30 October, the 15th ILGA-Europe’s Annual Conference concluded in Turin. 343 lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) activists, European and national politicians, representatives of other organisations from 43 countries gathered in Turin, Italy between 27 and 30 October 2011 for the largest annual event on LGBTI rights in Europe.
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ILGA-Europe seeks volunteers for December 2011 and January 2012
ILGA-Europe is looking for 2-5 Brussels-based volunteers to help us with various manual tasks related to our Annual Conference and an upcoming event in the European Parliament.
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EUROPE
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The proposed 'propaganda' law in St. Petersburg
ILGA-Europe issued a statement on a draft law on prohibition of the so-called propaganda of 'sodomy, lesbianism, bisexualism and transgenderism, and paedophilia to minors' and introduction of administrative offense proposed by St. Petersburg’s Legislative Assembly on 11 November 2011.
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What should the Danish EU Presidency focus on?
In January 2012, Denmark will take over the Presidency of the European Union. ILGA-Europe has issued a memorandum for the upcoming Presidency and has identified 5 key priorities for the Danish Presidency to focus on.
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Horizon 2014: What LGBT Rights in the EU?
On Thursday 8 December, the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights is organising a public roundtable on LGBT rights in the EU between now and 2014. ILGA-Europe is invited to take part in the panel. If you are in Brussels, you are welcome to attend the discussion. Please register online by Sunday 4 December.
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Moldova: Hate speech against LGBT people sanctioned by law on freedom of expression
On 23 November 2011, the Chisinau court of first instance issued a victorious judgment in the case “Oleg Brega vs. www.privesc.eu”. The website was found liable for hate speech and incitement to discrimination against homosexual people and their allies because it had not moderated visitors’ comments in the open-access chat room during the live transmission of the press conference held by the GENDERDOC-M Information Centre in February 2011.
Read more about the judgment here
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Ukraine: 80% of Ukrainians against same-sex relationships
A new public poll in Ukraine found that about 80% of Ukrainians consider it unacceptable to have same sex relationships.
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Romania: Homophobic slurs and fireworks inside the cinema at a LGBT movie premiere
Despite a small number of policemen and security forces at the entry, ten to fifteen men from the extremist organisation Noua Dreapta entered and held a live protest against LGBT people inside a cinema where the audience attended the premiere of the first Romanian LGBT themed documentary, Noi Doi (Two of US).
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UNITED NATIONS
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Navi Pillay: Moldova must work harder to end discrimination
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said during her visit to Moldova in early November, that it is vital for authorities in Moldova to ensure an independent judiciary, tackle discrimination and protect the rights of minorities as it works to strengthen democracy.
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LGBTI FAMILIES
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Denmark: Law proposal from the Danish government on marriage equality in 2012
The Minister of Equality, Ecclesiastical Affairs and Nordic Cooperation, Manu Sareen, announced that the Danish government will propose a new law allowing same-sex couples to get married in the church on the same terms as different-sex couples.
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International conference on mutual recognition held in Strasbourg
On 18 and 19 November, the ILGA-Europe member organisation, l’Autre Cercle, organised an international conference at the Council of Europe with the patronage of its Secretary General Mr.Thorbjørn Jagland and with the support of the City of Strasbourg.
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Austria: Two important rulings in the Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court of Austria has ruled that different-sex couples can not enter a registered partnership. In another judgment, the Court ruled that same-sex couples should be able to enjoy the constitutional protection of the family.
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HATE & VIOLENCE
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ILGA-Europe welcomes from OSCE
The "Hate Crimes in the OSCE Region – Incidents and Responses: Annual Report for 2010" was launched on the date of 16 November, the International Day for Tolerance. As in previous years, ILGA-Europe has participated to the consultation organised by the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
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Malta: Harsher penalties with new criminal law amendments
Criminal acts motivated by homophobia will be included with offences connected with racism and penalties will be increased by one degree or two.
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TRANS ISSUES
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ILGA-Europe’s statement on the Transgender Day of Remembrance
ILGA-Europe joined its voice on the occasion of the Transgender Day of Remembrance on 20 November. This Day was established following a murder of Rita Hester in 1998 and serves as a reminder of existing prejudice, hatred and discrimination against trans people.
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Turkey: Human rights leaders urge Turkish Government to drop charges against trans activists
Harassment of Transgender Individuals Must End: joint statement by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, GATE - Global Action for Trans* Equality, COC Netherlands, ARC International, Transgender Europe, ILGA-Europe, and STP 2012, International Stop Trans Pathologization Campaign.
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Hungary: Health authority says human dignity of trans pharmacist has to be respected
In its recent decision on appeal the Hungarian Office of Health Authorization and Administrative Procedures has ordered the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of State to issue a new pharmacy license to a trans pharmacist that does not contain reference to her birth name and gender. The authority agreed with the applicant that revealing her transgender status in such official documents is a violation of human dignity.
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Austria: City of Vienna ceases forced outing of trans people
Despite executive orders from the Minister of Interior of Austria, the City of Vienna has decided to issue marriage certificates for trans people without outing them as trans people.
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Turkey: Transphobic comment from a tv presenter after tragedy of trans people in India
After the tragic death of trans people in India, a famous tv presenter made several LGBTphobic statements during a live programme.
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ASYLUM
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ILGA-Europe welcomes the adoption of a groundbreaking EU asylum directive covering both sexual orientation and gender identity
The European Parliament adopted a revised version of the asylum directive on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection and the content of the protection granted. This directive recognises gender identity for the first time as grounds on which individuals can claim asylum in the EU. Moreover, this updates the concept of gender reassignment that was referred to by European law from a process to a stand alone concept.
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HEALTH
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United Kingdom: Ban on gay male blood donors lifted
Department of Health in the United Kingdom decided to lift the ban on blood donations from gay men. The decision will be enforced immidiately.
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FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
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IASSCS Research Grant Program - Call for proposals
IASSCS seeks to strengthen the field of social and cultural research on sexuality globally, including the development of research capacity, giving priority to the crucial need for diversity in this field of inquiry. Its mission is informed by the principles of social justice and human rights, with a focus on sexual rights and gender equality, as expressed in documents such as the Cairo Programme of Action, CEDAW and the UNGASS Declaration on HIV/AIDS.
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NOTICE BOARD
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Open Up! Project
IHLIA's Open Up! project is about creating a collection of LGBTI movement history from Central and Eastern Europe, Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, and opening it up as far as possible to the LGBTI community and beyond.
Read more the project here
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Conference - International conference on sport and homosexuality
"Sport and homosexuals, sport for homosexuals: models of integration,examples of rejection", an international conference organised by the French national LGBT sports federation (Federation Sportive Gaie et Lesbienne/FSGL) in partnership with the Universities of Lyon and Montpellier on 2 and 3 December 2011.
Read more about the conference here
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Conference - LGBT Families, 2nd European Meeting in Catalonia
On 28 April to 1 May 2012, the Second European Conference on LGBT Families is taking place. The conference want to share the situation of legal rights and inequality suffered by children of LGBT families in different countries across Europe.
Read more about the conference here and check out the promotion trailer "Right2Love" here
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Course for LGBT Rights and Human rights activists on positive coaching
The national LGBT organisation in Sweden, RFSL, is organising a course on positive relational coaching aimed mainly at people working for LGBT Rights and Human rights. This workshop is open to people coming from the EU or Croatia, Turkey, Lichtenstein, Switzerland, Norway or Iceland. Note the deadline for applications: 1 December 10.00 CET.
Read more about the courses here
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New publication - Non-Discrimination in International Law: A Handbook for Practitioners
A new publication from Interights provides an overview of the key principles of non-discrimination and equality from each of the most important systems of international human rights protection.
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