Canada: A new hope for international gay rights

The Dignity Initiative, an LGBT human rights working group, launched on May 14 with a panel discussion. The initiative aims to advance Canadian involvement in international LGBT human rights by connecting existing human rights organizations across the country.

In addition to building on existing Canadian efforts, the Dignity Initiative is developing a non-partisan policy document that will outline recommendations as to how the Canadian government can advance LGBT human rights globally. The Initiative is soliciting public input to inform its future development via a survey for Canadian LBGT and human rights organizations available at  www.dignityinitiative.ca 
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Uganda: Hundreds gather for peaceful IDAHOT pride

Ugandan LGBT and sex worker communities gathered on Saturday (May 16) for their second annual peaceful Pride celebration, sponsored by the grassroots anti-HIV, pro-LGBT Youth on Rock Foundation.

The event was  scheduled to coincide with the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT). It brought together 240 Ugandan LGBT and sex workers from a variety of organizations for food, fun, games and entertainment on the shores of Lake Victoria.

“It was a huge sign of solidarity and togetherness. Let’s continue getting together as one community. With time, we will gain more visibility. And the more the visibility of the movement, the faster it will gain recognition, respect and dignity,” said event coordinator Frank Kamya. “Let’s not give up till our sexual and health rights are recognized, just like other rights.” Read More

South Korea: Support across sectors

The biggest IDAHOT festivity in South Korean history was held by 103 LGBTI, women’s, people with disabilities’, labor, human rights, and civil society organizations and 159 supporters. With the title “STOP HATRED and OPEN the SQUARE”, over 1000 people from all over the country celebrated IDAHOT at the Seoul Station Square. 

The organizers issued “Demands of the Joint Action for the 2015 International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBiT)” and “Resolution of the Joint Action for the 2015 International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBiT)”. Read More

Russia: Moscow police break-up rally, detain activists

Moscow policemen disrupted the Rainbow Flashmob dedicated to IDAHO, as reported by participants of the rally in their blogs on social networks. The event of launching colored balloons to the sky was to be held in the Yekaterininskiy Park, but police stopped the rally.

Activist Nikolai Kavkazskiy said “The police brought me to the bus and said that they were not detaining me, but forwarding me somewhere.” According to him, a total of 14 police officers detained LGBT activists, who planned to take part in the celebration. The detainees were taken to the police station, then policemen seized their documents and demanded to undergo fingerprinting.  Read More 

Russia: St. Petersburg’s IDAHO became a celebration of solidarity and pride

As over 350 people celebrated IDAHO in the center of St. Petersburg, the event became the largest LGBT rally as of today in Russia. Representatives of “Coming Out”, the Russian LGBT Network, Side by Side LGBT festival, the Youth Human Rights Group, and the Center for Development of Democracy and Human Rights spoke of the importance of solidarity within civil society, support of vulnerable groups, and the growing strength of the LGBT movement in the struggle for peace and human rights in Russia. Read More

Albania: Activists ask the Prime Minister to keep his promises

Hundreds of activists participated in the 4th Pride event riding bicycles in the capital city Tirana. They protested the domestic violence which LGBTI people face every day and they demanded that Prime Minister Edi Rama keep his promises to the community.

“We were only 12 people who challenged the discrimination and fear in 2012 and now we are hundreds”, said Kristi Pinderi, activist. He added: “We know we are thousand and we protest today also on behalf of those who cannot be here.  Missing is our Prime Minister Edi Rama and the leader of the opposition Lulzim Basha who know very well they give promises but they always fail to keep them”. Read More 

Turkey: On IDAHOT, LGBTI individuals face countless problems

In Turkey, as in many other regions of the world, prejudice and discrimination not only cause LGBTIs to be excluded from health programs and limit their access to health services but also deprive them of the most basic human rights. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity show themselves in the forms of violence and hate murders. While numerous LGBTIs are massacred in hate murders, many others are forced into making their voices heard through suicide. In the meantime, the government, which refuses to recognize the very reality of LGBTIs, fails to take any legal precautions to protect LGBTIs whom it deprives of basic human rights.

Social Policies, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Studies Association (SPoD) has began its journey with the goal of drawing attention to the discrimination against LGBTIs and of producing stronger solutions to their problems. SPoD has compiled 24 problems commonly experienced by LGBTIs. Read More

Lebanon: Gays come out to demand equality

As Lebanon's gay community kicks off a new public campaign to counter discrimination and the social taboos against homosexuality, its message is simple: "Being different isn't shameful. What's shameful is fighting diversity."

The group, Proud Lebanon, has roped in celebrities such as actors Christian Chueiri, Zeina Dakash and Fouad Yameen for its campaign. While Lebanon is sometimes dubbed the "gay paradise" of the Arab world, the community still remains vulnerable to exploitation.

Article 534 of the Lebanese penal code says sex "contrary to nature" is a criminal offence that can lead to jail time for the gay community. The campaign is trying to build on a 2013 decision by the country's psychiatric board to remove homosexuality from a list of mental illnesses. Read More 

Cuba: Havana Celebrates Gay Pride

LGBT Cubans marched alongside friends, family members and supporters down the streets of Havana, in the eighth Annual March against Homophobia and Transphobia.

Although over 1,000 participants may not sound as much in comparison to Pride parades celebrated in other parts of the world, the figure is quite large in a country where these kinds of public displays were out of the question until recently.

The National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX), directed by the daughter of President Raul Castro, Mariela Castro, has played a major role in this change. Mariela sponsored a religious blessing ceremony for gay couples in a dramatic sign of the changing face of a communist island that had a long history of persecuting homosexuals under her family’s rule. Read More

Council of Europe: Human rights and intersex people.

European society remains largely unaware of the reality of intersex people. However, through the pioneering work of a growing number of intersex groups and individual activists, the human rights community and international organisations are becoming increasingly conscious of this situation and are working to draw on human rights standards to address such concerns. 

This issue paper aims to stimulate the development of a framework of action by suggesting a two-pronged approach. On the one hand, it calls on member states to end medically unnecessary “normalising” treatment of intersex persons when it is enforced or administered without the free and fully informed consent of the person concerned. On the other, it provides possible ways forward in terms of protection against discrimination of intersex people, adequate recognition of their sex on official documents and access to justice. 

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First Lady of Belize, Kim Simplis Barrow statement on Diversity

In her statement, Special Envoy for Children and Women, Kim Simplis Barrow warned against bullying and the loss of basic human rights from the LGBT community. Watch here

On the state of LGBTI Commonwealth citizens

Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma statement:  LGBTI Commonwealth citizens remain victims of stigma and discrimination in many of our communities. Appalling persecution and violence are suffered merely because of innate sexual orientation and gender identity. Such abuse is unacceptable: it robs millions of our fellow citizens of the right to live lives of dignity, undermining their mental and physical health, and sense of well-being. Read More