Recent news
MEPs call on Nigeria to abandon new homophobic Bill
On Monday the Parliament of Nigeria continued examining a draft law to outlaw celebrating same-sex marriage in the West African republic. Members of the European Parliament have expressed their dismay at the unnecessary proposal in a country that already punishes …
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Posted in: Press releases, Recent news on November 2nd, 2011
Historic vote extends EU asylum standards to transgender people
Today the European Parliament formally adopted a new set of asylum rules for the European Union. The binding rules now include gender identity as a ground of persecution, which EU Member States must take into account. Governments have already agreed to …
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Posted in: Press releases, Recent news on October 27th, 2011
European Parliament repeats call for EU-wide anti-discrimination Directive
Twice this week, the European Parliament repeated it wants to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation across the EU. The Parliament formally called on EU countries to find an agreement on the draft legislation, proposed over three years ago.
Tags: anti-discrimination directivePosted in: Press releases, Recent news on October 26th, 2011
3 men arrested for ‘acts against nature’: Members of the European Parliament call for their immediate release
Last Thursday, police in the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus arrested three men in their private home. After five days already spent under arrest, yesterday a court prolonged their arrest for two more days, claiming the police needed to complete …
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Posted in: Press releases, Recent news on October 19th, 2011
Belgrade Pride banned: Members of the European Parliament express deep regret
The Serbian LGBT pride march Parada Ponosa, due to take place on Sunday in the capital, was banned today by the National Security Council. The Council announced it would forbid the pride march, as well as three far-right counter-protests that …
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Posted in: Press releases, Recent news on September 30th, 2011
European Parliament: World Health Organization must stop treating transgender people as mentally ill
In a resolution adopted yesterday, the European Parliament has called on the World Health Organization to stop considering transgender people as mentally ill. Gender dysphoria is currently classified as a ‘mental and behavioural disorder’ in the WHO’s International Classification of …
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Posted in: Press releases, Recent news on September 29th, 2011
European Parliament welcomes recent UN developments on sexual orientation and gender identity
Today the European Parliament joined the United Nations’ call for safeguarding the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the world. The text was co-signed by 6 out of 7 political groups, and adopted with a …
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Posted in: Press releases, Recent news on September 28th, 2011
European Commission: Banning gay men from donating blood is against EU law
The European Commission recently affirmed that EU law does not warrant widespread bans on blood donations from gay and bisexual men in several EU countries. National health authorities often cite a 2004 European Directive to justify such blanket bans.
Tags: european commission healthPosted in: Press releases, Recent news on September 8th, 2011
Podcast: Highlights of the year
As the parliamentary year comes to an end, we look back on the highlights of the year for LGBT rights in the European Parliament. We also welcome Dennis de Jong, a Dutch Member of the European Parliament, as a new …
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MEPs welcome Lithuania’s new progressive law on advertising
A new Law on the Provision of Information to the Public came into force on 30 June, outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation. Previous drafts of the law had included a ban on mentioning homosexuality, but the Lithuanian Parliament made …
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Posted in: Press releases, Recent news on July 11th, 2011
