ILGA-Europe is very concerned that the Council of Europe has allowed itself to be used as a platform for an attack on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights by Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia.

A European Youth Forum (YFJ) seminar on ‘Multiple Discrimination as it affects young people’ is being held in Brussels from 20-22 September. This YFJ event is being organised in partnership with five other civil society platforms: the European Region of the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA-Europe); the European Older Peoples’ Platform (AGE); the European Network Against Racism (ENAR); the European Disability Forum (EDF) and the European Women’s Lobby (EWL).

On 25-28 October 2007, ILGA-Europe holds its 11th Annual Conference (29th ILGA European Annual Conference) in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius. The title of this conference is “LGBT Rights are Human Rights – Respect, Recognition and Responsibilities”.

Today the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg delivered its judgment in the case of L. v. Lithuania. The Court said that while Lithuanian law had recognised transsexuals’ right to change not only their gender but also their civil status, there was a gap in the law regulating full gender reassignment surgery which created an impediment for the transsexual person to complete this process and therefore Lithuania violated Article 8 (right to respect of private and family life) of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Today Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer Damaso, an Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg delivered his opinion in a landmark case before the court which is favourable to same-sex partners (case of Tadao Maruko v. Versorgungswerk der deutschen Bühnen).