Yesterday the European Parliament adopted a resolution on human rights violations in Nigeria and amongst other things called on Nigeria not to adopt the bill currently being debated. The bill is entitled the 'Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act' and it would impose a five-year prison sentence on anyone who 'performs, witnesses, aids or abets the ceremony of same sex marriage', but also on anyone involved publicly or privately in positive representation of or advocacy for same sex relationships.

Today people around the world mark International Women’s Day. While Europe has made huge progress towards gender equality, women are still being discriminated against and disadvantaged in many areas of life.

Today at the European Parliament, ILGA-Europe in cooperation with the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights, launched a Shadow Directive on Equal Treatment of Persons Irrespective of Sexual Orientation which aims at extending protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation to areas outside employment such as social protection, social benefits, education, provisions of goods and services, and housing.

On the 1st March 2007, the new European Fundamental Rights Agency will start its work. The European Fundamental Rights Agency will work to ensure the European Convention of Human Rights and the European Union Charter on Fundamental Rights is applied properly in the application of laws adopted by EU. The Regulation establishing the Agency whose tasks would be to provide information and data on fundamental rights was published yesterday.

On 14 February 2007 a written declaration of the European Parliament on “Combating homophobic bullying” will be presented in Strasbourg during a joint meeting of the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights and the Trade Union Coordination Group. The declaration strongly condemns homophobic bullying and calls on EU member states to implement a range of action to eradicate it.