On 24 February, ILGA-Europe and the LGBTI Equal Rights Association for Western Balkans and Turkey (ERA), published our annual Enlargement Review, which outlines the developments in recognising and respecting the human rights of LGBTI people in each enlargement country (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey) from January to December 2021. The report urgently calls on all EU enlargement countries to properly implement their anti-discrimination, hate crime and hate speech legal frameworks, in the context of rising anti-gender, anti-rights and far-right groups.

On 1 February, an appeals court in Hungary ruled against Labrisz Lesbian Association, saying that an article in a pro-government newspaper likening them to pedophiles did not injure the group’s reputation. The court ruling reversed a November 2021 decision by a lower court that found comparing LGBT activists to pedophiles was both unfounded and offensive.

In the lead up to International Women’s Day, 8 March, and the expected publication of a draft EU law to address violence against women and domestic violence, ILGA-Europe joined 11 other organisations for a manifesto for a truly inclusive EU law and policy. We call on the European Union to adopt a forward-thinking and truly inclusive approach to gender-based violence – that leaves no one behind and strives to achieve real change in the lives of all people, without discrimination. (Photo credit: Emir Eğricesu)

Recent educational reforms announced by the Qazaq President Tokaev came under attack by the Parents Union of Qazaqstan. According to the reforms, a number of state-run universities would be transferred under the trusteeship management of leading foreign universities. The Parents Union particularly opposed the transfer of the North Qazaqstan State University under the trusteeship management of the University of Arizona (AU), claiming that “the latter is famous in the United States not for the quality of education, but for providing benefits for LGBTQ+”. According to the President of the Parents Union Anar Kairbekova, AU promotes tolerance in lectures, teaches students to accept other people's gender roles, and provides housing for gay couples. She resented saying: “Do you want it in Qazaqstan? Thank you, no.” Co-founder of Feminist initiative “Feminita” Zhanar Sakerbaeva objected to Kairbekova, saying that students in all universities may identify themselves differently, and proposed that all educational institutions shall provide safer spaces to support LGBTQ+ students.

On 22 February, a coalition of LGBTQ+ and trans focused charities and human rights bodies, led by Stonewall and supported by the Good Law Project, wrote to the United Nations and the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANRHI) to formally submit evidence to support calls for a Special Review of the ‘A’ status of EHRC as Great Britain’s National Human Rights Institution. For an NRHI to achieve an ‘A’ status, which allows them to participate at the UN Human Rights Council, they must be fully compliant with the Paris Principles.

Head of the Department of Organisational and Mobilisation Work of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Qazaqstan Saken Zhusupov was questioned by a reporter, if representatives of sexual minorities [LGBTI people] can serve in the army, and whether non-traditional [non-heterosexual] orientation would be a reason for refusal to conscribe into the military service. Saken Zhusupov responded that representatives of sexual minorities are the same citizens as everyone else in Qazaqstan, and there are no legal barriers for them to serve in the military. He added that according to the Qazaq Constitution, no one can be discriminated against under any circumstances. Reportedly, according to the Tengrinews.kz, the question had risen after a few cases when LGBTI people were refused to conscribe because of their sexual orientation.

On 9 February, a court of appeal in the city of Toulouse ruled that a trans woman should be considered the mother of the child. The court said that France’s 2016 gender recognition laws have left an “undeniable legal vacuum” due to their lack of provision for trans parents, and ruled that it’s in the best interests of the child with a trans parent, or parents, to have a birth certificate that maintains their privacy and so it will be possible to list two mothers or two fathers on the birth certificate.

On 10 February, the Danish parliament passed a bill improving the rights of rainbow families in the country. Persons using home insemination will be subject to the particular rules on recognition for rainbow families, which could previously be applied only when using fertility clinics. Also, trans parents will be registered as parents in the proper gender, e.g., a trans man will be registered as a father, even if he gave birth to the child. In the Code of Judicial Procedure, paragraphs dealing with a “mother” are changed to be dealing with “the one who gave birth to the child,” i.e., getting rid of gendered terms.

On 1 February, the Coalition Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) and strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPP) victims, including LGBTI SLAPP victim Kamil Maczuga, met Věra Jourová, Vice-President for Values and Transparency in the European Commission, to hand-over 213,432 petition calling for a strong anti-SLAPP Directive. (Photo credit: Thomas Cytrynowicz)

On 16 February, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on the cases that were brought before the court by Poland and Hungary in early 2021. CJEU ruled that the rule of law conditionality mechanism is in line with EU law and can be applied where Member States breach EU law in ways that affect or seriously risk affecting the sound financial management of the Union budget or the protection of the financial interests of the Union in a sufficiently direct way.

On 16 February, ILGA-Europe, along with 86 other NGOs, wrote a letter to EU Ministers to act decisively on Poland’s rule of law crisis, ahead of the General Affairs Council meeting on 22 February. The letter addresses the major rule of law concerns in Poland, including media freedom, civic space, SRHR and LGBTI rights. It outlines how systemic rule of law violations have enabled Poland to directly attack the human rights of LGBTI people and their defenders.

RFSL, the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Rights, is accepting applications for their Rainbow Advocacy Program (RAP) which is a 13-month-long fellowship for LGBTIQ+ activists from Global South and East to affect change at home through UN advocacy. The first phase of the program will be between 3 and 16 September2022 in Geneva; the second phase will be between October 2022 and September 2023; and the third phase will be one week in July 2023, in New York.
Read more and apply before 15 March.
Check out the list of eligible countries.