Published last month, the latest Eurobarometer report, charting public opinion in the European Union, shows acceptance of LGBTI people is clearly on the rise across all EU countries. The results, however, reflect clearly that ongoing attacks on LGBTI rights have had an impact. The report has found that more than half of the general public say there is widespread discrimination in their country on the basis of gender identity (being transgender, 57%) or sexual orientation (54%). Discrimination against intersex people is in the high numbers too, at 47%. (Photo: Jennifer Jacquemart / European Union)

On 23 January, 20 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) signed a written statement regarding the Armenian Government’s law proposal for the “Law on Ensuring Equality.” The signatory parliamentarians that it is “a significant opportunity to enshrine explicit protections based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics into law” and appeal the government and the parliament in Armenia to ensure the protection of the rights of LGBTI people in the final law.

On 24 January, Michael O’Flaherty, the previous Director of the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, was elected as the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights by the organisation’s Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) at its plenary session in Strasbourg. He will serve a non-renewable term of six years starting on 1 April 2024. The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent and impartial non-judicial institution by the Council of Europe to promote awareness of and respect for human rights in the 46 member States. (Photo: PACE)

IDAHOBIT, celebrated annually on 17 May, is a global initiative that aims to raise awareness about discrimination, violence, and challenges faced by the LGBTQIA+ community. The Secretaria announced the theme for the 2024 edition as “No one left behind: equality, freedom and justice for all”. As of January 2023 ILGA World has taken a more active role around the IDAHOBIT, by coordinating the Working Group and hosting its Secretariat.

On 17 January, the European Parliament issued a resolution assessing the EU-Central Asia Strategy adopted in 2019. While broadly examining EU-Central Asia relations and trade, the resolution notably underscores deteriorating human rights situations across all Central Asian nations. It specifically addresses concerns about LGBTI rights and stresses the international obligations of Central Asian governments to uphold human rights commitments. This is particularly pertinent for Central Asian countries benefiting from GSP+ status in their trade with the EU (Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan) and those planning to attain this status (Tajikistan). GSP+ necessitates non-EU countries trading with the EU to adhere to 27 international conventions on human rights, labour rights, and environmental standards.

On 26 January, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) approved its new strategy for Uzbekistan spanning 2024-2029. Notably, the updated document addresses the issue of LGBTI rights, acknowledging that consensual same-sex relations are deemed illegal in Uzbekistan. Unlike the prior strategy (2018-2023), this new approach makes a few references about this concern, partly influenced by the subtle advocacy efforts of LGBTI individuals in Uzbekistan. This marks a historic moment, as it is the first time an international financial institution incorporates LGBTI issues into their strategic documents.

A group of LGBTI activists in Kazakhstan faced opposition from anti-gender movements due to their awareness-raising efforts. The activists developed a website in Russian and Kazakh languages, focusing on providing information for LGBTI teenagers as a crucial initiative in a country where information on LGBTI rights in Kazakh is limited. However, anti-gender organisations ‘Senimen Bolashak’ and the Union of Parents of Kazakhstan initiated a petition urging the government to ban the website. This occurred shortly after another petition called on the Kazakh Parliament to pass a law against so-called gay propaganda. Both petitions, as of now, have not gained significant public support.
Read more (in Russian).

On 18 January, a local newspaper reported that a blogger in Russia is facing charges after posting a rainbow flag on Instagram. This is the first reported case initiated under the November-dated Supreme Court decision banning “international LGBT movement” as extremist. The blogger might receive a fine up to RUB2,000 or up to 15 days of detainment and a criminal case in case of repeated “offence”. This first case, however, gave the opportunity to lawyers to access and publish the full text (source in Russian) of the Supreme Court’s extremism ruling, which gives insights about what is considered as “international LGBTI movement” and what might be signs of belonging to it according to Russian authorities. (Photo: InkBoB, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

On 23 January, the Committee on Constitutional Legislation of Kyrgyzstan’s parliament gave its final approval for a draft law, which is based on corresponding Russian legislation, proposing to introduce a series of amendments to Kyrgyzstan’s law on non-profit organisations and its Criminal Code. Although some changes have been made to the initial version of the draft law, it remains fundamentally flawed and introduces far-reaching restrictions on the activities of foreign-funded groups. If passed by the full parliament on two more readings, the draft law will be sent to the president for signature.

IGLYO — The International LGBTQI Youth & Student Organisation are searching for their next class of young queer activists for their Global Online Activist Academy, a skills-based training programme for young people across the world. If you are LGBTQI, aged 18-30 and can work through English, you can apply for the training taking place on 3-22 April.
Read more and apply before 11 February.