Our submission to the EC 2024 Rule of Law report
Every year ILGA-Europe, with the expert input of its member organisations, contributes to the European Commission’s rule of law report consultation, in order to show how the weakening the rule of law and of democratic structures impacts the lives of LGBTI people and the work of LGBTI civil society.
Over the past few years it has become increasingly clear that many government-led violations of LGBTI rights in EU Member States go hand-in-hand with an undermining of the rule of law and democracy. This includes in particular the degradation of the independence of judicial systems and the media landscape.
Particularly stark among this year’s submissions is the continual problem of non-implementation of European court judgments, especially around the right of LGBTI people to respect for their private and family life and the best interests of their children, as well as judgments related to legal gender recognition.
Efforts by authorities to restrict civic space; legal harassment, threats, hate speech and smear campaigns against LGBTI human rights defenders; and inadequate implementation of hate crime and anti-discrimination laws also remained prominent in 2023.
