Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and People 2019 Council of Europe Asylum On 11 October, Human Rights Commissioner Dunja Mijatović published a statement entitled “Open minds are needed to improve the protection of LGBTI around the world, she drew attention asylum seekers in Europe”. Noting the severe discrimination faced by LGBTI people in many states around the world, including within the Council of Europe area, she drew attention to the challenges faced by LGBTI asylum seekers in gaining safety in Council of Europe member states. She pointed to the need to explicitly recognise sexual orientation, identity and/or characteristics in asylum laws; and for these laws to take into consideration specific forms of persecution LGBTI people may face, including laws criminalising same-sex relationships, and persecution by non-state actors. She called for practical guidance and training for those involved in asylum procedures.

Bias-motivated speech Following a visit to Armenia in September, the Human Rights Commissioner called on the government to take a firm stance against hate speech and hate crime against LGBT persons and ensure that all such incidents are duly condemned, investigated and prosecuted.

Bodily integrity On 26 October, , the Parliamentary Assembly’s General Rapporteur on the rights of LGBTI people, Piet de Bruyn, called on states to implement the Assembly’s 2017 resolution on the rights of intersex people. The A call emphasised how for far too long, ignorance, shame, secrecy, unwanted medical treatment and discrimination had played havoc with the lives of intersex people and led to appalling violations of their rights.

Education On 13 December, the Council of Europe published a new report, “Safe at school: Education sector responses to violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or sex characteristics in Europe”. Developed jointly with UNESCO, the report provides an overview of this type of violence in European schools, including homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying, explores how member states seek to address it, and makes recommendations to national education policy makers on how to improve their responses.

Equality and non-discrimination In 2018, as part of its five-year monitoring cycle, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) adopted reports covering the human rights of LGBTI people in Croatia, Lichtenstein, Malta, Moldova, Portugal, San Marino, Spain and Sweden. The reports document the discrimination faced by LGBTI people in these countries and make detailed recommendations for the authorities on the actions they should take.

On 24 January, Dunja Mijatović was elected as the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights by the Parliamentary Assembly, replacing Nils Muižnieks. Mijatović took up her function on 1 April.

On 23 March, the Council of Europe’s Intergovernmental Steering Committee for Human Rights launched the second review of the implementation of the Committee of Ministers “Recommendation to member states on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity” (Rec(2010)5). The Recommendation, originally adopted in 2010, was the first intergovernmental agreement aimed at securing the full enjoyment of all human rights by LGBT persons. The review is based on a questionnaire documenting progress by member states in implementing the recommendation. During this second review, civil society organisations were also invited to submit reports. The review will result in a report, which will be presented to CDDH inJune 2019 and discussed by the Committee of Ministers later in 2019, enabling the Council of Europe to establish the main priorities for its work regarding LGBTI rights in the coming years. Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex People 2019

In a statement to mark the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia on 17 May, the Parliamentary Assembly’s General Rapporteur on the rights of LGBTI persons expressed concern at the setbacks in the daily lives of many LGBTI people in Europe, noting that not only the right to liberty and security, but also freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, had come under pressure. He called on politicians and decision-makers to promote an inclusive society in which every LGBTI person can express their identity freely and without fear.

Family On 2 March, the Danish Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers, the Danish Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe organised a high-level conference in Copenhagen on access to rights by LGBTI families. The keynote speeches were delivered by Ireland’s Minister for Children and Youth, Katherine Zappone and Denmark’s Minister for Equal Opportunities, Karen Ellemann. The conference highlighted achievements so far and challenges still to be tackled in achieving equality in private and family life for rainbow families in Europe. The conference also saw the launch of a publication by Professor Kees Waaldijk, produced in collaboration with the Council of Europe, on “Extending rights, responsibilities and status to same-sex families: Trends across Europe”.

On 24 October, the Parliamentary Assembly passed a resolution “Private and family life: achieving equality regardless of sexual orientation” prepared by Jonas Gunnarsson of Sweden. Adopted by an overwhelming majority, the resolution is the most advanced statement by any international representative body in support of the rights of rainbow families. It declared as “crucial and urgent” that European States overcome the discrimination experienced by both adults and A children in these families and called for the elimination of all unjustified differences in treatment in the field of private and family life based on grounds of sexual orientation. The resolution also includes important recommendations regarding trans parents, for instance calling on States to recognise the gender identity of trans parents, also in the birth certificate of their children, and to ensure that non-binary parents can have their partnerships and their relationships with their children recognised without discrimination.

Freedom of assembly On 2 July, the Parliamentary Assembly General Rapporteur on the rights of LGBTI people, Piet de Bruyn, condemned as as deeply regrettable a breach of the fundamental right to freedom of assembly the decision of the Governor of Istanbul to ban the Istanbul Pride march for the fourth year in a row. Reports of the use by police of tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse those peacefully gathered were also noted as worrying.

Freedom of expression On 25 January, 78 delegates of the Parliamentary Assembly tabled a Written Declaration condemning a ban by the governor of Ankara on all LGBTI related events in the province for an indefinite period. They expressed grave concern at growing intolerance towards LGBTI persons in Turkey and called on the authorities to lift the ban and restore the rights to freedom of expression and assembly to LGBTI people.

Freedom of religion On 5 July, the Council of Europe held a conference on “Interfaith Dialogue and LGBTI - Homosexuality and Contemporary Christianity Interdisciplinary and Multi-confessional Approaches”. The aim of the conference was to study the interaction between sexual orientation and gender identity and the contemporary Christianity of churches. Annual Review of the Human Rights Situation of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex People 2019

Freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment On 27 June, the Parliamentary Assembly adopted an unopposed resolution on the persecution of LGBTI people in the Chechen Republic. This followed reports in 2017 of cases of abduction, arbitrary detention and torture of gay men, allegedly “on the orders of top-level Chechen authorities”. The resolution condemned the persecution “in the strongest terms”, noting that more than 114 LGBTI people and members of their families had fled the Chechen Republic as a result. It called for the Russian Federation to conduct an impartial and effective investigation, to ensure that there would be no impunity for the perpetrators. In a separate Recommendation the Assembly called on the Committee of Ministers to consider the Council of Europe launching its own investigation, in the event of the Russian Federation failing to do so within a reasonable time.

In a statement published on 16 May, to mark the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, the Commissioner for Human Rights called for states to invest more effort in combating homophobia and transphobia. The statement drew attention to shocking examples of targeted persecution of LGBTI persons by law enforcement authorities in Chechnya and Azerbaijan in 2017. It added that these were two extreme examples, and that in many European countries daily violent incidents continued to prevent people from living freely and safely, only because of prejudices against their sexual orientation and gender identity.

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