Hungary has fired the national museum director over LGBTQ+ content in World Press Photo exhibition

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary’s cultural minister on Monday fired the director of the Hungarian National Museum in Budapest, accusing him of failing to comply with a contentious law that bans the display of LGBTQ+ content to minors.

The dismissal of Laszlo L. Simon, who became director of the museum for a five-year term in 2021, came after Hungary’s government determined in late October that five photos on display at the prestigious World Press Photo exhibition violated the law restricting children’s access to content that depicts homosexuality or gender change.

The museum subsequently put a notice on its website and at the entrance to the World Press Photo exhibition — which showcases outstanding photojournalism — that the collection was restricted to visitors over 18.

More: https://apnews.com/article/hungary-museum-director-lgbtq-photos-fc4bc0106ae3f89b68a4bbb858279fa5

Repoat: Josep M Tirapu, Trans Rights and the Scottish Parliament: Testing the Constitutional Limits of Scottish Self-government,  Oxford Human Rights Hub

More: https://ohrh.law.ox.ac.uk/trans-rights-and-the-scottish-parliament-testing-the-constitutional-limits-of-scottish-self-government/

Repost: Kartik Kalra, The Supreme Court’s Marriage Equality Judgment – I: On the Right to Marry and a Case of Abstention through Delegitimization, Indian Constitutional Law and Philosophy

More: https://indconlawphil.wordpress.com/2023/10/21/the-supreme-courts-marriage-equality-judgment-i-on-the-right-to-marry-and-a-case-of-abstention-through-delegitimisation-guest-post/

German government wants to better penalise international crimes against queer people

German international criminal law does not currently explicitly protect queer people – the traffic light government wants this to change

See: https://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=47444

UN experts urge States to uphold the ideal of sport that is inclusive of LGBT and intersex persons

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/10/un-experts-urge-states-uphold-ideal-sport-inclusive-lgbt-and-intersex

Germany: Frankfurt Higher Regional Court allows misgender attack

The trans-hostile hashtag #DubistEinMann is a permissible expression of opinion for the Frankfurt am Main Higher Regional Court. Trans activist Julia Monro was thus defeated by Ana Julia Di Lisio from the TERF group “RadFem Berlin”.

More: https://www.queer.de/detail.php?article_id=47450

US to expel Gabon, Niger, Uganda and the Central African Republic from trade program over rights concerns [Trade Policy and Human Rights of LGBTI Persons]

US President Joe Biden announced Monday that he will expel Gabon, Niger, Uganda and the Central African Republic (CAR) from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade program due to their records on human rights and the rule of law. In a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Biden outlined his reasons for the decision, stating that the countries did not meet the eligibility requirements of section 104 of the AGOA.

Biden wrote that the governments of the CAR and Uganda had engaged in “gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.” Meanwhile, Biden stated that Niger and the government of Gabon had not made “continual progress toward establishing the protection of political pluralism and the rule of law.”

Niger and Gabon both experienced military coups in the last few months, leading the US State Department to halt all non-humanitarian assistance to both countries under section 7008 of the State Department’s annual appropriations act. Section 7008 becomes applicable when a democratically elected leader is overthrown in a military coup or where the military plays a decisive role in the overthrow.

President Biden condemned Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act in May, calling it a “tragic violation of universal human rights” and stating that he would “incorporate the impacts of the law into our review of Uganda’s eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act.”

The CAR removed presidential term limits back in August, leading the US State Department to issue a press release expressing concern. The State Department called on the government of the CAR to “announce a date for local elections in which all Central Africans can express their views at the ballot box.”

Established in 2000, AGOA offers eligible countries duty-free access to the US market for over 1,800 products, as well as other benefits. However, there are stringent eligibility criteria, outlined in section 104 of the Act, including the requirement that countries establish or make progress towards establishing the rule of law, political pluralism and the rights to due process, a fair trial, and equal protection under the law.

Biden intends to end the designation of these countries as beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries under the AGOA on January 1, 2024, but will “continue to assess whether the Central African Republic, Gabon, Niger, and Uganda meet the AGOA eligibility requirements.”

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Nepal’s lower courts reject marriage registration of non-heterosexual couple

After the Supreme Court of Nepal passed two progressive Orders directing the Prime Minister and the council of ministers of Nepal to recognise non-heterosexual marriage and establish an transitional mechanism for the registration of marriages earlier this year, the lower court’s Order turns the clock back. 

More: https://theleaflet.in/nepals-lower-courts-rejects-marriage-registration-of-non-heterosexual-couple/

South Korea court upholds law criminalizing same-sex relations in military service

The Constitutional Court of South Korea upheld a law for the fourth time on Thursday that criminalizes same-sex relations in the military. The court, which is one of the highest in South Korea, claimed that same-sex activities might undermine discipline and harm the combat capabilities of the military.

According to Article 92-6 of the Military Criminal Act of South Korea, a person who commits “indecent acts” with any military member of the same sex shall be punished by imprisonment with labor for not more than two years. Boram Jang, an East Asia researcher at Amnesty International, told the Guardian it was “a distressing setback in the decades-long struggle for equality in the country”, and it “underscore[s] the widespread prejudice experienced by LGBTI people in South Korea.” Human rights groups have argued that it does not comply with international human rights obligations.

Several of South Korea’s allies have repealed provisions similar to Article 92-6 of the Military Act of South Korea in order to align with international obligations to protect against the discrimination of LGBTQ+ people. For instance, from 1993 to 2011, the US implemented the “don’t ask, don’t tell” (DADT) policy on military service, which prohibited queer people from disclosing their sexual orientation or speaking about any same-sex relationships. In 2011, the US Congress repealed DADT policy and allowed queer people to openly serve in the country’s military. What’s more, the UK repealed the law banning on gay people serving in the military in 2000 “in response to the European court’s judgement in Jeanette and Graham’s case.”

The post South Korea court upholds law criminalizing same-sex relations in military service appeared first on JURIST – News.