The Free Movement of Rainbow Families under EU law  – Prof. Alina Tryfonidou – Neapolis University Pafos, University of Reading   – Thursday, 15 December 2022 17.15-18.45 University of Fribourg, Miséricorde, Room Jäggi (MIS 4112), Avenue de l’Europe 20       Weitere Informationen / Plus d’information :     Programm / Flyer   Wir würden […]

The Free Movement of Rainbow Families under EU law  – Prof. Alina Tryfonidou – Neapolis University Pafos, University of Reading   – Thursday, 15 December 2022 17.15-18.45 University of Fribourg, Miséricorde, Room Jäggi (MIS 4112), Avenue de l’Europe 20    — International Law in Switzerland – Professor Andreas R Ziegler

USA: Minneapolis legalizes gender-affirming healthcare for transgender community

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey Friday signed an executive order legalizing gender-affirming care for the transgender community. This happened just a month after the Ohio House of Representatives introduced a bill limiting medical care for transgender children under 18.

The order defines “gender-affirming healthcare” as all services, supplies, drug therapies, and other care that an individual may receive to support and affirm an individual’s gender identity. The order contains several protection measures that protect gender-affirming care for the transgender community. These measures include not restricting access to gender-affirming healthcare, bans insurance exclusions for gender-affirming healthcare, requires coverage of gender-affirming healthcare by state Medicaid, and requires city personnel not to enforce laws of or respond to requests for information regarding gender-affirming care from other jurisdictions.

In response to the order, City Council President Andrea Jenkins stated:

I am proud to support this executive order, especially in light of the anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and policies and hate crimes we are experiencing in our country and state right now. As we consider our work and our future at the City of Minneapolis, it’s important to focus on intentional policies and practices, including demonstrating and stewarding safe access to gender-affirming healthcare. As we know, yesterday was World AIDS Day; consider how different the impacts would have been had we addressed the healthcare needs of the LGBTQ+ community. This executive order puts us at the front of the curve instead of behind the ball.

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Interesting Publication: Faye, Shon. The Transgender Issue : an Argument for Justice. Allen Lane, 2021

More: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/315349/the-transgender-issue-by-faye-shon/9780141991801

Russia enacts strengthened anti-LBGT ‘propaganda’ bill

Russian President Vladimir Putin Wednesday signed an amended “LGBT propaganda” bill into law. The amendments significantly expand the scope of the previous legislation. Last week, the amended legislation passed unanimously in the Duma, the lower house of Russia’s parliament, and it faced no opposition in the Federal Council, the upper house.

The law, originally passed in 2013 and styled as ‘For the Purpose of Protecting Children from Information Advocating a Denial of Traditional Family Values,” laid out harsh penalties for individuals and companies found guilty of disseminating LGBT information to children. The enacted amendments will now prohibit all positive displays of LGBT relationships and lifestyles for all age groups. Roskomnadzor, Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, has been tasked with monitoring and removing material deemed offensive to Russian family values. Any mention of gender affirming surgery, same-sex marriage or non-heterosexual intimacy will be censored.

The escalation in anti-LGBT laws in Russia has alarmed its European neighbors. In 2017, the European Court of Human Rights ruled the 2013 propaganda law discriminatory and anti-scientific. Russia vacated its seat on the court in March. The UN Human Rights Council has also expressed concerns of how the law affects basic human rights and the further isolation of Russia from international norms.

The amended law coincides with a dramatic increase in censorship across all aspects of Russian life. The war in Ukraine has driven a political narrative uniting Russia under traditional values while rejecting Western propaganda. LGBT individuals and organizations within Russia are often labeled as “foreign agents” working to undermine national values.

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New Publication: Valérie V. Suhr, Rainbow Jurisdiction at the International Criminal Court. Protection of Sexual and Gender Minorities Under the Rome Statute (Springer 2022)

More: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-94-6265-483-9

Der schweizerische Bundesrat gibt Gutachten zur Ungleichbehandlung lesbischer Paare bei der Kostenübernahme für künstliche Befruchtungen in Auftrag TEXTE déposé: Le mariage pour toutes et tous a été accepté par 64 % des votantes et les votants le 26 septembre 2021. Cette modification législative, entrée en vigueur en juillet de cette année, permet également aux couples […]

Swiss Federal Council commissions expert opinion on unequal treatment of lesbian couples in the coverage of costs for artificial insemination — LGBTI Recht in der Schweiz – Droit LGBTI en Suisse – by Professor Andreas R Ziegler

Singapore decriminalizes gay sex but defines marriage as heterosexual institution

The Singaporean Parliament Tuesday voted to repeal a ban on gay sex in the country. The law was remained from the colonial era and did not enjoy support from the Singaporean public.

In August, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s announced that his government intended to repeal the law. While the law was not enforced in Singapore, many people believe it still discriminated against and demeaned gay people. Minister for Law K Shanmugam argued:

The time has come for us to remove Section 377A. It humiliates and hurts gay people. Most gay people do not cause harm to others. They just want to live peacefully and quietly, and be accepted as part of society the same as any other Singaporean. They could be our family, friends or colleagues, and they deserve dignity, respect and acceptance.

While gay sex was decriminalized, members of Parliament simultaneously decided to amend Singapore’s constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli stated that defining marriage in the constitution will lead to “greater protection” for marriage and family in Singapore. Masagos explained:

On our part, the Government is doing all it can to promote social norms and values aligned to the current definition of marriage. But it is not something the Government can accomplish on its own. The transmission of social values to the next generation is something Singaporeans practice within their own families and with their loved ones.

Other ministers and members of parliament agreed with Masagos, stating that defining marriage as a heterosexual institution is in the best interest of the Singaporean population.

Some members of parliament expressed opposition to the constitutional amendment. MP Hazel Poa argued that the issue of marriage is important to many Singaporeans and should therefore be turned over to the public to define.

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US Senate passes bill to federally recognize same-sex and interracial marriage amid Supreme Court fears

The US Senate Tuesday passed a bill to federally protect same-sex marriage in a bipartisan vote of 61-36 . The bill’s supporters included 49 Democrat senators and 12 Republicans. The Respect for Marriage Act “provides statutory authority for same-sex and interracial marriages” and repeals and replaces the federal definition of marriage with “provisions that recognize any marriage that is valid under state law.”

Additionally, the bill replaces previous provisions that did not require states to recognise same-sex marriage with “provisions that prohibit the denial of full faith and credit or any right or claim relating to out-of-state marriages on the basis of sex, gender, race, ethnicity, or national origin.”

The legislation arose after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in June. Roe provided precedent for the constitutional concept of substantive due process and aided the court in recognising the unconstitutional nature of bans on same-sex and interracial marriages. Critics fear that Obergefell v. Hodges, which ruled that bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional, and Loving v. Virginia, which found bans on interracial marriage unconstitutional, are now in danger.

If approved by the House of Representatives and signed by President Biden, the bill would allow the Department of Justice to bring a civil action and establishes a private right of action for violations. The House of Representatives is expected to approve the bill, as it passed a similar bill in July.

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Russian parliament passes law banning “LGBTQ propaganda”

The Russian State Duma Thursday approved a bill prohibiting “LGBTQ propaganda.” The bill passed the Russian Federal Assembly’s lower house in a unanimous roll-call of 397 votes to zero. The legislation will now pass to the upper house, before going to the Kremlin for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s signature.

The new legislation seeks to drastically expand similar legislation adopted in Russia in 2013. Called the “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors” law, the 2013 legislation prohibited the dissemination of LGBTQ information to minors. However, the new bill extends this prohibition to all age categories.

The law effectively prohibits the positive promotion of LGBTQ issues and public displays of non-heterosexual relationships. For violating the law, individuals can face fines of up to 400,000 rubles. Public officials can face fines of up to 800,000 rubles. Corporate entities can face fines of up to 5 million rubles and have their activities suspended by the state.

Chairman of the State Duma Viacheslav Volodin stated during the plenary session of the first reading:

We have traditions, a conscience, an understanding that we need to think about children, families, the country, and preserve what our parents have passed on to us. We must do everything to protect our children and those who want to live a normal life. Everything else is sin, sodomy, darkness, and our country is fighting this.

After the bill was passed, the Equal Rights Coalition–an intergovernmental organization comprised of 42 member states dedicated to protecting the rights of LGBTQ people–expressed concern that “these extensions of the so-called anti-propaganda law mean that any act or public mention of same-sex couples is functionally criminalized.” Last month, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed deep concerns about how the law “infringes even further on international human rights norms and standards.”

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken criticized the law as “another serious blow to freedom of expression and the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons in Russia.” In response, Volodin called the law Russia’s “answer to Blinken.”

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New publication: Aloy Ojilere (2022), Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: The Limits of Human Rights in Africa, Journal of Homosexuality,DOI: 10.1080/00918369.2022.2132577

The right to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) are integral to and manifest
in LGBTIQ rights including homosexuality and same-sex marriage. International law
promotes these rights and prohibits discrimination on these grounds. Many western …

More: Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: The Limits of Human Rights in Africa