22 September 2023 – XAVIER BETTEL, Prime Minister of Luxembourg, stressing that States must act together as “truly united nations”, said: “I have an impression that everyone has their own definition of what it means to be united.” … He also noted that “being gay is not a choice, but being homophobic is [a choice]”, pointing out that he had to confront people who do not accept diversity.
Protests, counter-protests held across Canada over sexual orientation and gender identity in school curriculums
Protests and counter-protests were held across Canada on Wednesday over the sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) curriculum in schools, with numbers ranging from several hundred to over 1,000 participants in some cities. Arrests were made in Ottawa, Halifax, Vancouver and Victoria, including three in Ottawa for “public incitement of hatred.”
Rallies organized by the “1 Million March 4 Children” group took aim at SOGI-inclusive education policies, which they termed “the sexualization and indoctrination of our children in schools.” The governments of New Brunswick and Saskatchewan have recently implemented policies that require parental permission for students’ formal names to be changed, echoing similar views found in the United States.
The Wednesday protests have been roundly criticized as being discriminatory towards LGBTQIA+ people, and for advancing a view of parental rights that prioritizes parents opposed to SOGI-inclusive education policies. Large crowds of counter-protesters formed to meet the “1 Million March” rallies, including a march led by NDP Party leader Jagmeet Singh.
Politicians, public figures, and education boards across the country released statements condemning the protests as being hateful and permissive of violence against LGBTQIA+ people. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on X (formerly Twitter) “We strongly condemn this hate and its manifestations, and we stand united in support of 2SLGBTQI+ Canadians across the country – you are valid and you are valued.” Ottawa mayor Mark Sutcliffe, whose city saw the largest clash of protests in Canada, stated that “the protests taking place today will only cause harm to youth who are looking for our support and acceptance.”
More broadly, the rise in movements opposing SOGI curriculums mirrors a worldwide rise in laws targeting LGBTQIA+ people, notably including “Don’t Say Gay” laws in US states such as Florida and bans on transgender youths in sports. Human Rights Campaign (HRC), an LGBTQIA+ rights group, declared a state of emergency for LGBTQIA+ people in the US earlier this year, and reported that 32 transgender and gender non-conforming individuals were killed in the US in 2022.
While Canada has traditionally been considered one of the safest countries in the world for LGBTQIA+ people, it has not been immune to the growth of anti-LGBTQIA+ policies and sentiments seen south of the border and elsewhere. Statistics Canada recently reported that while Canada’s LGBTQIA+ population is growing, the number of anti-LBGTQIA+ crimes has risen as well.
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A lesbian couple in South Korea have welcomed their first child via IVF in a historic milestone for the country’s LGBTQ+ community.
More:https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/09/07/south-korea-lesbian-ivf/
Y ZHANG, S BRINKER, M CHHOY, H GHARIA – … JOURNAL OF GENDER AND THE LAW Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) 1 persons continue to
experience human rights violations directly linked to lack of acceptance by society
and States of their sexual orientation, 2 gender expression, 3 and/or gender identity
See: International Regulation of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Sexual Anatomy
Two women who took part in RIVF launched a legal challenge last year after the Hong Kong government recognised only one of them as the mother of their son, citing existing family laws.
On Friday, judge Queeny Au-Yeung at the court of first instance ruled that the government’s non-recognition was a form of discrimination against the couple’s son.
Their child was “discriminated as to his birth in the sense that, unlike other children, he does not have a co-parent, genetically linked to him,” the judge wrote in her ruling.
The court declared that the woman initially denied legal status should be recognised as a “parent at common law”, saying the move would align her legal status with reality.
“The court should be astute to the changing world where people build families in different manners other than through a married or heterosexual relationship,” the judge added.
In RIVF, a lesbian couple can jointly take part in childbearing as one woman’s egg, fertilised externally with the aid of a sperm donor, is transferred to the other woman who carries the pregnancy to term.
The procedure was introduced in the late 2000s and can now be performed without restriction in more than a dozen European countries, according to an academic survey.
As Hong Kong does not recognise same-sex marriages, the two women in the case — who were granted anonymity by the court — were married and underwent RIVF in South Africa.
Lawyer Evelyn Tsao, who represented one of the women, called the ruling “one giant step for the rainbow families in our LGBTQ community”.
“For the first time, the court expressly states that children of same-sex couples are discriminated by the current legislation,” Tsao told AFP.
Barrister Azan Marwah, one of the lawyers who argued the case in court, said on social media that the ruling was a first in the common law world.
The Department of Justice told AFP it was “studying the judgment in detail and considering the way forward”.
Earlier this month, Hong Kong’s top court ruled against same-sex marriage but ordered the government to provide an “alternative framework”, such as civil unions, to protect the rights of homosexual couples.
© 2023 AFP
Kenya Supreme Court reaffirms LGBTQIA+ organizations’ right to registration
The Supreme Court of Kenya (SCORK) upheld its earlier decision Tuesday that the LGBTQIA+ community has the freedom to associate, which extends to the formation of associations.
This case began when an application was made to the court by George Kaluma, an advocate of the High Court of Kenya, seeking the review and setting aside of a judgment delivered February 24th on whether refusal by the NGO coordination Board to register the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) as an organization was discriminatory and thus unconstitutional.
The court dismissed the application on two grounds. First, the applicant was not a party in the previous matter, and, second, the threshold for reviewing a matter as stipulated in Section 21A of the Supreme Court Act of Kenya had not been met.
The court stated:
Section 21A of the Supreme Court Act provides for the circumstances pursuant to which this court may review its own decision on an application filed by “a party.” The court cannot entertain an application for review of its judgment filed by an applicant who was not a party to the proceedings as this goes to the root of the matter and sanctity of the already determined suit which was contested by the parties.
The court went on to hold:
Both the Act and stated case law stipulate the circumstances under which this court may review its decisions, either on its own motion or upon application by a party. The applicant has not demonstrated how this matter conforms to the specific parameters enumerated under Section 21 A of the Supreme Court Act…neither has he demonstrated to our satisfaction that the impugned judgment was obtained by fraud or deceit, is a nullity or that the court was misled into giving its judgment under a mistaken belief that the parties had consented thereto. In our view, the application is a disguised appeal from this court’s judgment and does not fall within the confines of the parameters prescribed for review by statute and applicable case law.
Commenting on the ruling, George Kaluma stated, “In dismissing my application, the court disregarded the substance/merits of the application and proceeded on the technicality that I was not a party to the earlier proceedings and therefore could not apply or be heard on the substance of the matter.” Religious organizations have also expressed their disapproval of the ruling, claiming that the Supreme Court judges have “gone against God” by reaffirming their decision and allowing registration of LGBTQIA+ associations in Kenya.
NGLHRC celebrated the ruling, stating, “Today’s decision is not just a victory for NGLHRC or the LGBTIQ+ community but for the enduring principles of freedom of association and assembly encapsulated in Article 36 of the Kenyan Constitution thirteen years after its promulgation.”
Kenya has been embroiled in conflict over LGBTQIA+ rights for some time, with the legislature considering a bill to make homosexuality punishable by ten years in prison and “aggravated” homosexuality punishable by death. Currently, homosexuality is penalized under section 162 of the Kenyan penal code.
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| 12.09.2023 Judgments of 12 September 2023 The European Court of Human Rights has today given notification in writing of 15 judgments (link). Applicant tortured by State agents in Chechnya because of sexual orientation Lapunov v. Russia Russia failed to prevent and investigate hate attacks on members of the LGBTI community Romanov and Others v. Russia |
| The European Court of Human Rights was set up in Strasbourg by the Council of Europe Member States in 1959 to deal with alleged violations of the 1950 European Convention on Human Rights |
In June, the European Union (EU) announced its decision to continue funding Uganda despite the nation’s recent adoption of a highly controversial anti-LGBTQ+ law in May, which has garnered significant international attention due to its prescription of the death penalty for specific same-sex acts. This move has ignited a massive outcry and backlash from the global LGBTQ+ community.
Under this new legislation, at least five individuals have been charged, with two facing the most severe charge of “aggravated homosexuality.” The law also prescribes punishment for the promotion of homosexuality. The international response to this law has been varied, including the World Bank’s suspension of new public loans to Uganda last month and the United States imposing visa restrictions on specific Ugandan officials in June.
In a written statement delivered to the European Parliament on Wednesday, Jutta Urpilainen, the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, expressed that withholding financial assistance from Uganda due to its legislation, which mandates the death penalty for specific same-sex activities, would result in the withholding of crucial support from vulnerable communities. She also clarified that “high-level EU officials have raised the issue with the Ugandan Government, Parliament, and President. In this dialogue, the EU emphasised that the criminalisation of homosexuality is contrary to the principles of equality and non-discrimination in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.”
In response to the statement, Convening for Equality Uganda stated “The recent EU announcement misses a critical opportunity to take more strategic action to protect the fundamental principle of non-discrimination – something the EU and EU member states profess a deep commitment to.”
The EU is one of Uganda’s biggest donors, funding infrastructure projects, health programmes and food assistance.
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Canada has updated its travel advisory for the United States, warning its LGBTQ+ residents that they may be affected by some state laws if they travel across the border.
More: https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/08/29/canada-travel-advisory-travel-us/
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed an executive order Wednesday defining the words male and female, regulating how state agencies apply rules relating to sex. While Pillen asserted that the order would safeguard women’s sports and safety, opponents have criticized it as an attack on transgender rights.
Called the Women’s Bill of Rights, the order states there are biological differences between males and females in athletic abilities as well as safety concerns which warrant sex-based segregation for some athletic, social and educational spaces.
Specifically, the executive order defines the terms sex, female, male, woman, girl, man, boy, mother and father for use by state agencies. According to the order:
A “female” is an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to produce ova; a “male” is an individual whose biological reproductive system is developed to fertilize the ova of a female.
Additionally, the terms woman, mother, and girl refer to a human female, while the terms man, father and boy refer to a human male. Finally, sex refers to a person’s sex assigned at birth.
Pillen said in a statement: “As Governor, it is my duty to protect our kids and women’s athletics, which means providing single-sex spaces for women’s sports, bathrooms, and changing rooms.”
Many advocates say this executive order unjustly targets transgender people and doubles down on bans prohibiting transgender individuals from playing on sports teams that match their gender identity. Nebraska State Senator Megan Hunt responded to the order on X (Twitter). “The truth is, no executive order can erase trans people. They have always existed and always will,” she said.
Wednesday’s order mirrors similar states’ efforts to define sex and gender terms. This year, Alabama’s legislature advanced a bill and Oklahoma’s governor signed an executive order using identical definitions.
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International and Comparative SOGIESC Law - Professor Andreas R Ziegler 