June 8, 202215:24
A Montenegrin NGO launched a lawsuit against the state for discriminating against same-sex couples who got married abroad but cannot register their partnerships at home.
Source: https://balkaninsight.com/2022/06/08/montenegro-sued-for-discrimination-against-same-sex-couples/
Author: Nicholas Leddy
Journal of International Criminal Justice, mqac039, https://doi.org/10.1093/jicj/mqac039
Published: 03 October 2022
International crimes targeting persons based on their sexual orientation and gender identity have been documented since at least the Nazi persecution and murder of LGBTIQ+ persons in World War II, and continue in modern campaigns by ISIS in Iraq, among other places. Yet few, if any, perpetrators have ever been held accountable for such crimes, and there remains a dearth of specialized practical guidance for investigators or prosecutors. Attempting to fill this gap in scholarship and practice, this article outlines the legal basis for possible crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) as well as investigative and prosecutorial guidelines for them. First, it demonstrates how gender persecution in the Rome Statute includes persecution on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, as found in a recent case at the Colombian Special Jurisdiction for Peace (‘Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz’ or JEP). Drawing on recent ICC cases from Mali and Sudan, as well as preliminary examinations conducted in Afghanistan and Nigeria, this article further explains how the social construction of gender underpins gender persecution in the ICC system. Second, this article outlines additional avenues under the Rome Statute for accountability for violence against LGBTIQ+ persons, including the war crime of torture, or as demonstrated in the Myanmar/Bangladesh situation, to prove contextual elements of crimes against humanity. Finally, this article offers concrete recommendations for investigators and prosecutors examining these international crimes, using an intersectional, gender-competent and trauma-informed lens to better understand and address victims’ trauma, to present their evidence effectively in court, and to obtain the most complete, truthful and coherent account of events possible. It concludes that there are multiple avenues through which such evidence can be investigated and elicited in court, and encourages practitioners to do so when possible to document and honour the particularized harm this group experiences.
Slovenia legalises same-sex marriage and adoption as neighbouring countries impose anti-LGBTQ+ laws
More: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/10/05/slovenia-same-sex-marriage-adoption-eastern-europe/
UK: Metropolitan Police confirms supplying or wearing a chest binder is not child abuse
The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that supplying or wearing a chest binder is not a criminal offence after The Telegraph published a controversial article on the subject.
On Tuesday (27 September), The Telegraph published an article questioning whether wearing or supplying a chest binder – a common practice for some trans and non-binary people – could be considered child abuse.
The article referenced a page on the Metropolitan Police’s website on chest ironing, a practice that’s widely regarded as abusive and is most often inflicted on young girls in parts of Africa.
In its article, The Telegraph quoted a university professor who questioned why chest binding wasn’t considered child abuse when breast ironing was.
The Met issued a statement on Thursday (29 September) clarifying that wearing or supplying a chest binder is not a criminal offence. The force said it supports trans and gender diverse people who “freely choose” to wear a binder.
More: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/09/30/met-police-chest-binding-binder-child-abuse/
USA: Reviled LGBTQ+ military ban Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was completely unnecessary, Pentagon finds
A report into the US army’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy has been unearthed, and it found Pentagon concerns about LGBTQ+ troops and their role in the military were vastly overblown.
More: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/09/29/pentagon-report-dont-ask-dont-tell-military-lgbtq/
UN human rights office demands stay of execution for two Iranian LGBTQ activists
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Thursday demanded a stay of execution for Zahra Sedighi-Hamadani and Elham Choubdar. In August, the Islamic Revolution Court of Urumieh charged Sedighi-Hamadani and Choubdar with “corruption on earth” for allegedly promoting homosexuality and sentenced both women to death.
Sedighi-Hamadani was arrested and arbitrarily detained in October 2021 by the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) near Iran’s border with Turkey. Following her arrest, she was forcibly disappeared for 53 days, held in solitary confinement and denied her fair trial rights, including access to a lawyer.
Before attempting to leave Iran, Sedighi-Hamadani recorded a video, saying:
I want you to know how much pressure we LGBT people endure. We risk our lives for our emotions, but we will find our true selves… I hope the day will come when we can all live in freedom in our country. I am journeying toward freedom now… If I don’t make it, I will have given my life for this cause.
UN officials say that both women have been “prosecuted on the discriminatory basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, including the criminalization of LGBT people whose human rights they were supporting through speech and peaceful action.” President of Iran Ebrahim Raisi has called homosexuality the “ugliest of behaviours” and a “wretched” act. Amnesty International agrees that convictions and sentences like Sedighi-Hamadani and Choubdar’s “are based on discriminatory reasons related to the women’s real or perceived sexual orientation and/or gender identity.”
According to Hengaw Human Rights Organization, LGBT activist Soheila Ashrafi is imprisoned in the women’s ward of Urmia Central Prison and is still waiting for a verdict in her case.
The post UN human rights office demands stay of execution for two Iranian LGBTQ activists appeared first on JURIST – News.
Belgium – Reimbursement of vaccination expenses for girls only
On 18 March 2022,1 the Dutch-speaking Labour Court of Brussels ruled that the
reimbursement scheme for HPV vaccination was in breach of the Gender Act and the Anti-Discrimination Act. The decision followed legal action by the parents of a minor boy who, with the support of the Federal Gender Institute, denounced the fact that, unlike girls of his age, he was not entitled to reimbursement for his HPV vaccination.
Therefore, the judgment declared that the refusal of the defendant (the National
Healthcare Insurance Institute) to meet the cost of the HPV vaccine in favour of boys
constituted prohibited direct discrimination within the meaning of Article 19 of the Gender Act in conjunction with Article 14 of the Anti-Discrimination Act (in the case of homosexual boys).
Cuba legalises same-sex marriage in nationwide referendum
Cuba Monday voted to legalize same-sex marriage following a historic national referendum. Government officials announced that more than 3.9 million voters, or 66.9 percent, voted in favour of a new Family Code, and 1.95 million voters, 33 percent, opposed the ratification.
The new code legalizes same-sex marriage and will allow same-sex couples to adopt. The legislation contains other provisions to broaden the rights of grandparents and children, allow for surrogacy and prenuptial agreements, promote equal sharing of domestic responsibilities and establish measures for tackling gender-based violence. Following the vote, President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who has been vocal in supporting same-sex marriage, said, “justice has been done. To approve the is to do justice. It is paying off a debt with several generations of Cuban men and women, whose family projects have been waiting for this Law for years. Starting today, we will be a better nation.
Previous attempts to legalise same-sex marriage in Cuba have been unsuccessful. In December 2018 following significant opposition, the government removed an amendment that would have extended marriage rights to same-sex couples from the draft of a new constitution. The new constitution was approved in a 2019 referendum and used neutral language when describing marriage “as a social and legal institution.” This provision did not explicitly legalise same-sex marriage, but also did not ban the union.
The post Cuba legalises same-sex marriage in nationwide referendum appeared first on JURIST - News.
The Equal Rights Coalition (ERC) will meet in Buenos Aires today (Thursday 8 September) to discuss joint action on urgent issues that LGBT people face globally.
The gathering comes at a pivotal moment as ERC member states have identified a growing global threat to the freedoms and human rights of LGBT persons. It will also provide the opportunity for governments and NGOs to share best practice.
The current ERC co-chairs, Argentina and the UK, will also present a report tracking progress of the ERC’s Strategy and Five-Year Implementation Plan, published in July 2021.
Germany and Mexico will take up their roles as new ERC co-chairs during the closing ceremony of the conference on Friday 9 September. The ERC will commit to strengthening engagement from ERC members and empowering greater representation from the Global South. Germany and Mexico will also be joined by civil society co-chairs and supported by a new Administrative Unit, funded by member states.
UK Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for LGBT Rights, Nick Herbert (Lord Herbert of South Downs) said:
The UK stands for freedom – and that means freedom for all. We’re proud of the Equal Rights Coalition’s work to defend these freedoms but more needs to be done, in every part of the world, to achieve our aims.
We look forward to supporting Germany and Mexico in their role as the next ERC co-chairs. Together we can send the clear message that LGBT rights are human rights.
Argentina’s Special Representative Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, Alba Rueda said:
Argentina is a strong country in human rights and diversity. This is the result of the social and political movement of lesbians, gays, travestis, transgender people, non-binaries, and all activisms that break away from the patriarchal and binary system.
We value the ERC in this same way: as a space in which social organisations can express themselves so that states can listen to them and commit to turning their demands into public policies.
This year’s ERC Conference follows previous convenings in Montevideo in 2016, Vancouver in 2018, and a virtual event in 2021. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the UK and Argentina have held an extended tenure as co-chairs since 2019.
The conference will focus on 4 key areas, including:
Civil society organisations play a vital role in the Equal Rights Coalition. The current civil society co-chairs – Asociación Familias Diversas Argentina, Kaleidoscope Trust, and Stonewall – support more than 140 groups from across the world. The UK, Argentina, Mexico, the USA, Canada, The Netherlands and Belgium have funded some of the in-person participation at this year’s conference for civil society organisations and human rights defenders from the Global South.
In July 2021, the ERC agreed a Strategic Plan and Five-Year Implementation Plan to help guide and energise the group’s work and ensure the organisation can live up to its huge potential. The pre-conference report highlighted this prioritisation process as a “major achievement” of Argentina and the UK’s tenure as co-chairs.
France creates new post of LGBTQ rights ambassador
More: https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20220804-france-creates-new-post-of-lgbtq-rights-ambassador
International and Comparative SOGIESC Law - Professor Andreas R Ziegler 