International and Comparative SOGIESC Law – Professor Andreas R Ziegler is now on Bluesky! Follow us at @sogiesclaw.bsky.social !
Chrysostome Moke appelle l’Etat congolais à protéger les droits des LGBTI
Le Chargé des recherches au Centre d’expertise en droit humains et criminologie (CEDHUC) appelle le Gouvernement congolais à prendre des mesures nécessaires pour la protection des droits des LGBTI. Il l’avait dit à l’issue d’un atelier de renforcement des capacités des défenseurs des droits de l’homme, membres de la société civile d’un côté, et des membres de la Commission nationale des droits de l’homme (CNDH) dans le cadre de son projet « Liberté et égalité pour tous ».
Selon cet expert, qui intervenait sur le sous-thème : « Les droits économique socioculturels des minorités sexuelles », la catégorie minoritaire sexuelle renvoie juste à des hommes ayant des rapports sexuels avec les hommes, les professionnels de sexe, les transgenres, les gays, bisexuelles, les intersexes.
Il se fait que dans la pratique communautaire, ces personnes sont victimes de plusieurs types de discrimination et stigmatisation notamment dans les milieux d’emploi, de santé, culturel… suite à leur orientation sexuelle.
« Ce qui ne devrait pas être le cas parce qu’au regard de nos textes et lois, toute attitude qui tend à discriminer cette catégorie de personne constitue une violation des droits de l’homme. Pourquoi, parce qu’à ce jour, notre législation n’a pas encore organisé des textes qui répriment tous les actes ayant trait avec l’homosexualité », a déclaré le Chargé des recherches au sein de Cedhuc, Monsieur Chrysostome Moke Tamundele.
Interesting Article: MP Bator-Brył, Prohibition of Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation: Analysis of CJEU and ECtHR Case Law Concerning Human Rights
MP Bator-Bryła – Review of European and Comparative Law, 2024
This article analyses the importance of the prohibition of discrimination based on
sexual orientation in light of the primary and secondary legislation of the European
Union, as well as the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and the …
See: https://czasopisma.kul.pl/index.php/recl/issue/view/778
USA: Trump announces intent to restrict transgender rights
In his first major rally since his win at the 2024 election, Donald Trump declared his intention to restrict transgender rights when he returns to office, proclaiming that he would “stop men from participating in women’s sports”.
Trump launched numerous attacks on trans rights throughout his first term, including banning transgender individuals from serving in the military and eliminating Department of Education provisions that maintained teachers should treat students in accordance with their gender identity, among others. Trump’s staunch denial of trans rights signifies a deepening conservative backlash against trans rights prevalent in the United States.
An example of this growing backlash is the Ohio Senate’s recent approval of a bill restricting trans students access to bathrooms. There has been additional litigation in the US regarding trans participation in sports, with two transgender girls obtaining permission from US Ninth District Court of Appeals to participate in sports following the state of Arizona passing legislation that prohibits them from doing so.
With the US Supreme Court to rule on the legality of providing transgender youth with gender affirming care this upcoming year, trans rights in America, especially for youth, are particularly unstable. Many trans people have reported preparing for Trump’s second term in office under the expectation of sweeping and pointed attacks on their rights. According to a report published in 2022, only 1.6 million people in the US over the age of 13 identify as trans, which is well under 1% of the population.
This did not stop Donald Trump from spending millions on advertisements focusing on anti-trans propaganda throughout the US election. Trans rights appear to be in urgent danger of being restricted as Trump prepares to take office.
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An Uncloseted Media investigation has found that at least six Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQ hate groups hold what’s known as Economic and Social Council consultative status
More: https://www.unclosetedmedia.com/p/why-do-at-least-six-anti-lgbtq-hate?utm_source=publication-search
Lithuania court finds law restricting same-sex content for minors unconstitutional
The Lithuanian Constitutional Court ruled on Wednesday that a provision of a law that prohibits the spread of information about same-sex content relationships to minors is unconstitutional.
The court found that Clause 16 of Article 4(2) of the Law on the Protection of Minors from the Negative Influence of Public Information (Law on the Protection of Minors) violated Articles 25 and 38 of the Lithuanian Constitution. The justices found that the formulation of the clause was unclear and that it narrowed the content of the family as a constitutional institution.
The court stated that the nation’s constitution deems the concept of family as gender-neutral, and therefore the law violated constitutional values and rights such as freedom of expression and the concept of family. Constitutional Court President Gintaras Goda announced: “No legal regulation may be introduced which implies that information on any family models and relationships between individuals is in itself inappropriate for minors.” Goda further stated that children’s development shall be based on human rights, dignity, equality, and tolerance.
Clause 16 regards information as “detrimental for minors” if it “expresses contempt for family values, encourages the concept of entry into a marriage and creation of a family other than stipulated in the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania and the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania.”
In February 2024, the former Justice Ministry asked the Constitutional Court to review the constitutionality of the law. The request followed a failed proposal for amendments in the Seimas (Lithuanian Parliament) in November 2023.
Human rights issues regarding the law first appeared before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case Macatė v Lithuania, which concerned a ban on the publication of a series of Macatė’s books. Two of Macatė’s recent publications depicted members of various marginalized groups, including same-sex couples. In this case, Lithuania argued the texts violated the Law on the Protection of Minors by depicting a different concept of marriage and family. The ECtHR deemed this a violation of the freedom of expression under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The ruling then played a part in the Lithuanian government’s decision to initiate the process of changing the law.
As confirmed in February by former Justice Minister Ewelina Dobrowolska, the ruling of the provision’s unconstitutionality makes it null and void. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda had opposed amendments to this law in November 2023. He argued repealing the law would be a “green light to denigrate the family.”
Other countries, such as Bulgaria, have recently introduced bans on same-sex “propaganda,” which has sparked discontent among LGBTQ+ activists and human rights organizations.
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Ghana’s Supreme Court dismisses challenges to anti-LGBT bill
Ghana’s Supreme Court has unanimously decided to dismiss two legal challenges to new anti-LGBT legislation that has been criticised by rights groups.
Earlier this year, lawmakers passed a bill imposing three years in prison for people identifying as LGBT and five years for forming or funding LGBT groups.
More: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crrw2r8epw8o
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The Supreme Court of Ghana on Wednesday dismissed constitutional challenges launched against a bill that criminalizes LGBTQ+ expression and advocacy.
In a televised ruling, Justice Avril Lovelace-Johnson spoke for a unanimous court and cited the constitutional separation of powers between the judiciary, president and legislature as the primary reason for dismissal. She provided that the bill has not yet formally become law, and thus the challenges made against it do “not properly invoke the exclusive jurisdiction of the court.” She stated: “It is premature for this court to exercise its interpretive and enforcement jurisdiction to intervene.” The court concluded by stating that written reasons for the decision will be provided by the end of Friday.
The bill was first introduced in 2021 as a response to the opening of an LGBTQ+ advocacy resource center in Ghana. It was unanimously passed by the Parliament of Ghana in February of this year at its third reading. In Ghana, a bill must pass three readings and receive presidential assent to become law. President of Ghana Nana Akufo-Addo stated in March that he would not assent to the bill until the court ruled on its constitutionality.
Senior Fellow at the Ghana Center for Democratic Development Abena Takyiwaa Manuh criticized the court’s outcome, stating: “I think that just this pronouncement, this kind of formalism, actually puts at risk, the lives and health of members of the (LGBTQ+) community and some of us who are human rights defenders.”
These comments build on the domestic and international criticism against the bill. The legislation criminalizes being LGBTQ+ and advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, with prison terms of up to three and 10 years, respectively. Domestically, human rights groups have called for an adjudication by the Supreme Court of Ghana for potential infringements of fundamental human rights and freedoms, including the right to privacy, the freedom of association, the freedom of speech, and the right to equality under the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana. Internationally, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has reported an increase in violence and human rights abuses against LGBTQ+ people in Ghana. HRW has urged President Akufo-Addo to reject assenting the bill.
With the legal challenges now dismissed, the bill awaits presidential assent to become law. It is unclear whether the outgoing president will give assent before his term ends. Ghana held parliamentary elections this month, with president-elect John Mahama to be sworn in early January 2025.
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Salvatore Caserta and Mikael Rask Madsen
European Journal of International Law, Volume 35, Issue 3, August 2024, Pages 727–750, https://doi.org/10.1093/ejil/chae040
Published: 23 August 2024
MoD launches £75m scheme to recognise ‘moral stain’ of armed forces’ historical ban on homosexuality
More: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/11/uk-veterans-dismissed-sexuality-lgbt-compensation
UK announces indefinite ban on puberty blockers for children under 18
The UK government on Wednesday placed an indefinite ban on puberty blockers for children under 18 years of age following the advice of a requested consultation by medical experts. An emergency prohibition on puberty blockers is currently in place and will expire on December 31. The emergency ban will be replaced with The Medicines (Gonadotrophin-Releasing Hormone Analogues) (Restrictions on Private Sales and Supplies) Order 2024, which is due to come into force on January 1, 2025.
In March, the NHS restricted the prescription of puberty blockers to minors. In May, the UK government placed an emergency ban on access to puberty blockers by minors through private prescriptions, which was extended three times. The ban was based on the advice provided in Dr. Hilary Cass’ recommendations. A claim was soon brought to the UK High Court by transgender activist group TransActual, who alleged that the ban was unlawful. However, the claim failed on all grounds and the ban continued.
The targeted consultation by the independent Commission on Human Medicines built upon the findings of the Cass Review, and made the following conclusion:
This review found puberty blockers to have no statistically significant impact on gender incongruence and/or gender dysphoria, mental health, body image and psychosocial functioning in children and adolescents. [The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence] found the quality of evidence for all these outcomes to be low and noted that GnRH analogues may reduce the expected increase in lumbar or femoral bone density during puberty.
The consultation also noted the Cass Review findings in April 2024, which found that:
…the use of puberty blockers in these circumstances blocks the normal rise in hormones that should occur into teenage years, and which is essential for psychosexual and other physical developmental processes such as brain and cognitive development and bone health. It also has implications for fertility, and the use of puberty blockers may also reduce psychological functioning.
The report clarified that young people who are already taking puberty-blocking medications or were prescribed those medications six months prior to June 2024 can continue to do so once their prescriber is UK-registered. Dr. Cass recommends that if puberty blockers are prescribed, they are only done “following a multi-disciplinary assessment within a research protocol”.
In terms of providing care to the LGBTQIA+ community, the government outlined a holistic approach to supporting patients affected by this ban, with eight regional mental health centers being established.
TransActual criticized Dr. Cass’s findings in October 2024, expressing concern that trans people were “specifically excluded from the review process”, and that Dr. Cass was not “as neutral as previously claimed.” The group requested transparency from the government as to how the Cass Review was commissioned, that the ban be suspended and that it instead support the British Medical Association’s “ongoing review of the [Cass] Review’s methodology and conclusions.”
The new legislation is set to be reviewed in 2027, and NHS England will be commencing further research trials into puberty blockers next year.
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International and Comparative SOGIESC Law - Professor Andreas R Ziegler 