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Russia adopts bill banning adoption for countries that allow gender reassignment

Members of Russia’s State Duma, the country’s legislative authority consisting of 450 members, adopted a bill Wednesday which will ban the adoption of children from the Russian Federation by citizens in countries where gender reassignment is permitted, emphasizing the need to uphold “traditional values.” The bill was approved by an absolute majority of the State Duma members in the first reading, and will now become law.

Chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, who proposed the bill, discussed the rationale behind the bill:

This decision is aimed at protecting childhood and traditional values. The absolute majority of State Duma deputies supported the adoption of this initiative. It is necessary to protect our children from the threats they may face when they are adopted or under guardianship by citizens of foreign countries where gender reassignment is legal.

This adoption ban comes just a year after Russian lawmakers passed a law banning gender-affirming surgeries for transgender people in the country. The bill prohibited transgender individuals from receiving hormone therapy, making changes of gender on official Russian documentation, and barred any who have already transitioned from adopting children. It also annulled transgender individuals’ marriages.

Russia has previously been restrictive with adoptions. In 2012, a federal law was passed to prohibit the adoption of Russian children by US citizens and in 2023. Russian media outlet RBC (РБК) reported in June that a decrease in adoption from foreigners of 89 per cent was registered in 2023, with only six children adopted by foreign nationals, due to the restrictive nature of such legislation. According to the presidential commissioner for children’s rights report, it is expected that the adoption of Russian children by foreigners will completely cease because of diplomatic tension heightened by current events.

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Turkey’s top court rules in favor of LGBT activist in landmark hate speech case

UN rights office denounces ‘horrendous’ attack on Tanzania transgender activist

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UN rights office denounces ‘horrendous’ attack on Tanzania transgender activist

The United Nations Human Rights Office condemned an attack against transgender woman and activist Mauzinde in Tanzania on Friday, calling it “horrendous.”

Mauzinde, a resident of Rahaleo, was found abandoned in the forest, beaten and with her ears cut. The UN Human Rights office said that she had been “tortured & sexually assaulted by 12 men” and called for “bold action to combat discrimination against #LGBTIQ+ people and other minorities.”

The attack could be a violation of Mauzinde’s rights under international and Tanzanian law. Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights mandates that “each State Party to the present Covenant undertakes to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in the present Covenant, without distinction of any kind,” such as sex or other status. Furthermore, Principle 2 of the Yogyakarta Principles stipulates that everyone is entitled to enjoy all human rights without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Principle 5 also emphasizes that everyone “has the right to security of the person and to protection by the State against violence or bodily harm, whether inflicted by government officials or by any individual or group.”

Additionally, according to Article 13 of the Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania, “all persons are equal before the law and are entitled, without any discrimination, to protection and equality before the law.”

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