On 30 March 2021, the Sexual Orientation and Gender identity Unit of the Council of Europe participated in the webinar “LGBTIQ+ Equality in the EU – Now and When?” organized by the Department of Transport LGBT+ Staff Network and the LGBT+ Staff Network in the Department of Justice of Ireland. The event presented the work of the SOGI Unit, the EU Commission LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025 and the reality of transgender activism in Montenegro. Eleni Tsetsekou, head of the SOGI Unit, presented the work of the Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights on ensuring equality for LGBTI persons in the member states, with special focus on the implementation of the recommendation CM/Rec (2010)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity. The discussion featured interventions from Jovan Džoli Ulićević, Co-Chair of TGEU, Margherita Logrillo, Policy Assistant in the Non-discrimination and Roma coordination Unit of the Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers of the European Commission, Claire Farell, former Dublin City Councillor and trans advocator, and Gerard Keown, UN Director in the Department of Foreign Affairs.
11th Anniversary of the Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec (2010/5) on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of SOGI - What is this Recommendation about?
Today, 31 March 2021, marks the 11th anniversary of this historical recommendation, which is the first international instrument dealing specifically with discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The recommendation advocates the full enjoyment of all human rights by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. It establishes that discrimination and social exclusion on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity must be overcome by measures targeted both at those who experience such discrimination or exclusion, and the population at large. The recommendation sets out the principles deriving from existing European and international instruments and identifies specific measures to be adopted and effectively enforced by member states in order to combat SOGI-based discrimination in twelve thematic fields: Right to life, Freedom of association, Freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, Right to respect for private and family life, Employment, Education, Health, Housing, Sports, Right to Seek Asylum, National Human Rights Structures, Discrimination on multiple Grounds.
