The Council of Europe standards and mechanisms seek to promote and ensure respect for the human rights of every individual. These include equal rights and dignity of all human beings, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons.

The Council of Europe Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Expression, and Sex Characteristics (SOGIESC) Unit was set up in 2014 to address human rights challenges based on the mandate given to it by Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)5 of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers to member states on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity. In particular, it provides technical support and expertise to member states, upon request, through cooperation activities aiming at improving the legal and institutional frameworks, builds capacity of administration staff and law enforcement, but also promotes the sharing of good practices and raises awareness. Specific themes range from Legal Gender Recognition, inclusion of SOGIESC-diversity in the Workplace, combating SOGIESC-based hate crime, hate speech and bullying, as well as multiple discrimination (e.g. LBT women, LGBTI ethnic minorities, LGBTI asylum seekers and refugees, LGBTI persons deprived of their liberty).

Back The drafting of a new Inclusive Education Toolkit is on!

The drafting of a new Inclusive Education Toolkit is on!

On 25 June 2025, the Council of Europe SOGIESC Unit, in collaboration with IGLYO, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI) Youth and Student Organisation organised a drafting group meeting to continue the work started in March on the development of a new Inclusive Education Toolkit. This event takes place in Barcelona, at the fringes of the Proud Pupils Conference organised by IGLYO with the support of the SOGIESC Unit, within the framework of the EU/CoE joint project “Combating Anti-LGBTIQ Violence and Hate Speech, and Strengthening Awareness and Fact-based Narratives about LGBTIQ People.” 

16 participants from 15 countries joined three different working groups to discuss:

These three focus areas will constitute the main structure of the toolkit.

A short consultation was also organised during the Proud Pupils Conference itself, in order to tap into the expertise on youth and education of the participants attending.

We look forward to continuing this important work!

Barcelona 25 June 2025
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A campaign to promote the new Council of Europe Recommendation on Equal Rights for Intersex persons and to raise awareness, spark conversation, and show solidarity with intersex people.

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17 May: IDAHOT
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All children have the right to safe and quality education, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or sex characteristics. In the last decade, national education sectors in most Council of Europe member States started or continued responding to violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or sex characteristics (SOGIESC-based violence). This report provides an overview of this violence in European schools, explores how member States seek to prevent or address it, and makes recommendations to national education sectors to better do so.

Read the report >>