SOGI Newsroom
Dudgeon v. the United Kingdom, 22 October 1981
The 40th anniversary of a key European Court of Human Rights case that led to the decriminalisation of homosexuality - a turning point for LGBTI persons
The fight for LGBTI persons to enjoy their human rights has not been an easy one. 40 years ago today, Jeffrey Dudgeon found justice at the European Court of Human Rights, after facing police raids, intrusive interrogation about his sexual activities and the confiscation of his personal letters...
Deadline: 25 October 2021
Applications open: European Police Training on Hate Crime Against LGBTI Persons 28-29 October
The Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) Unit of the Council of Europe in partnership with the European LGBT Police Association (EGPA) is offering an online Training on Policing Hate Crime against LGBTI persons, on 28 and 29 October 2021. The training The training intends to increase...
Roundtable on Legal gender recognition in Cyprus - 15 October
A roundtable on Legal gender recognition in Cyprus will be organised at the Cypriot House of Representatives on 15 October 2021, to discuss the legal and practical situation of transgender and intersex persons with regard to legal gender recognition in Cyprus. The event will be co-organised by...
European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI)
Council of Europe body concerned by the non-implementation by Russia of its priority recommendations on abolishing the so-called “gay propaganda” legislation
The Russian Federation has not implemented the priority recommendations made in March 2019 by the Council of Europe’s commission against racism and intolerance (ECRI) to abolish the legal ban on the provision of information about homosexuality to minors. It has not set up a body independent of...
Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
PACE Report denounces the rise in hatred against LGBTI persons
The Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe published a compelling report by MP Fourat Ben Chikha (Belgium, SOC) denouncing the rise in hatred against LGBTI persons and deploring anti-gender narratives that reduce the fight for human...
LGBTI-related case assigned to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, the most important judicial formation of the court
The Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has relinquished jurisdiction of the case Macatė v. Lithuania relating to an LGBTI fairy tale book deemed "harmful" for children under the age of 14 to the Grand Chamber of the Court. A Grand Chamber hearing is rather exceptional, and concern...
New factsheet on the execution of the ECHR judgments related to LGBTI persons rights
The Council of Europe Execution of ECHR judgments Department issued today a new thematic factsheet focusing on the execution of ECHR judgments concerning the rights of LGBTI persons. According to the European Court of Human Rights, the principle of non-discrimination is "fundamental" and...
Copenhagen 2021 - WorldPride & EuroGames
Deputy Secretary General Bjorn Berge addresses Human Rights Conference in Copenhagen
“Much progress has been achieved in Europe and many LGBTI people can march in many streets throughout our continent, stating their rightful pride in who they are, but much more remains to be done,” said Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Bjorn Berge today in his address to the...
Council of Europe at the Human Rights Conference - 17-19 August
WorldPride and EuroGames in Copenhagen and Malmö, 12–22 August 2021
The Council of Europe Deputy Secretary General Björn Berge, the Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic, and the SOGI Unit are proudly participating in the Human Rights Conference of WorldPride Copenhagen–Malmö and EuroGames 2021, the most important event to promote Pride – LGBTI...
Commissioner for Human Rights warns about the harmful trend of political manipulation of homophobia and transphobia in Europe that “must be tackled without further delay”
Dunja Mijatović, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights published a Human Rights Comment on political manipulation of homophobia and transphobia with examples from all over Europe. The Commissioner affirmed how her office’s work on LGBTI shows that the worrying rise in intolerance of...
