Nov 26, 2010
Lithuanian MP Petras Grazulis introduced an amendment that would impose an administrative fine for the public promotion of homosexual relations.
The ICJ believes that such a law would violate the Lithuania’s obligations under international law to protect the rights of all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation, to be free from discrimination and to freedom of expression.
Lithuania-sexualorientation-advocacy-2010 (full text, PDF)
Nov 18, 2010 | News
The SOGI Project is pleased to announce the launch of the Activist’s Guide to the Yogyakarta Principles, a new tool for LGBTI advocacy.
ICJ-activists guide to Yogyakarta Principles-news-2010 (full text, PDF)
Oct 18, 2010
The ICJ brought the attention of UN Special Procedures to the recent arrest in Cameroon of two men for suspected homosexuality.
Bruno Afaaba (DOB 26/10/1984) and Marc-Henri Batta (DOB 3/9/1982) were arrested 27 September, 2010 by officers of the First Squadron of the Gendarmerie in Yaoundé.
The arrest came after a search of their house revealed a large batch of condoms and lubricant. The two men were detained and on 4 October 2010 they were forced to undergo anal exams to confirm, in the words of the commander of the gendarmerie, their suspected sexual activity.
According to one of their lawyers, Maître André Nlend, Mr. Afaaba and Mr. Batta were not advised of their right to remain silent or to counsel, and were in fact handcuffed during the medical exam. They are currently being held in Kodengui Prison.
Cameroon-Special Procedures-open letter-2010 (full text in English, PDF)
Jul 2, 2010
The ICJ and other human rights groups submitted an intervention in Schalk & Kopf v. Austria case.
In Schalk & Kopf v. Austria, the European Court of Human Rights held that the denial of a marriage license to a same-sex couple did not run counter to Austria’s obligations under Article 12 of the European Convention, but the Court did hold for the first time that an unmarried same-sex couple without children constituted a family for the purposes of privacy under Article 8. Moreover, three of the judges held that there was a violation of Article 8 in conjunction with Article 14.
Austria-case Schalk Kopf-judgement-2010 (full text in English, PDF)
Austria-written comment-legal submission-2010 (full text in English, PDF)
Jul 2, 2010
Irina Fedotova was convicted under a law that criminalizes propaganda of homosexuality among minors. She was holding a sign near a school that declared she was proud of her homosexuality. The ICJ’s submission to the Human Rights Committee analyses limitations on freedom of expression in light of the requirement of non-discrimination under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Russian Federation-ICJ opinion Oblast law-legal submission-2010 (full text in English, PDF)
