The Zambian authorities must immediately release two young men who have been denied bail after being arrested on charges of having sex “against the order of nature”, Amnesty International said. According to state media, police in Kapiri Mposhi in central Zambia on Monday arrested Phil Mubiana and James Mwansa, both aged 21, in Ndeke village. Sources have told Amnesty International that one of the men’s neig ...

by Alberto Tetta A documentary movie gives voice to the families of lesbians, bisexuals and transexuals in Turkey. “My child” is an intense work, gaining increasing attention. We met its director, Can Candan. “My daughter is transsexual, I come from Adana”. The young woman in one of the front rows in the Istanbul cinema, Fitaş, manages only these few words before bursting into tears. “Ever since my daughter ...

“The government doesn’t need to go all the way to far away countries in order to find lesbians and lesbian parents. He is welcome to visit us here at the Kaos GL Association, which is barely 1 kilometre away from the Parliament where he works.” Kaos GL reacted strongly to the outrageous efforts by Deputy Minister, Bekir Bozdağ, and President of the Human Rights Commission in Parliament, Ayhan Sefer Üstün, r ...

The European Union should urge the Ukrainian government at the upcoming EU-Ukraine summit to end abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Ukraine, Human Rights Watch and 23 other groups said today in a letter to EU officials. The letter, signed by 22 Ukrainian nongovernmental organizations, and Equal Rights Trust as well as Human Rights Watch, called on the EU to speak out aga ...

Opportunity to reform Catholic doctrine on human rights issues By Peter Tatchell, Director of the Peter Tatchell Foundation Pope Benedict XVI was notorious for his opposition to equality, especially for women and LGBT people. Will his successor be more sympathetic to gender and sexual orientation human rights? Not likely, because Benedict has packed the college of cardinals - who will choose the next Pontif ...

Following the announcement today that Joseph Ratzinger will resign from the position as Spiritual leader for the world's one billion catholics, Pressenza republishes this article questioning the authority of the Catholic Church to give out lessons in morality. Tony Robinson writes in a personal capacity about proposals in the UK to legalise same sex marriages. Debate has been raging for months now about the ...

Joy for tens of thousands of same-sex couples The culmination of a five-decade struggle for LGBT equality Ban on opposite-sex civil partnerships must also be repealed “This is a resounding, historic victory for love and equality. It has bought joy and hope to tens of thousands of same-sex couples who love each other and who want to get married,” said Peter Tatchell, coordinator of the Equal Love campaign an ...

Vicious attacks on gay rights protesters in Russia in recent days underscores the need for the Russian Duma to reject a draft law on “propaganda for homosexuality,” Human Rights Watch said today. Russian authorities should thoroughly investigate the violence and new threats and hold accountable those responsible. On January 25, 2013, the Duma, the lower chamber of parliament, voted in the first reading in f ...

The French National Assembly should approve a bill for marriage equality, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to members of the assembly. “From a human rights perspective, broadening the scope of civil marriage to couples of the same gender is the right thing to do,” said Boris Dittrich, advocacy director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. “Gays ...

Tamara Adrián Hernández is a transsexual activist living in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela. However, what actually makes her stand out is her career as a professor in a faculty of law and as an active lawyer. She is a very well-known activist in South America. Not in her own country but in Ecuador and Bolivia, her studies on the subject of LGBT rights have made it possible for them to find their place in ...