LGBT group

Community Business, a leading non-profit organisation specialising in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and a leader in diversity and inclusion in Asia is embarking on a groundbreaking study to understand attitudes to and experiences of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees in Hong Kong.

The Cameroonian authorities must immediately release two young men due to stand trial on 18 August on charges of homosexuality and repeal the discriminatory law used to imprison them, Amnesty International said today.

The two men - a 19-year-old known only as Jonas, and a 20-year-old known only as Francky - were arrested on 25 July in a car outside a night club in the Cameroonian capital, Yaoundé.

The Indian authorities must ensure that the rights of gay men are protected, Amnesty International said today, after India’s health minister described homosexuality as a “disease”.

Addressing a conference about HIV/AIDS on Monday, Ghulum Nabo Azad said sex between two men is “completely unnatural and shouldn’t happen”.

The Turkish authorities must bring into force laws that will protect lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people from widespread discrimination, Amnesty International has said in a new report published today.

On 18 June, following the Sofia Pride march, five Pride volunteers were attacked by a group of unknown perpetrators. Three of them suffered minor injuries. The LGBT rights activists suspect that the attackers followed them as they were leaving the Pride.

“This was obviously a hate crime, but the police is not able address it as such. This is the biggest problem,” one of the activists, Kaloyan Stanev told Amnesty International.

In response to violence against participants in the "Different Families, Same Rights" Pride march in Split which led to the event having to be stopped, Nicola Duckworth, Amnesty International's Director for Europe and Central Asia said:

"It is a disgrace that the police failed to adequately protect participants of today's march."

"The authorities must hold an immediate investigation into what happened. The police have to make absolutely clear that discriminatory violence is a criminal offence and will not be tolerated."

Amnesty International is calling on the Moscow authorities to overturn their ban on the city’s gay pride event, which had been set to take place on 28 May.

Moscow’s Deputy Mayor told the event organiser, Nikolai Alekseyev, and confirmed to Amnesty International, that his application to hold the event had been rejected due to the large number of objections it had received from members of the public.  

Hong Police disrupted this year’s International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) rally, threatening to arrest organizers and videoing participants, in what has been described as a serious attack on LGBTI rights and the right to demonstrate in Hong Kong.

The Ugandan parliament should reject the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that has  been the subject of public hearings in recent days before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. The Parliamentary Order Paper of 10 May indicates that the Bill could be debated by the Parliament and come up for a vote on  May 11.

The Ugandan parliament should reject the Anti-Homosexuality Bill that has  been the subject of public hearings in recent days before the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said today. The Parliamentary Order Paper of 10 May indicates that the Bill could be debated by the Parliament and come up for a vote on  May 11.

The Brazilian Supreme Court's decision to award same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexuals is a landmark step for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in the country, Amnesty International said today.

Ten judges ruled unanimously on Thursday that partners in a same-sex union have the same rights as married heterosexuals.

“This is an historic moment for same-sex couples in Brazil," said Guadalupe Marengo, Deputy Director for the Americas at Amnesty International.

Released on 27 January 2011

Amnesty International has called on the Ugandan authorities to ensure a credible investigation into the death of a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights activist who successfully sued a national newspaper which named him as being homosexual.

Released on July 15, 2010

Released on June 2, 2010

Amnesty International has warned that a Malawian couple given a presidential pardon following their conviction of "gross indecency" and "unnatural acts" could face further harassment unless the law is changed.

Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga were released from prison on 29 May 2010 after President Bingu wa Mutharika pardoned them on humanitarian grounds.

Released on May 21, 2010

Steven Monjeza, 26 and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, sentenced to 14 years in jail.

Amnesty International has condemned the suspension by a Lithuanian court of the 2010 Baltic Pride march, which was set to take place in the capital Vilnius on Saturday.

The city's administrative court on Wednesday agreed to an application by the Lithuanian Interim Attorney General to temporarily suspend the march on public security grounds despite police assurances that they are able to protect participants from attacks from counter-demonstrators.

Released on May 4, 2010

Amnesty International has called on the Lithuanian President, Dalia Grybauskaite, to ensure that the 2010 Baltic Pride march goes ahead on 8 May despite a new attempt to have it banned.

A Vilnius court is to rule tomorrow on a request by the country's Interim Attorney General to ban the march on the grounds that it would constitute a threat to public order.