Human Rights Watch

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Panama: Bill Bars Same-Sex Couples from Adoption

Panama’s National Assembly passed a bill on March 3, 2021, that includes a discriminatory prohibition on adoption by same-sex couples, Human Rights Watch said today. Bill No.120, which aims to protect children and adolescents from unnecessary separation from their biological family, allows for adoption by both single persons and married couples. However, not only are same-sex marriages not yet legal in Panama, but the bill defines eligible married couples as those composed of partners of “different sex.” President Laurentino Cortizo should veto articles 22 and 26 of the bill, which violate international human rights standards on non-discrimination, respect for private and family life, and […]

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Global Trends in LGBT Rights During the Covid-19 Pandemic

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It’s impossible to evaluate what the year 2020 looked like from the perspective of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people’s rights without recognizing how Covid-19 put a spanner in the works and made for an especially tumultuous year, including for LGBT people. The Covid-19 pandemic exposed fault lines of inequality, leaving some more vulnerable than others regarding infection, prognosis, and economic impact – including within LGBT communities. In countries where LGBT people face social stigma, moral opprobrium and legal discrimination, they have fewer economic opportunities, and more likely to be poor, particularly in contexts where some LGBT people were left out of […]

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Tunisia: Police Arrest, Use Violence Against LGBTI Activists

Tunisian security forces have repeatedly targeted protesters, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) activists at protests, Human Rights Watch said today. The targeting involved arbitrary arrests, physical assaults, threats to rape and kill, and refusing access to legal counsel. Human Rights Watch documented cases in which the police have singled out LGBTI activists for particular mistreatment at protests. At the same time, social media posts have harassed LGBTI activists, revealing their personal information including home addresses and phone numbers, and “outing” them. Individuals also smeared them online based on their sexual orientation or gender identity and posted their photos with messages inciting violence […]

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Child of Lesbian Mothers Has Right to Bulgaria Citizenship

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A child born to Bulgarian and British mothers has been denied Bulgarian citizenship and is now at risk of being stateless. “Baby S” was born in December 2019 in Spain and although the baby’s birth certificate was issued by Spain with both mothers listed as parents, the baby cannot get Spanish citizenship because neither mother is Spanish. Citizenship cannot be acquired from the British mother of “Baby S” who is from Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory, as she acquired her British citizenship by descent. When “Kalina”—the pseudonym for the mother from Bulgaria—applied for the couple’s child to acquire Bulgarian citizenship, Bulgarian authorities […]

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Oklahoma Wants to Make Gender-Affirming Care a Crime

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Oklahoma lawmakers have introduced a new bill that would make it a felony to provide gender-affirming medical treatment, other than counseling, to anyone under the age of 21. Such treatment can alleviate gender dysphoria and postpone puberty to give children time to explore their gender identity. The bill would punish doctors, parents, and even children themselves with penalties of up to life imprisonment. Oklahoma’s bill is extreme, taking autonomy away from young adults and imposing draconian punishments, and is part of a worrying larger trend. Across the US, state lawmakers are once again introducing a slew of bills that seek to block transgender children […]

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Japan: Introduce LGBT Equality Act Before Olympics

 Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga of Japan should commit to introducing a law to protect against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, J-ALL, Athlete Ally, All Out and Human Rights Watch said today. 116 human rights and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) organizations sent a letter supporting such legislation to the prime minister on January 25, 2021, six months ahead of the day when the torch is scheduled to be lit at the Tokyo Olympics. Tokyo was slated to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, but the International Olympic Committee and the Japanese government postponed the games for a year due […]

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President Biden Should Cement Rights in US Policy

US President-elect Joe Biden should work with global leaders who have sought to shore up a defense of human rights around the world, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its World Report 2021. His administration should also look for ways to entrench respect for human rights in US policy that are more likely to survive the radical changes among administrations that have become a fixture of the US political landscape. “After four years of Trump’s indifference and often hostility to human rights, including his provoking a mob assault on democratic processes in the Capitol, the Biden presidency provides an opportunity […]

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No Safe Haven for LGBT People in El Salvador

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Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele agreed on December 15 to implement an Asylum Cooperative Agreement with the US government. It allows US immigration authorities to transfer non-Salvadoran asylum seekers to El Salvador, instead of allowing them to seek asylum in the US. US President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to terminate the deeply flawed agreement, a deeply flawed deal that presupposes El Salvador can provide a full and fair asylum procedure and protect refugees. But for some groups, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, El Salvador provides no safe haven. Its own LGBT citizens lack protection from violence and discrimination.  A recent Human Rights […]

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“Kill Them, They Are Sodomites” Police Violence Against LGBT Folks in Tunisia

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On October 6, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) activists in Tunisia raised their voices and banners in the street, amid the hundreds of demonstrators who were peacefully protesting a draft law that would drastically limit criminal accountability for the use of force by the security forces. By a cruel irony, police attacked the demonstrators, including LGBT activists, and arbitrarily arrested them. The proposed law, if passed, would embolden security forces in their use of excessive force and send an alarming message to Tunisians, especially members of marginalized groups, already vulnerable to police misconduct, that they will not be protected from police violence. For LGBT people, who are often excluded […]

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Women Athletes Undergoing Invasive Medical Procedures without Consent

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After training for hours on end, year after year, some women athletes – particularly those competing on the world stage – are getting their careers and successes ripped away because of “sex testing,” practices, which are invasive and medically unnecessary procedures based on disputed science that dictates what “natural” testosterone levels can be for women, and the role it plays in performance. Women from the global south are disproportionately targeted. Sporting officials demand that these women undergo irreversible sterilization surgeries or hormone therapies to have a chance at competing again. Philippa Stewart spoke to Dr. Payoshni Mitra, who has worked […]

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