OUTfront! Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Human Rights


International Briefs – Fall 2006


Slovenia: Same-sex partnership law takes effect

Slovenia's Parliament has passed legislation recognizing the rights of same-sex couples. A law that went into effect on July 23 in the country formed from the former Yugoslavia allows gay and lesbian couples to recognize their partnerships.

Gay groups have welcomed the law but criticized certain restrictions placed on the ceremony. Only the two partners and a registrar may be present and the ceremony must take place in a government office. Couples must apply for registration 30 days in advance and prove they are sane, healthy, and unmarried.

Slovenia is the second former Soviet republic to establish civil unions after Czech Republic enacted a civil partnership law earlier in July.
Sources: 365Gay.com, July 24; Gay.com, July 24; Rex Wockner, July 31.


Chile: Lesbian denied custody goes to international court

Karen Atala, a lesbian who was denied custody of her three children by Chile's Supreme Court, has taken her case to the Organization of American States' Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

In 2004, the Chilean court ruled that Judge Atala's lesbian life created “a situation of risk” for her children and decided the case in favor of her ex-husband. The Inter-American Commission has accepted the case, which will be heard under the grounds that due process was not respected, the right to privacy was violated, and the right of Atala's children to be heard was completely set aside.

The outcome of the case may have repercussions in several Latin American nations whose constitutions stipulate that rulings by the Inter-American system override those of their own courts.
Sources: Gay.com, July 11; Rex Wockner, July 31.


South Africa: Thousands protest gay marriage bill

Thousands of people participated in protests that were staged across South Africa on September 16 to denounce legislation that would allow same-sex couples full marriage rights.

Last December, the Constitutional Court, the highest court in South Africa, ruled that it was unconstitutional to deny gay and lesbian couples the right to marry. The court ordered Parliament to amend marriage laws within 12 months. If it fails to act within that timeframe, the court said the ruling would automatically change the law to include same-sex unions. Last month the cabinet approved legislation to permit same-sex marriage that would also give rights to unmarried gay and non-gay couples.
Sources: 365Gay.com, Aug. 2, Sep. 7, Sep. 17; Reuters, Sep. 17.


Zimbabwe: Criminal code revision further threatens gay rights

The Zimbabwean government has announced a new law making it a criminal offense for members of the same sex to hold hands, hug, or kiss. The “sexual deviancy” law is one of 15 additions to Zimbabwe's criminal code passed in July. It expands the definition of sodomy to include “any act involving physical contact that would be regarded by a reasonable person to be an indecent act.”

Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe's president, has a long history of homophobia. He has called homosexuality a “white disease” and commonly refers to gays and suspected gays as “less than pigs and dogs.”
Sources: Iglhrc.org, July 31; 365Gay.com, July 17.


Iraq: Gays flee Iraq as Shia death squads find a new target

Hardline Islamic insurgent groups in Iraq are targeting a new type of victim under the protection of Iraqi law. The country is seeing a sudden escalation of brutal attacks on what are being called the “immorals” – homosexual men and children as young as 11 who have been forced into same-sex prostitution.

There is growing evidence that Shia militias have been killing men suspected of being gay and children who have been sold to criminal gangs to be sexually abused. Last October, a fatwa issued by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, the supreme Shia authority in Iraq, called for all homosexuals to be killed “in the worst, most severe way of killing.”

Amnesty International issued a statement to express concern over any violent acts that appear to have discriminatory motives.
Sources: The Observer, August 14; Democracy Now!, March 23; Gaycitynews.com, March 23.


Estonia: Bomb threat, attacks mar Estonia Pride

Officials said that about 15 people were injured by protestors who battered the marchers of a gay pride parade in Tallinn on August 12. Minor injuries were caused by assailants throwing stones and sticks. The start of the parade was delayed by some 20 minutes by a bomb threat made before the event.

The parade capped a week of pride events in the city that included a small film festival, volleyball tournament, and family picnic. It was organized by the Estonian Union of Gays and Lesbians. This summer's parade was the third held in the city and the largest, with some 500 participants.

Earlier this year the Union called on the Estonian Parliament to legalize same-sex partnerships. The government has never responded to the call.
Sources: Gay.com, August 14; 365Gay.com, August 12.


Latvia: Riga Pride trashed by protesters

The second effort to stage a gay pride parade in Riga, Latvia, turned into a disaster on July 22. The City Council issued a ban on the planned parade, violating European and international standards regarding freedom of assembly and expression.

In lieu of a parade, activists staged a religious service at the Anglican church, but scores of angry protesters gathered outside to hurl human excrement, eggs, and verbal abuse at gays and lesbians as they left the building.

Latvia's Prime Minister, Aigars Kalvitis, opposed last year's parade, where a few dozen marchers were outnumbered by hundreds of angry protesters. In June, Latvia defied the European Union by refusing to introduce a law banning discrimination at work on grounds of sexual orientation.
Sources: Rex Wockner, July 31; BBC News, June 16 and July 17.