LGBTI activists from new EU enlargement countries, Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia have gathered in Brussels to call on EU representatives to live up to the promise that comes with the accession process

Today, LGBTI activists from Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia met with EU representatives in Brussels to explain serious challenges facing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in their countries, and urge European institutions and Member States to live up to the hope they have given in granting all three countries prospects of becoming members of the EU.

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU has made enlargement a priority in the eastern neighbourhood region, recently opening the path for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia to join the EU. Ukraine and Moldova were granted candidate status by the EU Council in June 2022, and just last month the European Commission advised that Georgia should also receive candidate status at the upcoming December Council.

The prospect of joining the EU is an important motivation for governments to make reforms on advancement of rule of law and protection of fundamental rights. It is especially important in this context that the EU insists that the protection of LGBTI people’s human rights are a core part of those requirements, as governments are often falling behind the requirements. Recommendations from the EU regarding the human rights of LGBTI people are key tools supporting LGBTI organisations to engage with their governments and hold them accountable to the commitments made.

In all three countries hate crime and hate speech against LGBTI people remains a serious issue. While both Moldova and Georgia have legislation protecting against hate crime on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, hate crimes are consistently not registered and prosecuted. Ukraine still needs to adopt such legislation, which is currently being debated in parliament. Despite the international obligations of these countries to provide a legal framework for the recognition of same-sex couples, none of them have adopted such legislation. The inequality this creates is particularly highlighted in Ukraine at this time, where the lack of rights of same-sex partners of soldiers wounded or killed are laid bare. International standards as regards legal gender recognition are that the procedure should be quick, transparent and accessible without abusive requirements. Currently all three countries fail to live up to this for different reasons.

Says Rina Rybalko from Gender Stream, Ukraine: “We believe that Ukraine being an EU candidate country shows bilateral willingness to cooperate and integrate, especially in terms of common values, human rights standards and opportunities. This is an important step towards strengthening democratic values and supporting civil society in Ukraine, where freedom, diversity and human rights are a priority.”

Leo Zbancă from GENDERDOC-M in Moldova says: ”The LGBTI community in Moldova faces risks due to growing anti-LGBTI narratives promoted by pro-Russian forces. We see Moldova’s move to join the EU as vital for protecting LGBTI rights and ensuring the dignity and safety of the community.”

According to Mariam Kvaratskhelia from Tbilisi Pride: “Georgia should be granted candidate status and should move further on the EU integration path without sacrificing LGBTI rights and equality, which is unfortunately what the government is currently doing.”

The accession process comes with hope in candidate countries that the prospect of EU membership will help secure a better life for LGBTI people through the implementation of EU law and standards. However, the road to EU accession can be long, and hope and ambition can turn into disillusionment and disengagement if reforms are not seen through and the efforts of people and governments are not supported and awarded by the EU.

According to Executive Co-director at ERA, Danijel Kalezić from Montenegro, which became a candidate country in 2010: “In the last 15 years in the Western Balkans, we saw how the EU enlargement process can highly contribute to the legal protection and advancement of human rights for LGBTI communities. Unfortunately, we have also seen how a lack of direct and visible political support from the EU to grassroots movements in crucial moments can result in providing a space for anti-democratic movements to stop progress achieved and push the backsliding that is currently ongoing in our region.”

The meetings between activists and EU representatives in Brussels this week were facilitated by ILGA-Europe, the largest umbrella organisation for the LGBTI movement in Europe. According to ILGA-Europe’s Advocacy Director, Katrin Hugendubel, “These meetings are essential because we need to ensure that all EU institutions engaged in the enlargement process understand what is at stake – the huge potential to work for better respect of LGBTI people’s human rights through the process, but also the big risk of backlash in case the EU is not following through the accession promises.

“We see in the Western Balkans after years of active engagement on advancing human rights and fulfilling accession conditions, people are now disillusioned and the influence and leverage of the EU is quickly diminishing. Tensions in the region are high and the influence of other global forces is very real and worrying. In Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, people want to move towards the EU and democratic reforms are undertaken to do so. The EU needs to support these efforts and stand clear on its promise of accession.”

ILGA-Europe has worked with ERA – LGBTI Rights Association for the Western Balkans and Turkey, to produce our annual LGBTI Enlargement Review, assessing gaps in legislation and policy for the protection and advancement of the human rights of LGBTI people in the enlargement countries, and identifying priorities the EU should insist authorities in each country need to tackle in the coming year, as identified by LGBTI activists in the respective countries.

2022 was an historic year for the enlargement process, as the EU expanded its promise of a perspective for EU accession to include Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, following the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine on 24 February 2022. All three countries are now included in the EU’s annual enlargement reporting process. As ILGA-Europe has member organisations in all of the newly added countries, this year’s LGBTI Enlargement Review covers the perspectives of LGBTI civil society from all ten countries: Albania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.

This year’s LGBTI Enlargement Review also follows a new format. We wanted to particularly highlight the importance of implementation of already existing policy and legislation, as it has become commonplace for Enlargement countries to adopt a legal framework aligning with EU standards, but not actually implementing it. As a result, each country chapter is divided into the below headings:

• Main legislation/policy to be drafted/adopted to ensure non-discrimination and access to justice for LGBTI people (priorities for the coming year)
• Implementation of already-existing legislation/policy
• Legislation/policy in process
• Feedback on the European Commission’s 2022 Enlargement Report (where applicable)
• Recommendations to the EU

These headings are then complemented by a section linking readers to the respective country chapter of ILGA-Europe’s Annual Review 2023, in order to understand the reality on the ground and more nuanced context, which often varies significantly from legislative frameworks. The chapter on Turkey is structured in a different way, in order to present the current state of play prior to the elections in May, and will be updated to reflect the priorities that emerge after the elections.

In all of the enlargement countries, we can unfortunately identify a clear trend of rule of law being challenged, foreign influence being exerted to challenge advances on human rights, including the rights of LGBTI people, and an increase of hate speech translating into violence on the ground, as well as ongoing challenges to freedom of assembly and association.

In this context, LGBTI topics are being used to polarise society, often to distract from a broader undermining of democracy and the rule of law in these countries and other more important socio-economic and political issues.

It is thus important that the EU renews a clear prospect for EU enlargement, not only for Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia, but most importantly in the Western Balkans. The commencement of accession talks with Albania and North Macedonia is an encouraging step in this regard. It is important that the EU places LGBTI rights firmly into all its considerations, and that demands on advancing the protection of the human rights of LGBTI people are put on the same footing as important processes on fighting corruption and advancing the rule of law.

ILGA-Europe has in partnership with national organisations provided the European Commission with detailed documentation on human rights violations against LGBTI people in all candidate and potential candidate countries throughout the year which is included in the submissions to the Progress Reports.

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Gender reassignment treatment required prior to LGR

(Applications nos. 57864/17 and 79087/17), 14 mars 2019

Find here the communicated case.

Communicated case: 

• The present case concerns the Georgian authorities’ refusal to recognise the applicants’ gender identity unless they agreed to undergo gender reassignment treatment.
• In their joint submission ILGA-Europe and TGEU submitted :
  • Gender identity is a basic attribute of self-determination, which is protected under the right to respect for private life (Article 8 ECHR). As acknowledged by the ECtHR, lack of accurate identification causes suffering. The right to gender self-determination has been affirmed by the Parliamentary Assembly and the Commissioner for Human Rights; and a clear European consensus to regulate LGR is emerging in Council of Europe member States.
  • The diagnosis requirement is based on the pre-conceived idea that trans identities are inherently disordered. Pathologisation subverts an essential aspect of human personality and leads to serious human rights violations. In A.P, Garçon and Nicot v. France, the Court ruled that the requirement to undergo sterilisation or treatment involving a very high probability of sterility as a precondition to LGR was in breach of the right to respect for private life under Article 8 and engaged Article 3. Other recent regional developments suggest that the scope of the discretion available to States in the area of LGR is becoming narrower.
  • Gender identity emerges as a protected ground under international anti-discrimination law. Research consistently indicates that trans people suffer from disproportionately high levels of violence, harassment and discrimination in all fields of life. For this reason they should qualify for heightened protection under Article 14 ECHR. Gender identity is protected under Article 14, although the language used by the Court to date has been inconsistent.

Miranda Pagava, an activist with Equality Movement and a trans woman, has been attacked in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

Trans woman and LGBTI activist, Miranda Pagava was assaulted by a man who had tried to convince her to get into his car on a street in the Georgian city of Tblisi. After she refused, he verbally attacked her using using transphobic and homophobic slurs, before physically assaulted her.

Pagava later reported the attack to the police. The perpetrator has since been arrested and a criminal case has been initiated.

The transphobic nature of this attack must be taken into account by the Georgian authorities. As is clear from our Rainbow Europe ranking, SOGI grounds are included as aggravating factors in law in Georgia.

• Read more about the Tblisi attack in this statement from Equality Movement: http://www.equality.ge/en/transgender-activist-got-attacked-tbilisi/

Also the Georgian state should take decisive preventive measures, as this is not the first case of a transphobic hate crime.

• In February 2017, four trans people were victims of physical violence in the centre of Tbilisi. Ten men armed with batons, sticks and sharp objects attacked the women.
• In October 2016, Zizi Shekiladze was violently attacked in Tbilisi. She was taken to the hospital, but doctors could not save Zizi’s life, a month later she died in the hospital.
• In November 2014, 23-year-old Sabi Beriani was found dead in a rented apartment in one of the districts of Tbilisi. The investigation reported that Sabi died from stab wounds.

This joint ILGA-Europe and COC report is the first of its kind to be published about same-sex relationships and LGBT people in Georgia. It explores identities, common human rights violations, the landscape of LGBT organising, health and HIV/AIDS, and relevant legal aspects. It also provides recommendations to the Georgian government, donors, LGBT activists and international organisations.

A high level of hostility towards same-sex relationships and diverse gender identities prevails in virtually every aspect of Georgian society. Many believe them to be a disease, some see them as a sin, others as a perversion. Human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are opposed by some prominent human rights defenders and other high-level figures.

Stigmatisation is so pervasive that most LGBT people are forced out of communities, deprived of any chance to openly express their sexual orientation or gender identity, and suffer from discrimination and hate crimes. And yet they are forced to come out and organise into associations and groups if they want to be able to stand up for who they are.