Over the past few years it has become increasingly clear that many government-led violations of LGBTI rights in EU Member States go hand-in-hand with an undermining of the rule of law and democracy. This includes in particular the degradation of the independence of judicial systems and the media landscape.

Particularly stark among this year’s submissions is the continual problem of non-implementation of European court judgments, especially around the right of LGBTI people to respect for their private and family life and the best interests of their children, as well as judgments related to legal gender recognition.

Efforts by authorities to restrict civic space; legal harassment, threats, hate speech and smear campaigns against LGBTI human rights defenders; and inadequate implementation of hate crime and anti-discrimination laws also remained prominent in 2023.

Today at a conference in Ljubljana, organised by Europe’s leading LGBTI organisation, ILGA-Europe, Slovenia’s State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Dan Juvan, committed to the next steps in preparing the National Strategy for the Equality of LGBTIQ+ Persons. 

Today, October 27, marks a significant step forward in the journey toward equality and inclusion for the LGBTIQ+ community in Slovenia.

At a press conference during the ILGA-Europe Annual Conference in Ljubljana, which brings together hundreds of LGBTI activists from 54 countries in Europe and Central Asia, Slovenia’s State Secretary at the Ministry of Labour, Dan Juvan (MDDSZEM), further committed to the preparation and publication of the country’s first national strategy for LGBTIQ+ persons.

“Homophobic and transphobic violence exists and remains; individuals do not feel safe. That is why I am here, representing the ministry and the Levica party, to commit ourselves to addressing this issue. In the end, it is crucial that we discuss specific policies and measures to identify problems and find solutions,” State Secretary Juvan said.

This further commitment comes after the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs, and Equal Opportunities was directed by the Parliamentary Commission for Petitions, Human Rights, and Equal Opportunities last July to prepare and adopt the National Strategy for the Equality of LGBTIQ+ Persons in Slovenia in 2024.

Slovenia has made progress in safeguarding LGBTI rights, but challenges persist, particularly in areas concerning legal protection, education, healthcare, and overall social security. The urgent need for a comprehensive National Strategy for the Equality of LGBTIQ+ Persons in Slovenia is underscored by the rise in anti-LGBTIQ+ rhetoric and physical violence against LGBTIQ+ people in the country.

Over the next 14 months, the Slovenian government has committed to engaging in extensive consultations with civil society representatives and relevant institutions across various sectors. These consultations will form the foundation of our National LGBTIQ+ strategy and action plan, ensuring that it is effective and reflective of the diverse needs of the community.

Also in attendance at the press conference was Head of the Slovenian Equality Body, Miha Lobnik.

“In Slovenia, we have committed to implementing systematic anti-discrimination policies,” Lobnik said. “However, we lack a central focal point that systematically addresses minority issues, aligning with both national and EU commissions’ expectations.

“The government must take responsibility for systematically and effectively addressing minority concerns. Today’s discussion was a chance to focus on this area. I have called on governments twice before, and now this government faces the challenge of actually following through. A clear plan and concrete steps are crucial.

According to Katja Štefanec of Ljubljana Pride Association: “We recognise the crucial roles of both our Ministry of Education and Ministry of Labour in this process and are actively seeking cross-sectoral cooperation with various stakeholders, as we aim to enhance the impact of the strategy across diverse areas of influence and change-making efforts.

“We look ahead to 2024 with big expectations and will work closely with those responsible for the creation of a create a strategy that will enhance the protection of LGBTIQ people’s human rights in Slovenia and create a more inclusive, accepting society for all.”

ILGA-Europe’s Advocacy Director, Katrin Hugendubel added: “Over the past few years, we have seen a stark rise in the levels and severity of anti-LGBTI hate and violence across Europe. In this context and at this moment in time, we very much welcome the political commitment of the Slovenian government to develop a national action plan to tackle LGBTIQ+ discrimination by the end of 2024. We echo the call of national LGBTIQ+ organisations that they are involved in the development of the plan over the next 12 months. Their close involvement is essential, as they know the realities of the needs of the community this plan will address.”

The submission covers developments in eight EU Member States as regards rule of law developments in the countries which have had an impact on the fundamental rights of LGBTI people and their democratic participation, with a focus on the past year (2022).

We have kept our inputs relevant to the content asked for by the consultation, and therefore we have not included all fundamental rights violations against LGBTI people, or all restrictions experienced by LGBTI civil society in the respective countries. We have only included them where there is a clear link to the issues of rule of law contained in the consultation.

Notably the submission covers the following topics:

• Manipulation of judicial processes to attempt to erode the human rights of LGBTI people and their access to justice;
• Politicians attempting to discredit and delegitimise the rulings of courts that uphold the rights of LGBTI people;
• Harassment and intimidation of LGBTI human rights defenders by law enforcement/prosecution services;
• Smear campaigns and negative narratives against LGBTI people, particularly where independence of media is threatened;
• SLAPPs against activists or journalists reporting on topics of public interest related to LGBTI;
• Censorship of LGBTI content;
• Tabling and adoption of laws aiming to reduce fundamental rights of LGBTI people;
• Tabling of laws aimed at restricting the functioning of civil society organistions;
• Arbitrary application of Covid-19 regulations to attempt to restrict the freedom of assembly of LGBTI people;
• Continued non-implementation of CJEU or ECtHR judgements which would improve the lives of LGBTI people;
• Anti-LGBTI discriminatory speech from political and religious leaders affecting public perception of LGBTI CSOs and creating an unsafe climate for LGBTI human rights defenders;
• Insufficient implementation of legal protection (e.g. protection against hate crime) for LGBTI people by responsible services, sometimes including Ombudspersons.

As we get ready to travel to Bulgaria for the ILGA-Europe annual conference in Sofia this week, we’re delighted to announce that the city for next year’s conference has been chosen.

The 24th Annual ILGA-Europe conference will take place in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia this week, from October 19-22, where 350 participants, alongside our staff and board members, will attend workshops, plenaries and activities all under the theme, ‘Shaping the World to Come’.

Excited as we are to be meeting with activists again in person, after a two-year hiatus, we’re also delighted to announce that the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, in the heart of Central Europe, has been chosen as the location for our Annual Conference in 2023.

We’re looking forward to beginning our work with LGBTI host organisations in Ljubljana to organise the 25^th ILGA-Europe Annual Conference, and we’ll be announcing the exact dates as soon as they are tied down.

In the meantime, we look forward to being with our host organisations in Sofia – Bilitis, Deystvie and Glas Foundation – to share the energy, connection, learning and laughter of the ILGA-Europe annual conference once more!

Expert contributions were provided by organisations PROUD (Czech Republic), LGBT komiteen (Denmark), Inter-LGBT (France), Háttér Társaság (Hungary), KPH & Atlas of Hate (Poland), ACCEPT (Romania), and Legebrita (Slovenia).

The developments encompassed in the submission point to systematic attacks on the fundamental rights of LGBTI people enabled by the weakening of rule of law and democratic structures. We have not included all fundamental rights violations against LGBTI people, or all restrictions experienced by LGBTI civil society in the respective countries, only those which are relevant to the respective headings of the consultation, where there is a clear link to rule of law.

Notably the submission covers the following topics:

• Political interference or bias in court cases related to LGBTI rights, in particular where independence of the judiciary is under attack;
• Anti-LGBTI bias, smear campaigns and censorship of LGBTI content, in particular where media freedom is under attack;
• Funding restrictions or discriminatory distribution of public or EU funds, affecting LGBTI organisations;
• Arbitrary application of Covid-19 regulations to attempt to restrict the freedom of assembly of LGBTI people;
• Covid-19 emergency measures affecting the process of preparing and enacting laws (exclusion of LGBTI CSOs in consultation phases or even fast-track adoption of legislation directly attacking LGBTI people);
• Non-implementation of CJEU or ECtHR judgements which would improve the lives of LGBTI people;
• Judicial harassment of LGBTI activists (in particular SLAPPs);
• Insufficient follow-up of anti-LGBTI hate crime cases;
• Anti-LGBTI discriminatory speech from political and religious leaders affecting public perception of LGBTI CSOs and creating an unsafe climate for LGBTI human rights defenders (in some cases leading to attacks on CSO offices, employees and volunteers).

Surveys on sexual orientation discrimination in countries joining the European Union.

This report is a comparative summary of national reports written in ten countries (Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania). It highlights the violence and discrimination some people face because of their sexual orientation.

The data and statements collected show that discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation affects several areas of the life of lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) people. Discrimination exists in the family, in education, in the workplace, in the army, in health services, in housing and in the church. In order to end such discrimination and human rights abuses, the report puts forward some recommendations to the new member states and to the European Union institutions. 

These recommendations concern changes in the law, policies and practices affecting LGB people in the accession countries. It aims at reinforcing the instruments dealing with discrimination in the EU and in the member states.

This report, from 2001, maps the legal and social situation of lesbians and gay men in 13 candidate countries to EU accession.

Three years after the publication of the “Equality Report” on the situation of lesbians and gay men in the EU Member States, ILGA-Europe has produced the current report, “Equality for Lesbians and Gay Men – A Relevant Issue in the EU Accession Process”, with a view to filling the information gap regarding the situation for lesbians and gay men in the candidate countries. The report was produced as part of the project “Lesbian and Gay People in Candidate Countries to EU Membership”. 

All 13 accession countries are represented with individual reports: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Turkey. A further chapter presents the European Union’s legislation and policies that are relevant to the rights of lesbians and gays in the accession countries, policies which have developed very significantly in the recent past.