Protecting LGBTQI Rights in Europe: Reports

Protecting LGBTQI rights in Europe – Submission to the second review of the Council of Europe Recommendation on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity (CM/Rec(2010)5).

Submission by ILGA-Europe, Transgender Europe, and OII Europe. Endorsed by EL*C, IGLYO, and NELFA.
(October 2018)

About this report

In 2010 the Recommendation CM/Rec(2010)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member states on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity established the gold standard of LGBT rights in Europe. Agreed unanimously by the 47 Council of Europe member states, it was the first and only agreement between governments to combat discrimination against LGBT people in Europe. 

European LGBTQI, trans and intersex networks submitting this report welcome the initiative of the Council to review the progress of implementation of the recommendations for the second time in 2018.

The 2018 review is a crucial opportunity for the Council to assess the level of and progress in implementation among member states and identify implementation gap. Since the Recommendation was adopted in 2010, there have been significant gains in the Council of Europe region that secured legal rights for LGBTQI people. However, the work on LGBTQI equality is nowhere near done. Worrisome backlash, a rhetoric of hate, populism, nationalism, and state-led persecution in a number of member states remind us that efforts to combat violence and discrimination on grounds of SOGIESC must be reaffirmed, continued, and strengthened. 

This assessment will help guide the Council’s work in supporting member states regarding implementation. 

If you want to reference this work, please use the following citation: 

Karsay, Dodo (2018), Protecting LGBTQI rights in Europe. Submission to the second review of the Council of Europe Recommendation on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity (CM/Rec(2010)5). ILGA-Europe, Transgender Europe, OII Europe. 

Country reports

Between March and July 2018 Transgender Europe (TGEU) and ILGA-Europe supported 11 LGBTQI and 5 trans organizations in preparing country reports on 16 member states (Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Hungary, Lithuania, FYR Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Sweden).

The 16 country reports stand alone, but also feed into the comprehensive report.

Download the country reports (PDF) by clicking on the name of the country below.

Acknowledgements