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Russia: Reject Anti-LGBT ‘Traditional Values’ Bill

Eliminating Legal Recognition for Transgender People Undermines Rights

Update: In October 2020, Russia’s Government Commission on Legislative Activities, the body responsible for reviewing draft legislation, rejected the draft law “aimed at strengthening the institution of the family,” on the grounds that the changes…
The Russian flag flies on a courthouse building in St. Petersburg, Russia, March 15 2020.
News

Russia: Criminal Charges for Gay-Friendly Chat Show

Man Who Answered Children’s Questions on YouTube Threatened

(Moscow) – Russian authorities should drop a criminal case over a YouTube video of children talking to a gay man and ensure the man’s safety amid threats and attempted physical attacks, Human Rights Watch said today. Maksim…
Maksim Pankratov, 21 y/o, interviewed by children on “Real Talk” © personal archive / Maksim Pankratov
News

Russia: Chechnya Gay Purge Responders Threatened

Reports of Forced Entry, Death Threats

(Moscow) – Russian authorities should urgently and effectively investigate the break-in at the home of an LGBT rights activist and the death threats he and his colleagues have received, Human Rights Watch said today. …
Igor Kochetkov speaking at the European Parliament about persecution of LGBT people in Chechnya.
News

Russia: New Wave of Anti-LGBT Persecution

Authorities Fail to Address Threats Against Rights Defender

Russian authorities should investigate allegations of a new wave of anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persecution in Chechnya and take steps to protect rights defenders and journalists who expose abuses there, Human…
Igor Kochetkov speaking at the European Parliament about persecution of LGBT people in Chechnya.
News

Philippines: Crackdown Against Critics Intensifies

‘Drug War’ Killings Continue; Attacks on Activists, Journalists Rise

(New York) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration heightened its repression in 2018, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2019. The government’s murderous “war on drugs” expanded to cities outside Manila.…
Activists hold a candle light vigil for victims of the extra judicial killings in the drug war of the government in front of a church in Manila on September 16, 2016
News

Russia: ‘Gay Propaganda’ Law Endangers Children

Discriminatory Measure Targets Students, Mental Health Professionals

(New York) – Russia’s “gay propaganda” law is having a negative impact on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The 2013 law exacerbated the hostility LGBT people in…
Russian blogger, Zhenya Svetski, stands with a sign reading “I am not ‘gay propaganda’” in Moscow, December 2018.
News

Russia: LGBT Conference Attacked, Disrupted

Two Volunteers Injured

(Moscow) – A prominent Russian lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) support group had to cancel an annual Inclusive Family conference in Moscow after homophobic threats and an attack with pepper spray, Human Rights Watch said today.…
Yulia Malygina and Anna Golubeva, directors of Resource LGBTQIA Moscow.
News

Bullied as a Child, Gay Filipino Comes Into His Own

University’s LGBT Student Group Provides Support System

  Patrick’s knees were shaking as he marched with his university in the Pride Parade in the Philippine capital, Manila. “It’s a big step for me,” he said. “To accept my sexuality and to come out of the closet.”…
LGBT Rainbow Flag
News

Philippines: LGBT Students Face Bullying, Abuse

Discrimination and Lack of Support Undermine Right to Education

(Manila, June 22, 2017) – Students across the Philippines experience bullying and discrimination in school because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. While Philippine law…
A girl covers anti-LGBT messages in rainbow handprints during a Pride rally in Manila on June 27, 2015.
News

Russia: Anti-Gay Purge in Chechnya

Victims of Punitive Round-Ups Still in Danger

(New York) – Police in Chechnya rounded up, beat, and humiliated dozens of gay or bisexual men in an apparent effort to purge them from Chechen society, Human Rights Watch confirmed in a new report today. Russian federal authorities…
A victim of the purge telling his story in a safe house in central Russia in April 2017.
News

Russia: Chechen Officials and Clerics Threaten Journalists

Fear of Retaliation for Article Exposing Anti-Gay Abuse Campaign

(Moscow) – Chechen officials and clerics are threatening the newspaper that first exposed the campaign of police abuse against men in Chechnya perceived to be gay, Human Rights Watch said today. Russian authorities should unequivocally condemn the threats…
The head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, on December 13, 2011.
News

Philippines: Policy Failures Fuel HIV Epidemic

Duterte Should Improve Condom Access for Men Who Have Sex With Men

(Manila) – The Philippine government is fueling a rising human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic among men who have sex with men through policies that restrict interventions proven to prevent transmission of the virus, Human Rights Watch said in a…
Filipinos light candles, which are shaped into an AIDS symbol, to mark World AIDS Day on December 1, 2012, in Manila, Philippines.
News

Russia: Court Rules Against LGBT Activist

Repeal the Discriminatory Anti-LGBT Law

(Moscow) – A Russian court on January 18, 2016, found a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights activist guilty of violating the country’s notorious “gay propaganda” law and issued a stiff fine. Russian prosecutors should support an appeal,…
2016-2-russia-sergei-alekseenko
News

Russia: Growing Human Rights Crackdown

Government Demonizes Critical Voices

(Moscow) – The Russian government’s crackdown on public debate and independent groups took a more sinister turn in 2015, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2016. The authorities used existing and new laws to harass dozens of independent…
News

Russia: Homophobic, Abusive Bill

Proposes Fines, Jail Time for “Coming Out”

(Moscow) – A draft law pending in Russia’s parliament would penalize people who engage in public displays that would suggest that their sexual orientation is gay, Human Rights Watch said today. Parliament should reject the draft as wholly incompatible…
News

Russia: Court Hearing against LGBT Group

Protect Right to Information

Update (April 6, 2015): On April 6, Deti 404 legal representatives went to the Oktyabrski district court of Saint Petersburg to observe the hearing, but a prosecutor informed them that the court had issued a ruling against Deti 404 in a hearing on March…
News

Witness: Beaten for Being Gay in Russia -- Andrey's Story

Despite Russia’s January cold, hundreds of people packed the central square in Voronezh, an eight hour drive south of Moscow, for the planned LGBT rights protest. When Andrey Nasonov arrived, he saw a bus of riot police and several police cars, and…
News

Russia: Impunity for Anti-LGBT Violence

Discriminatory “Propaganda” Law Fuels Attacks

(Moscow) – Russian authorities have failed in their obligation to prevent and prosecute homophobic violence. Growing numbers of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people have been attacked and harassed across Russia in the lead-up and…
News

Olympics: Host City Contracts To Ban Bias

IOC Initiative Should Be Model for FIFA; all Mega-Sporting Events

(New York) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmation that future host city contracts will include an antidiscrimination requirement is an important step toward greater respect for human rights in global sport. This reform is one of several…
News

Brazil: Raise Rights Issues at BRICS Summit

Speak out in Support of Russia’s Beleaguered Activists

(São Paulo, July 15, 2014) – Brazil should speak out in support of human rights in Russia and Russia’s independent activists at the BRICS summit, Human Rights Watch said today. Brazil should also firmly reject any attempt by Russia to persuade Brazil to…

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