Joint Statement: LGBTI people in Uzbekistan are being criminalised. We’re calling for legal reform.

The undersigned organizations express serious concerns over the continued and intensified enforcement of Article 120 of the Criminal Code of Uzbekistan (hereinafter Article 120) that criminalizes consensual sexual relations between men and is used to persecute trans women.

Proposals due to be debated in Portugal on 19 March and voted on 20 March could pave the way for rollbacks to legal gender recognition, bodily autonomy, and other existing protections for trans and intersex people.

Alongside other civil society organisations, we put forward concrete proposals to remove structural barriers to the rights and justice of women and girls. Yet, the European Commission has once again retained the ‘bare minimum’ as its benchmark.

We are pleased to announce the publication of the third edition of Human Rights and Gender Identity: Best Practice Catalogue, a new e-publication documenting concrete and effective approaches to advancing equality for trans people across Europe and beyond.

In a pivotal step, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the forthcoming EU Gender Equality Strategy 2026–2030, increasing pressure on the European Commission to strengthen protections for trans people within this framework.

This joint report with Insight (Ukraine), National Trans Coalition (Armenia), and Association Spectra (Montenegro) was submitted for the implementation review of the Council of Europe Recommendation on measures to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity (CM/Rec (2010) 5).

Azerbaijani trans activist and TGEU's newly-elected Board member Alex Shah (she/they), legal name Aleks Shahnur, was harassed on Sunday 7 September by border police when entering Moldova.

Last week, Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union Richard de la Tour delivered his Opinion in the case C-43/24 Shipov. The case was brought forward by a Bulgarian trans woman currently living in Italy who was repeatedly denied her requests to legally amend her gender marker and name on her Bulgarian documents by Bulgarian courts.

On 2 September 2025, six human rights organisations expressed deep concern over recent developments in Kazakhstan, where authorities have announced further steps toward drafting and adopting legislation to ban the dissemination of LGBTI-related content. 

We invite you to join us for two fundraising webinars in Russian. They will help you understand where to look for resources, how to talk about your projects, and how to build long-term relationships with donors.

In June 2025, over 15 activists gathered in Geneva for Trans Advocacy Week, held alongside the 59th session of the UN Human Rights Council. Trans and gender diverse activists came from Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Central Asia.

Civil society organisations welcome the European Commission’s proposal to more than double the CERV+ budget within the new seven-year EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF).