LGBTQ activist Dr. Mariela Castro Espín, daughter of Cuba's president, Raul Castro, and director of the Cuban National Center for Sex Education, received IGLTA's prestigious Chair Award for 2017. The award recipient is selected by the head of the IGLTA board of directors and presented to an individual or business that has made the world a more welcoming place for LGBTQ travelers. Board chair Juan Julia, founder and president of Barcelona-based Axel Hotels, made the presentation to Castro on May 13 in Havana during Pride (Décima Jornada Cubana contra la Homofobia y la Transfobia).
17 May 2017 12:59:09 CDT
We've teamed up with Davey Wavey to give away a free trip to Amsterdam with Norwegian, plus a three-night stay at the Lloyd Hotel & Cultural Embassy. As part of the campaign, Davey traveled the world and created a collaborative video featuring a variety of IGLTA members across four continents. Click here to watch the video. Enter to win here before 11 p.m. EDT on 26 May.
17 May 2017 12:59:09 CDT
Please join us in supporting the small business members of IGLTA, such as New Zealand Awaits, New Zealand's LGBT travel specialist, proudly taking care of LGBT travelers seeking exceptional and unique experiences, and El Conquistador Resort, where you can relax and lose yourself in pure luxury and quiet sophistication during your stay in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
17 May 2017 12:59:09 CDT
If same-sex couples can't persuade Australia's lawmakers to let them marry, maybe their money will.
Instead of splashing out on celebrations in their own backyard, rising numbers of gay Australians are taking a three-hour flight to get hitched. Weddings of foreign same-sex couples in New Zealand last year overtook those of local gay marriages, with 58 percent of them traveling from Australia.
17 May 2017 12:59:09 CDT
Singapore's Pink Dot LGBT rights rally will allow only Singaporean citizens and permanent residents to attend this year's event because of legal changes.
Organisers announced the restrictions with "profound regret", saying they had been reminded of new rules by police in the wealthy city state.
Previously only locals were allowed to actively "demonstrate" by holding up placards, but foreigners could nonetheless attend, Pink Dot says.
17 May 2017 12:59:09 CDT
The City of Tel Aviv-Yafo is excited to announce that the theme of the 2017 LGBT Pride Parade is "Bisexuality Visibility." The parade will be the first large-scale Pride parade in the world to ever celebrate the theme of bisexuality.
Starting 3 June, hundreds of thousands of people from Israel and around the world are expected to descend on Tel Aviv for a nonstop week of parties, events, and shows that feature and celebrate the city's vibrant LGBTQ community, culminating in a massive parade through the city streets on 9 June, expected to draw some 200,000 participants.
17 May 2017 12:59:09 CDT
An uptick in deadly violence against transgender women in El Salvador prompted the United Nations on Friday to call for an investigation into crimes against sexual minorities in the conservative Central American country.
So far this year, seven transgender women have been killed in El Salvador, according to the Geneva-based Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Local LGBT organizations put the death toll at 17 through the first four months of the year.
17 May 2017 12:59:09 CDT
Romania has cleared the first hurdle on the way to banning same-sex marriages. On 9 May, the Chamber of Deputies voted in favor of a constitutional change to define the family as based on marriage between a man and a woman, Romania-Insider.com writes.
The vote to adopt a citizens' initiative supported a group called Coalition for Family passed with 232 votes in favor, 22 against, and 13 abstentions.
17 May 2017 12:59:09 CDT
On Wednesday May 17, a Mexican Supreme Court session will be held on the subject of "lack of legislation on same-sex marriage in Yucatan." Five ministers from the First Chamber from the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation will discuss the issue, and it is expected that the resolution will be favorable. The request, from several organizations, against the decision of a collegiate court will be voted on. The issue is the legality of the refusal of the Congress of the State to legislate on this type of marriages.
17 May 2017 12:59:09 CDT
The daughter of Cuban President Raúl Castro on 13 May led a march through the Cuban capital that commemorated the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.
Mariela Castro, who directs Cuba's National Center for Sexual Education that is known by the Spanish acronym CENESEX, and more than 2,000 people marched from the Havana’s oceanfront to a pavilion that is near the Habana Libre hotel in the Vedado neighborhood.
17 May 2017 12:59:09 CDT
A High Court Judge at the Court of First Instance has ruled that the Civil Service Bureau's stance of denying an officer's same-sex marriage partner the benefits enjoyed by the spouses of heterosexual colleagues was "indirect discrimination."
In delivering the unprecedented decision in a judicial review brought by a senior immigration officer, the judge rejected the bureau’s claim that the secretary had a justifiable aim "to act in line with the prevailing marriage law of Hong Kong" and not to "undermine the integrity of the institution of marriage."
17 May 2017 12:59:09 CDT
Three French LGBT rights groups accused the Chechen government of instigating a "wave of persecution" against gay people as they filed a complaint at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Russian investigative newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported allegations in April that the government, led by Ramzan Kadyrov, was undertaking arbitrary arrests and mass detentions of gay men in the semi-autonomous Russian republic.
17 May 2017 12:59:09 CDT
Labour's 2017 manifesto includes policies on anti-LGBT hate crimes, PrEP, and trans rights.
Ahead of the snap general election on 8 June, the Labour Party have announced their new manifesto which features a whole section dedicated to equality for diverse communities including LGBT+ people.
Launched by Jeremy Corbyn at the University of Bradford and released on Labour's website today, the party championed their "proud record" of fighting for equality, but acknowledged there's "still a long way to go."
17 May 2017 12:59:09 CDT
It has been one busy week for civil rights advocates in Texas. The week began with protesting Texas Governor Greg Abbott's signing of SB 4, which was aimed at ending "sanctuary cities" in Texas. By mid-week it was HB 3895 taking center stage, and causing a further uproar over the matter of allowing private child welfare organizations to discriminate based on religious convictions.
17 May 2017 12:59:09 CDT
