Happy New Year from the Global Equality Caucus

Huge strides were made in 2019 towards LGBT+ equality, but the global fight continues. There are still 70 countries that criminalise homosexuality and discrimination persists in every corner of the world.

Politicians have a huge role to play in 2020 to drive forward change. Here’s a roundup of what has happened in legislatures over the past few months:

• A draft bill that would ban the advertising or offering of conversion therapy was approved by the Cabinet in Germany. The approved text includes an amendment that covers 16 to 18 year olds, but the legislation still permits consenting adults to freely seek the therapy. The bill will now be considered by the German Bundestag before it becomes law.

• The National Council of Monaco introduced civil unions for all couples, meaning same-sex couples will have legal recognition for the first time.

• The UK general election on 12 December 2019 returned 52 LGBT+ Members of Parliament, the largest total of any legislature in the world. Initial estimates had the number at 45 but this has since increased. The total includes Layla Moran, who came out as pansexual following her re-election. She is the first legislator in the world to identify as pansexual.

• A government official in Gabon confirmed that the country's new penal code includes a ban on gay sex, taking the number of countries that criminalise homosexuality back up to 70.

• The European Parliament passed a resolution on public discrimination and anti-LGBT hate speech. The resolution expresses concern about the growing number of attacks against the LGBT+ community coming from state officials, and specifically calls on Poland to revoke resolutions attacking LGBT+ rights. The resolution also reiterates a call for the European Commission to adopt an EU LGBTI strategy.

• Equal marriage activists have petitioned the parliament in Thailand to demand a change in the Civil and Commercial Code, which currently defines marriage as that between a man and a woman. The government is currently consulting on a bill that would introduce civil unions for same-sex couples. 

• The top legislative body in China has been advised to include same-sex marriage in its updated civil code, following a large consultation. A draft of the new civil code will be reviewed by the national legislature in March 2020 but it is unclear whether new legislation will include marriage equality. 

• The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill was passed by the Parliament of India, but activists say the new law will do more harm than good. Concerns have been raised about vague wording, a lack of binding obligations, and limits on the right to self-identification.

• The National Assembly in Cuba will not vote on its new family code until March 2021. The vote has been postponed due to negative public reaction to equal marriage, but the issue will be tackled again following further consultation this year.

• Claudia López, the first woman elected mayor of Bogotá in Colombia, married her same-sex partner in a civil ceremony last month.

• Jimmy Sham, an openly-gay civil rights activist, was elected in district council elections in Hong Kong. He was attacked by a group of men with hammers during the campaign and had to use crutches to walk. His election was welcomed by Ray Chan, the first openly-gay member of the Legislative Council and member of the Global Equality Caucus.

• And finally, ILGA-World has updated their 2019 report on State-Sponsored Homophobia to reflect the numerous legal developments that affected LGBT+ people globally in 2019.