7th July 2020
Skopje, North Macedonia
Last year, a Pride Parade took place in Skopje for the first time. The Parade was a protest and shall remain so until LGBTI people are able to enjoy all human rights and society is fully liberated. However, last year there were several reasons to celebrate. The Law on Prevention and Protection against Discrimination was […]
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25th March 2019
Geneva, Switzerland
Last autumn, Pixie – our much loved cat (and subject of a 2015 blog trilogy) – fell seriously ill. After a week in pet hospital, the vets advised that she needed an urgent blood transfusion to survive. Except they didn’t have any cat blood in stock, so they asked if I could round up some […]
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3rd December 2018
Jonathan Drew: There are some things that need a very deep intake of breath before starting. Like writing to the PUS, six months into being a diplomat, to ask him to give his blessing to the formation of a staff LGBT+ group. On a cold November night twenty years ago, with some trepidation, I wrote that […]
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27th July 2017
London, UK
Today marks 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, an important milestone in the UK’s own journey to full equality for LGBT people. Same-sex relations between men were against the law in England and Wales until 1967, when The Sexual Offences Act decriminalised private homosexual acts between two men aged […]
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26th July 2017
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
On 27th July the United Kingdom will mark the 50th anniversary of the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality. On this day in 1967 the Sexual Offences Act was passed, decriminalising same-sex acts between consenting adults over the age of 21. Homosexual acts had until then been outlawed by legislation passed in the nineteenth century. Today we take […]
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3rd July 2017
Geneva, Switzerland
The Council came to a hot and weary end last Friday with some good results on the issues that mattered. Most importantly the EU and the African Group reached agreement on an investigation into reports of serious violations in the DRC. The Council also passed strong resolutions on violence against women, discrimination against women, child […]
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10th February 2017
London, UK
Every February, UK celebrates LGBT History Month. For me, being part of a global network of LGBT and straight ally colleagues, I am amazed every month when I see a celebration of the FCO’s diversity & inclusiveness, and the pride that posts have in showcasing the UK’s commitment to LGBT rights around the world. Yet February always […]
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9th August 2016
British High Commission, Kingston, Jamaica
The following is a guest blog from the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays ( JFLAG ) an LGBT rights organisation in Jamaica. 2015 was a watershed moment with the first public LGBT pride celebrations in Jamaica. The theme then was “The Pride of a People: Breaking the Rules of Oppression…” The week of activities […]
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4th July 2016
Geneva, Switzerland
Late on Friday evening The Council came to a sweaty and cantankerous finish. Well, it sort of did. Not content with causing disruption and delay through 50 hostile amendments to a range of important resolutions, Russia then forced the Council into extra time by persistently objecting during the appointment of the Special Rapporteurs. Time eventually […]
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27th June 2016
Geneva, Switzerland
Civil service convention dictates that I should avoid expressing a public view on important domestic matters, so I’ll leave all talk of last week’s referendum to others. I’m free to discuss the weather though and after endless weeks of rain, this week’s dramatic rise in temperature caught many of us by surprise. As someone who […]
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