SLOVAKIA: Slovakia’s cruel anti-LGBTQ+ bill condemned by European Human Rights commissioner

Extract from article by Jake McKee, published on Pink News on 25/04/2023 – accessible here.

The commissioner for The Council of Europe’s Human Rights is urging politicians in Slovakia to vote against proposed legislation that would effectively prevent trans people from having their gender legally recognised.

The bill, set to have its second reading next month, proposes only allowing someone to change their gender marking if they can prove, via genetic testing, it had been incorrectly determined.

In a letter to the Slovakia parliament, dated 19 April but released publically on 25 April, commissioner Dunja Mijatović said she was concerned that the bill would “effectively” mean trans men and women’s genders would not be legally recognised and “lead to human rights regression”.

She said it was “in conflict” with the Slovak Republic’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights.