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Czeslaw Walek (born 31 January 1975) is a Czech lawyer and LGBT activist of Polish origin. He served as Deputy Minister of Human Rights and Minorities from 2009 to 2011, and is the founder and chairman of the Prague Pride association that organises the annual festival of the same name.
Walek grew up in Třinec. He is of Polish origin; both of his parents have Polish nationality and Czech citizenship.
Walek studied law in Kraków at Jagiellonian University from 1993 to 1999, supported by a stipend from the Polish government. [1] He spent a year as an Erasmus student in Antwerp, Belgium,[ citation needed ] and graduated with honors in 2000 from Central European University (CEU) in Budapest, Hungary, where he focused on human rights. [1]
He worked for the Czech branch of Transparency International where he managed the program on police corruption.
From 2003 to 2011 (with a two-year break) he worked at the Government Office as Director of the Office of the Governmental Council for Roma Community. In 2004, he created the Action Plan for the Decade of Roma Inclusion, and helped create the Agency for Social Inclusion. Between 2007 and 2009 he was the program director for the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia at the US-based charity Trust for Civil Society in Central Eastern Europe. In March 2009 he was appointed the Deputy Minister for Human Rights and Minorities, [2] and after the resignation of Minister Michael Kocáb he took over management of the Office until February 2011. [1]
In 2011 he received the Alice Garrigue Masaryk Human Rights Award from the US Embassy for his contributions in the field of human rights. [2]
Since January 2011 he has served as the chairman of the Prague Pride association, which organises Prague's Pride parade, supports LGBT people in crisis, and campaigns for LGBT workplace equality and the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the Czech Republic. [1] [2]
Since March 2012 he has been Executive Director of the Open Society Foundation in Prague. [2] In 2015–2016 he received a Fulbright Scholarship for research on LGBT advancement in the Czech Republic, [3] and within the framework of the Fulbright Scholarship he was a Global Fellow at the US-based non-profit Out & Equal Workplace Advocates.
He has been a board member of CEU's Human Rights Students' Initiative, the Czech chapter of Transparency International, the Open Society Foundation in Prague, Open House Prague and Alturi. In 2014 he was appointed a member of the Council for Human Rights and the Czech-Polish Forum, both government bodies.
In 2013 he ran unsuccessfully for Parliament for the Green Party.[ citation needed ]
Walek speaks English, Spanish, Czech and Polish. On 2 May 2014 he married his Dutch partner Willem Van Der Bass in Delft, Netherlands. [4] They live in the Vinohrady district of Prague.[ citation needed ]
Demographic features of the population of the Czech Republic include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations.
From the Communist coup d'état in February 1948 to the Velvet Revolution in 1989, Czechoslovakia was ruled by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. The country belonged to the Eastern Bloc and was a member of the Warsaw Pact and of Comecon. During the era of Communist Party rule, thousands of Czechoslovaks faced political persecution for various offences, such as trying to emigrate across the Iron Curtain.
Central European University is a private research university with campuses in Vienna, Budapest, and New York. The university offers intensive graduate and undergraduate programs in the social sciences and humanities, and is known for its low student-faculty ratio, and a highly diverse international student body. Admissions are classified as highly selective with an acceptance rate of 13%. All CEU programs and courses are accredited in Austria, Hungary and the United States.
The Decade of Roma Inclusion was an initiative of 12 European countries to improve the socio-economic status and social inclusion of the Romani people across the region. The initiative was launched in 2005, with the project running from 2005 to 2015, and was the first multinational project in Europe to actively enhance the lives of Roma.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Belarus face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Although same-sex sexual activity is legal in Belarus, gay and lesbian rights in the country are otherwise severely limited and homosexuality remains highly stigmatized in Belarusian society. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. Belarus provides no anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, nor does it prohibit hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Many Belarusian people believe that homosexuality is a psychiatric illness, and many LGBT persons in Belarus tend to hide their sexual orientation in public. Those who are "out" face harassment, violence and physical abuse.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Czech Republic are granted some protections, but may still face legal difficulties not experienced by non-LGBT residents. In 2006, the country legalized registered partnerships for same-sex couples, and a bill legalizing same-sex marriage was being considered by the Parliament of the Czech Republic before its dissolution for the 2021 Czech legislative election, when it died in the committee stage.
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates is a United States lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) workplace equality non-profit organization headquartered in Oakland, California.
Human rights in Georgia are guaranteed by the country's constitution. There is an independent human rights Public Defender of Georgia elected by the parliament to ensure such rights are enforced. However, it has been alleged by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the United States Department of State and the Georgian opposition that these rights are often breached.
Jiří Gruša was a Czech poet, novelist, translator, diplomat and politician.
Bucharest Pride, known previously as GayFest, is the annual festival dedicated to LGBT rights in Romania, taking place in Bucharest for nearly a week. Current event organizer is Kyle David Kipp. It first took place in 2004 and now occurs in May–June of each year, culminating with the March of Diversity. It is organised by the non-profit organisation ACCEPT, the country's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights organisation. The festival also receives funding from the Romanian Ministry of Health and the National Council for Combating Discrimination, as well as a number of private organisations, such as the Open Society Institute and the British Council in Romania.
Anti-Romani sentiment is a form of bigotry which consists of hostility, prejudice, discrimination, racism and xenophobia which is specifically directed at Romani people. Non-Romani itinerant groups in Europe such as the Yenish, Irish and Highland Travellers are frequently given the name "gypsy" and as a result, they are frequently confused with the Romani people. As a result, sentiments which were originally directed at the Romani people are also directed at other traveler groups and they are frequently referred to as "antigypsy" sentiments.
Bączkowski and Others v. Poland was a European Court of Human Rights case which ruled unanimously that the banning of an LGBT pride parade in Warsaw, locally known as the Parada Równości, in 2005 was in violation of Articles 11, 13 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Government of the Czech Republic exercises executive power in the Czech Republic. The members of the government are the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, the deputy prime minister and other ministers. It has its legal basis in the Constitution of the Czech Republic.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Nepal have evolved significantly during the 21st century, though barriers to full equality still exist within the nation. In 2007, Nepal repealed the laws against gay sex and introduced several laws which explicitly protected "gender and sexual minorities". The Nepalese Constitution now recognizes LGBT rights as fundamental rights. On 28 June 2023, a single judge bench of Justice Til Prasad Shrestha issued a historic interim order directing the government to make necessary arrangements to "temporarily register" the marriages of "non-traditional couples and sexual minorities". The full bench of the Supreme Court has yet to deliver a final verdict. The first queer marriage of a trans woman and a cisgender man occurred in November 2023. Nepal will be the first least developed country and the first in South Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, and the second in Asia after Taiwan.
The Center for Policy Studies (CPS) is an academic unit within Central European University, dedicated to improving the quality of governance in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union by the provision of independent public policy analysis and advice.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Laos go unreported and unnoticed. While homosexuality is legal in Laos, it is very difficult to assess the current state of acceptance and violence that LGBT people face because of government interference. Numerous claims have suggested that Laos is one of the most tolerant communist states. Despite such claims, discrimination still exists. Laos provides no anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, nor does it prohibit hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for any of the rights that opposite-sex married couples enjoy, as neither same-sex marriage nor civil unions are legal.
Lawrence Stuart Milk is an American LGBT human rights activist and political speaker. The nephew of civil rights leader Harvey Milk, he is the co-founder of the Harvey Milk Foundation. He has engaged in domestic and international activism, including work with LGBT movements in Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
The Roma Education Fund (REF) is a non-governmental organization established within the framework of the Decade of Roma Inclusion by Open Society Foundations and the World Bank in 2005. The organization's goal is to reduce the educational achievement gap between Roma and non-Roma in Europe through the provision of scholarships to Roma students, supporting the development of quality education, and supporting the removal of segregation of Roma students.
The Chennai Rainbow Pride March has been held by members of Tamil Nadu LGBTIQA+ communities every June since 2009. The pride march is organised under the banner Tamil Nadu Rainbow Coalition, which is a collective of LGBT individuals, supporters, and organizations working on human rights and healthcare for the LGBTQIA community. The Pride March occurs on the final Sunday of June every year. The Pride March is usually preceded by a month-long series of events organized by NGOs and organizations to inculcate awareness and support for the LGBTQ community, such as panel discussions, film screenings, and cultural performances. The Chennai Vaanavil Suyamariyadhai Perani a.k.a. Chennai Rainbow Self-Respect March is known for being inter-sectional in nature as it addresses issues with multiple axes such as caste, class, religion coupled with gender discrimination.
The human rights record of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been criticised over a number of years by intergovernmental organisations including the United Nations Human Rights Council, the European Court of Human Rights and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, as well as international and domestic non-governmental organisations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. The government of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been criticised for ethnic and religious discrimination in its treatment of ethnic and religious minorities such as the Romani people and the Jewish people. The government has also been criticised for its treatment of Internally Displaced Persons following the Bosnian War and its failure to provide asylum seekers with resources such as food, shelter and medical assistance. According to BH Novinari, the Bosnian Journalists’ Association, freedom of the media is an issue in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with journalists facing attacks, threats and pressure from government. Human rights non-government organisations have also reported interference in their work from the government. The Bosnian government has been criticised by the European Union for its slow response to domestically prosecute war crimes from the Bosnian War following the closure of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in December 2017.
The gay couple married in the Netherlands in 2010.
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