[JURIST] A court in Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, on Wednesday agreed to hear China’s first legal challenge over a refusal to issue same-sex marriage applications. A 26-year-old man filed a case [Telegraph report] against a civil affairs bureau for refusing to grant a marriage application to him and his same-sex partner. China legalized homosexuality in 1997, but same-sex marriage is not legal [SCMP report], and same-sex couples have no legal protections.

The lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender community (LGBT) continues to face legal challenges throughout the world. In December voters in Slovenia rejected a law [JURIST report] that would allow same-sex couples to marry and adopt children. In November the Constitutional Court of Colombia ruled [JURIST report] that same-sex couples can legally adopt children. The UN has become increasingly focused on the rights of LGBT individuals. In September 12 UN agencies released a joint statement [JURIST report] arguing that abuses toward the LGBT population are human rights abuses impacting society as a whole. In June the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported [JURIST report] that members of the LGBT community continue to face discrimination and human rights abuses.