Irish LGBTQ+ organisations have joined thousands of people in signing an open letter calling on the European Union (EU) to protect Pride and democracy. Groups like LGBT Ireland and Belong To Youth Services are among the signatories, which have surpassed 3,400 at the time of writing.
The open letter and accompanying campaign were launched by ILGA Europe and the European Pride Organisers Association (EPOA). Entitled ‘Protect Pride. Protect Democracy.’, it urges leaders in the bloc to recognise restrictions on LGBTQ+ events as warning signs of broader democratic erosion.
This comes as Pride continue to face restrictions in different countries and regions across the EU. Most recently in Romania, over 700 people marched in Oradea Pride, despite the event being banned for the fourth consecutive year.
Campaigners argue that these restrictions, alongside things like state violence, inadequate protections, defunding, reversals on DEI and online hate and misinformation, have consequences that extend beyond a singular community. Thus, ILGA Europe and EPOA’s open letter calls on EU President Ursula von der Leyen and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President Kaja Kallas to: recognise restrictions on Pride as indicators of democratic backsliding; publicly respond when Pride events and organisers come under attack; and strengthen protections for the right to peaceful assembly across Europe.
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“Pride is not simply a celebration. It is one of the most visible expressions of the freedoms that underpin democratic societies: the freedom to gather, the freedom to speak, and the freedom to be seen. For millions of people across Europe, Pride is what those freedoms look like in practice,” said EPOA’s Patrick van der Pass.
Katrin Hugendubel, Deputy Director of ILGA-Europe, added: “Generations of Europeans worked to cultivate societies rooted in freedom, dignity and democracy. Our leaders have a duty to honour what they built by protecting the freedoms that allow Pride, and the democratic values it represents, to flourish.
“Protecting these freedoms today will help ensure that future generations inherit a Europe that is open, democratic and inclusive for all.”
The campaign invites individuals and organisations to sign the open letter, which is available here.
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