EU Delegation marks the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT) – EU Delegation building enlightened tonight at 8p.m.
As every year, on May 17 we mark the day of the World Health Organisation’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder. International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT) was created in 2004 to draw the attention to the violence and discrimination experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex people and all other people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or expressions, and sex characteristics. This year’s IDAHOT theme is “Our Bodies, Our Lives, Our Rights”.
„Just like a right to live, right to breathe, and right to be free, we should all have our right to choose whom we love and be free to love without prejudice. It took centuries to have homosexuality not perceived and finally declassified as a mental disorder but it is still taking our society time to grant these people the right that they deserve. Freedom of expression also means to be able to express oneself freely and the bigger this freedom is, the better of a society we are. The EU motto says ‘united in diversity’ and today this message stands strongly with us as we continue the joint struggle for the right to choose whom we love“, said H.E. Emanuele Giaufret, Ambassador of the Delegation of European Union to the Republic of Serbia, pointed out on the occasion of IDAHOT 2022.
In 2020, the European Commission adopted the LGBTIQ Equality Strategy 2020-2025, the first-ever Commission strategy on LGBTIQ+ equality and delivers on the European Commission’s commitment to building a Union of Equality.
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“LGBTIQ+ persons still face challenges worldwide. Unfortunately, we see more and more signs of discrimination that come back even in the most open societies. This is worrying and it is a strong reason to fight even harder against all forms of phobia. The Russian aggression to Ukraine is bringing new challenges to our work against discrimination. This is a war against a sovereign country, but also a war against values of openness and diversity that EU is defending and promoting. LGBTIQ+ persons are particularly targeted. Equality and inclusion are stigmatised and challenged”, said Stefano Sannino, the Secretary-General of the European External Action Service (EEAS) on marking the IDAHOT 2022.
To mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, tonight, from 8p.m. the EU Delegation to Serbia building in Belgrade will be illuminated in rainbow colours as an act of our support to LGBTIQ+ community, and to the work of all civil society organisations and of human rights activists which is fundamental for the maintenance and advance of human rights of LGBTIQ+ persons.
