Under the slogans #EUForAll and “United in diversity”, members of the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia and the embassies of the member states participated in the Pride Parade in Belgrade.
“We are happy to participate in Pride and want to say that we stand for equality and are against any form of discrimination. We want everyone to have the same human rights, to choose for themselves who they will love, and the mission of Pride is that LGBT+ people have the same rights as everyone else”, said EU Ambassador to Serbia Emanuele Giaufret.
Together with the embassies of the member states, Giaufret sent a message of tolerance, love and non-discrimination.
The Pride Walk started through Belgrade’s central streets from Manjež Park.
Among the Pride participants was the Minister of European Integration, Tanja Mišćević, who pointed out that the message of this year’s walk is “protection of the rights of every citizen” for members of any minority.
“This week, we are talking about the rights of the LGBT+ community that are still specific and require additional protection, because there is a misunderstanding of what we are talking about,” Miščević told reporters at Pride.
She stated that the state is working on all matters that are important for the protection of the rights of the LGBTQI community, which, according to her, primarily related to a better understanding of the respect for their rights, but also to specific protection.
The director of Belgrade Pride Goran Miletić reminded that this is the 15th Pride, but that five walks were prohibited.
“We are not even close to fulfilling the requirements, because from 2014 to last year we still felt that something was happening, there were fewer and fewer policemen, the Law on Same-Sex Unions was drafted, but it was suspended, and Europride was banned”, said Miletić.
The requests that the LGBT+ community in Serbia is asking for the tenth time are laws on same-sex unions and gender identity, faster processing of cases of violence against LGBT people, and others.
During Pride Week, the EU Ambassador Emanuele Giaufret and Deputy Ambassador Plamena Halacheva participated in several events organized by Pride organizers. Together, they attended the opening of Pride Week in Kalemegdan, and Deputy Halacheva participated in the opening of the conference on human rights.
Ahead of the Pride Parade, Ambassador Giaufret’s residence was illuminated in rainbow colours.
On the occasion of Belgrade Pride 2023, the embassies and representative offices of 25 countries and the Delegation of the European Union to Serbia issued a joint statement in which they emphasized their commitment to respecting, promoting and protecting human rights for all.
“We will continue to work with local LGBTIQ+ organizations to help this community take a legitimate place in society and ensure constructive debate when it comes to topics of equality, non-discrimination and human rights, including freedom of assembly and freedom of expression. These are universal rights. Regardless of where we are, who we are – or whom we love,” the joint statement of the embassies and representative offices states.
