Letter of ambassadors and diplomats on the rights of LGBTQI+ people in Poland

“We want to express our support for efforts to raise public awareness of the problems faced by the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) community and other minorities in Poland facing similar challenges,” the signatories point out in the introduction to the open letter. published on the occasion of this year’s International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.

As diplomats emphasize in the content of the document, “human rights are universal and everyone, including LGBTQI+ people, has the right to fully enjoy them.” “This is an issue that everyone should support,” they appeal. The signatories of the letter also expressed their appreciation for “the hard work of the LGBTQI+ community and other communities in Poland and around the world”, as well as all those “whose goal is to ensure that the rights of LGBTQI+ people and others facing similar challenges are respected.”

Under an open letter made available, among others on the website of the US Embassy in Warsawsigned by the ambassadors of: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Spain, Ireland, Iceland, Canada, Costa Rica, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands , Germany, Norway, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, San Marino, Slovenia, the United States, Switzerland, Sweden, Venezuela, the United Kingdom and Italy, as well as representatives of the Government of Flanders and the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region and representatives, secretaries and directors of nine international institutions.

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On the occasion of the celebration of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, a commemorative video was also published on the website of the US Embassy in Warsaw. – Human rights are not an ideology. They are universal and apply to absolutely everyone, regardless of skin color, religion or sexual orientation. The following sections present the story of several Polish members of the LGBTQI+ community and their relatives. The first to speak was 30-year-old Natalia, who after graduating from high school went abroad for several years, where she “saw what it’s like to live in a country where there are civil partnerships and queer people can be themselves”. As the woman says, although after returning to her hometown of Kalisz she felt that she was at home again, “she also saw how her rights were being restricted.”

– I’m Kaz. I’m gay. I am Christian. This is my village and this is my home – introduces another film character who decided to stay in Poland to “fight for equality here”. – I just dream of being and being able to be what I am – confesses Maja from Krapkowice, another heroine of the film. “I just want to have equal rights, to be treated equally,” she adds. I have a lesbian daughter that I’m proud of. I would not like her to leave this country, (I would like – ed.) to feel safe here and enjoy the same civil rights as other people – says Beata from Milicz, the last heroine of the recording.

Norwegian Ambassador HE Anders Eide, coordinating the joint letter of diplomats, ends the video, emphasizing that the letter and video published today “is an expression of our (diplomats – ed.) continued support for the LGBTQI + community in Poland, as well as other groups at risk of discrimination.” “You have our support,” he says.

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The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia has been celebrated on May 17 since 2004. The holiday was established to commemorate the WHO’s removal of homosexuality from the international classification of diseases.

Both in Poland and in other countries, people who do not identify as heteronormative face intolerance and aggression. According to the latest ILGA-Europe report Poland was ranked 42nd out of 49 possible places. According to the information provided by the report, Belarus, Russia, Turkey and Azerbaijan fared worse among European countries. Malta topped the report for the eighth time in a row.

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