Ambassador of Ireland signs open letter in support of Equality Parade
Ambassador Gerard Keown has signed the open letter of 33 Ambassadors in Warsaw in support of the Equality Parade which will take place on Saturday 13 June.
Equality Parade 2015 – Open letter
Open letter of the Ambassadors of Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Venezuela, as well as the General Representative of the Government of Flanders and the Representative of the Government of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, on the occasion of the Equality Parade in Warsaw on June 13th, 2015. The coordination of this letter is ensured by the Embassy of France in Poland.
On the occasion of this year’s Warsaw Equality Parade, we express our support for efforts to raise public awareness of the issue affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) community in Poland. In this regard, we affirm the inherent dignity of each individual as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Respect for these fundamental values, which are also enshrined in the framework of the Council of Europe and the European Union as a community of values, obliges governments to protect all citizens from violence and discrimination and to ensure they enjoy equal opportunities. For this, we need to jointly work on an environment of tolerance and acceptance. We pay tribute to the hard work of LGBTI communities in Poland and around the world, as well as the work of all those in government and outside who seek to ensure human rights for LGBTI persons and end discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. LGBTI rights are human rights, which everyone should support.
Patricia Beatriz Salas, Ambassador of Argentina,
Jean Dunn, Ambassador of Australia,
Thomas M. Buchsbaum, Ambassador of Austria,
Colette Taquet, Ambassador of Belgium,
Alfredo Leoni, Ambassador of Brazil,
Alexandra Bugailiskis, Ambassador of Canada,
Alfredo García Castelblanco, Ambassador of Chile,
Andrea Bekić, Ambassador of Croatia,
Steen Hommel, Ambassador of Denmark,
Hanna Lehtinen, Ambassador of Finland,
Pierre Buhler, Ambassador of France,
Rolf Nikel, Ambassador of Germany,
Stavros Spyridakis, chargé d’affaires a.i., Greece,
Gerard Keown, Ambassador of Ireland,
Anna Azari, Ambassador of State of Israel in Poland,
Alessandro De Pedys, Ambassador of Italy,
Šarūnas AdomaviČius, Ambassador of Lithuania
Georges Faber, Ambassador of Luxembourg,
Pierre Clive Agius, Ambassador of Malta,
Ramiz Bašić, Ambassador of Montenegro,
Wendy Hinton, Ambassador of New Zealand,
Paul Bekkers, Ambassador of the Netherlands,
Karsten Klepsvik, Ambassador of Norway,
Maria Amélia Paiva, Ambassador of Portugal,
Robert Krmelj, Ambassador of Slovenia,
Simon Jabulani Ntombela, Ambassador of South Africa,
Agustín Núñez Martínez, Ambassador of Spain,
Staffan Herrström, Ambassador of Sweden,
Robin Barnett, British Ambassador
Stephen Mull, Ambassador of the United States of America,
Luis Gomez Urdaneta, Ambassador of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela,
Yves Wantens, General Representative of the Government of Flanders
Franck Pezza, Representative of the Government of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation