On Tuesday 2 July, Michael O’Flaherty, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, reported on his participation in the “EuroPride 2024 Human Rights Conference”, held in Thessaloniki, Greece, on 28 and 29 June.
He was alarmed at the “ground already lost” in terms of human rights protection for LGBTIQ people, fundamental rights in general and civil society in Europe.
“I heard testimonials about the chilling effect of so-called foreign funding laws that are being adopted in far too many countries and LGBTI organisations being the first ones that the state comes after”, he said, after recounting accounts of discrimination, judicial and administrative harassment, violent attacks, disinformation and denial of gender identity.
The Commissioner stresses the importance of regional strategies to counter the current setback, welcomes the commitment of the Council of Europe and calls on the EU to renew its European strategy for LGBTIQ equality.
He took advantage of his stay in Greece to meet several Roma communities, the largest and most marginalised minority in Europe, to whom he announced at the start of his mandate that he wanted to pay particular attention.
Mr O’Flaherty pledged to develop a partnership with them, to “contribute to fixing the great challenges they face”.
Link to the speech by the Commissioner for Human Rights: https://aeur.eu/f/cwt (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)