Speech by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sigrid Kaag, at the ministerial high level session of the Equal Rights Coalition conference

Speech | 06-07-2021

Esteemed colleagues,

According to a major study [1] published in May last year, six out of ten LGBTI Europeans would not hold a same-sex partner's hand in public, for fear of harassment or assault.

And today, in some places, legislation is being adopted which represents a flagrant form of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.

Like in Hungary, a country not too far from here, which has now banned LGBTI content from its school curriculum.

Why? Because it is believed to promote homosexuality and gender change…

And just yesterday, a Pride event in Georgia was cancelled due to violent attacks on LGBTI persons, civic activists and journalists.

Sadly, these developments show clearly how intolerance and humiliation remain a stark reality for many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people.

And this is simply unacceptable.

Because respect for universal human rights is not optional.

These are fundamental rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world.

And they apply to everyone, regardless of where you are from, what you believe, or how you choose to live your life.

But we also know that unless societies and cultures become truly inclusive injustice will continue to prevail.

That is why promoting equal rights for LGBTI persons worldwide is a top priority for the Netherlands.

And it is why my country is one of the co-founders of the Equal Rights Coalition: a unique group of 42 countries from every corner of the globe.

All working for a world where every nation recognises, promotes and protects the human rights of LGBTI persons.

But we can only make headway if everyone works in concert.

With that in mind, the Netherlands welcomes the new ERC strategy.

We welcome its ambition to enlarge and build the ERC’s capacity.

And of course its ambition to combat discrimination and violence against LGBTI persons.

Partnering with civil society is one of the core principles of the ERC, and we applaud that.

We remain fully committed to the implementation of the new action plan.

The Netherlands supports the ERC strategy and its strategic objectives. We will actively contribute to move this framework forward.

And we need to mobilize the political capital at this table.

To ensure we indeed move one step closer to a world where everyone can reach their full potential, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics.

Because, despite our many differences…

We are all equal and deserve to be treated that way.

Thank you.

 

[1] The survey was conducted as a separate 'Rainbow Map' benchmark of LGBT+ laws and policies across Europe by advocacy group ILGA-Europe.

Learn more about the Dutch efforts to promote equal rights for #LGBTI persons.