Pride Month: embassies and representations in Poland sign an Open Letter of Support to LGBTQI+ community

On the occasion of Pride Month, U.S. Ambassador Mark Brzezinski presented an Open Letter of Support to the LGBTQI+ community on behalf of 46 embassies and representations based in Warsaw, including the European Commission, European Parliament or UNHCR, U.S. Embassy in Warsaw informed at its website.

Every year, since 2012, members of the diplomatic community in Poland sign an open letter expressing support for actions to raise public awareness of the problems affecting the LGBTQI+ community and other minorities in Poland, as well as around the world, that face similar challenges, the embassy said.

Apart from ambassador Brzezinski, the signatories of the letter include ambassadors of most EU countries, but also Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Norway, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, South Africa, Mexico, Argentina or Chile. U.S. Embassy took care of collecting signatures - it took this role over from the Embassy of Denmark, which was responsible for it last year.

"On the occasion of Pride Month, we express our support for the efforts to raise public awareness of issues affecting the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) community and other communities in Poland facing similar challenges," the signatories said in the letter.

They also acknowledged "the efforts of the organizers of the equality parade and marches in Białystok, Bielsko-Biała, Bydgoszcz, Częstochowa, Gdańsk, Gdynia, Gniezno, Gorzów Wielkopolski, Kalisz, Katowice, Kielce, Konin, Koszalin, Kraków, Lublin, Łódź, Milicz, Nowy Sącz, Olsztyn, Opole, Piła, Gryfino, Poznań, Rzeszów, Sanok, Słubice, Szczecin, Toruń, Warsaw, Wrocław, Zielona Góra".

"This year, we also acknowledge the LGBTQI+ community’s contributions to supporting those fleeing the war in Ukraine as an integral part of Polish society," we read.

The letter also undescores the signatories' affirmation of "inherent dignity of each individual as expressed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights".

"Respect for these fundamental rights, which are also enshrined in OSCE commitments and the obligations and standards of the Council of Europe and the European Union as communities of rights and values, obliges governments to protect all citizens from violence and discrimination and to ensure they enjoy equal opportunities. To this end, and in particular to shield communities in need of protection from verbal and physical abuse and hate speech, we need to jointly work on an environment of nondiscrimination, tolerance, and mutual acceptance. This includes in particular sectors such as education, health, social affairs, citizenship, public service, and public documents," the open letter reads.

"We pay tribute to the hard work of LGBTQI+ and other communities in Poland and around the world, as well as the work of all those who seek to ensure human rights for LGBTQI+ and other persons belonging to communities facing similar challenges, and to end discrimination in particular on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. Open Letter Mission of the United States of America in Poland Human rights are universal and everyone, including LGBTQI+ persons, are entitled to their full enjoyment. This is something that everyone should support," the authors of the letter concluded.