Celebrating bravery of LGBTQI+ activists: joint statement by foreign missions in Russia for Pride month 2024
Joint statement by the embassies of a number of Western countries in the Russian Federation on the occasion of Pride Month
We, the undersigned Embassies of Australia, Canada, Chile, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States to the Russian Federation, celebrate Pride Month by upholding the human rights of each individual as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Those rights apply to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) community as they do to every other individual.
Throughout the year, but particularly during Pride Month, we celebrate the bravery and successes of LGBTQI+ activists and their allies around the world, who continue in the face of adversity, to advocate for the rights of LGBTQI+ individuals. Everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics, has the right to receive full protection of the law. We stand by the principle that human rights are universal, including the right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association.