Colombia and Spain, as co-chairs of the Equal Rights Coalition (ERC), an international coalition of States dedicated to equal rights for LGTBI people, which brings together 44 Member States, intergovernmental organisations and over 100 civil society organisations, have today issued a statement in favour of freedom of expression and assembly for LGTBI people.
The ERC co-chairs, which in Spain’s case is a position held by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, have used the declaration to reject the legislative changes that limit the public expression of LGTBI people, laws that prohibit the public visibility of LGTBI people or their right to assembly and demonstration, inspired by the Russian laws against LGTBI people.
The co-chairs further reject legislative attempts which, under the pretext of protecting children and adolescents, portray LGTBI people in a way that reinforces negative stereotypes against them, prohibiting their participation in public life or censoring cultural expressions such as books or films where the LGTBI reality appears.
Therefore, they call on international and regional organisations and States to reject these laws as contrary to the equal rights of LGTBI people.
The declaration made by the ERC co-Chairs (Colombia and Spain) is supported by the ERC co-Chairs from civil society (Caribe Afirmativo and Fundación Triángulo).
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