News Item

March with Pride and stand up for human rights

Banner during Vienna Pride saying Europe = Diversity
On 14 June, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) will march alongside the Diplomats for Equality and the EU institutions in Vienna to celebrate love, equality and inclusion at the Vienna Pride Parade. This year’s march will also pause to honour the victims of the recent tragic school shooting in Graz, standing in solidarity with the affected communities.

With recent attempts to restrict Pride Parades in parts of the EU, we will show solidarity with everyone whose right to peaceful assembly has been denied. Pride is not only a celebration – it is a powerful demonstration for equality and solidarity, grounded in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

EU countries have an obligation not just to permit peaceful assemblies but to actively protect them. Measures that target LGBTIQ people and those who support them undermine these obligations and threaten fundamental rights and freedoms.

FRA’s research has repeatedly highlighted the pressures civil society – including LGBTIQ organisations – face across Europe, from legal and political restrictions to financial constraints. FRA's 2023 survey found that 37% of LGBTIQ people in the EU experienced discrimination in the previous year, and 14% reported having been physically or sexually attacked in the last five years.

We call on EU countries to fully respect their obligation to uphold fundamental rights and freedoms. This includes protecting the dignity, safety and freedom of assembly of LGBTIQ people, and ensuring that civil society can operate freely.

As people take to the streets during Pride month, we recognise that the right to peaceful assembly cannot be taken for granted – and that visibility, safety and participation must remain evenly protected across the EU.