The Pride Week, which began on September 9, ended today with the Pride parade, a traditional stroll through Belgrade under the slogan “I'm not giving up”, and representatives of the Protector of Citizens participated in it. For the sixth consecutive year, the competent authorities ensured the peaceful organization of the Pride Parade in Belgrade, by implementing the necessary security measures. On this occasion, the Protector of Citizens emphasizes the need to adopt laws regulating same-sex marriages and legal recognition of gender identity, in accordance with the requirements of the organizers of this year's Pride Parade in Belgrade, but also the need to fully implement existing laws and the need to raise awareness of the entire society about the importance of respecting and fully exercising the rights of LGBTI persons.
This year, the Protector of Citizens once again points out that intolerance towards LGBTI persons is still noticeable in our society and that these persons face intolerance, hate speech and hate crimes, so it is necessary to make additional efforts on education about tolerance, non-discrimination and non-violent society, as well as to sanction any violation of the rights of members of the LGBTI community. The Protector of Citizens points out that preventive and educational activities are lacking, and that there is no education of students on sexual and reproductive health, which would cover the topic of LGBTI persons and their rights, and no campaigns have been organized to raise public awareness about persons of different sexual orientation and gender identity.
During the Pride Week, representatives of the Protector of Citizens participated in the conference “After 2020: LGBT+ community in the era of populism”, organized by Civil Rights Defenders, as well as the opening of the #LOVEISLOVE: No to Discrimination! exhibition at the French Institute in Serbia, which consists of posters of the Council of Europe campaign against hate speech, and the campaign to promote tolerance towards LGBTI persons, launched by the Da se zna! (Let it be known) association.