Whereas in Poland, around 100 local or regional governments have instituted “anti-LGBTI” zones or other discriminatory measures, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR) calls on Europe’s local and regional officials to support their peers fighting against homophobia.

Frédéric Vallier, CEMR’s Secretary General, and Emil Broberg, Regional Councillor of Östergötland (Sweden) and Chair of CEMR standing committee for Equality, have jointly penned an open letter opposing these measures to Polish municipalities, counties and regions. They call on local and regional governments throughout Europe to express their support by signing on to the letter.

“We must act to put an end to all assaults on the human dignity of the LGBTI community!”, said Frédéric Vallier. “These municipalities are stigmatising individuals merely for their sexual orientation and are pledging to remove financial assistance to NGOs working to promote equal rights, this is not compatible with the values Europe stands for.”

“In the world we live in today, equality must be built from the ground up”, said Emil Broberg: “When we see the national level going the wrong way, it is up to us at the local level to correct the course.”

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