Attacks on the rights of LGBTI persons in Europe: a threat to democracy

Motion for a resolution | Doc. 16354 | 03 March 2026

Signatories:

Ms Béatrice FRESKO-ROLFO, Monaco, ALDE ; Mr Christophe BRICO, Monaco, EPP/CD ; Mr Iulian BULAI, Romania, ALDE ; Mr Christophe CHAILLOU, France, SOC ; Mr Yves CRUCHTEN, Luxembourg, SOC ; Ms Edite ESTRELA, Portugal, SOC ; Mr Michael FARRUGIA, Malta, SOC ; Mr Claude KERN, France, ALDE ; Ms Bisera KOSTADINOVSKA-STOJCHEVSKA, North Macedonia, SOC ; Mr Christophe LACROIX, Belgium, SOC ; Mr Max LUCKS, Germany, SOC ; Mr Didier MARIE, France, SOC ; Ms Luz MARTINEZ SEIJO, Spain, SOC ; Mr Fabian MOLINA, Switzerland, SOC ; Ms Wanda NOWICKA, Poland, SOC ; Ms Kate OSBORNE, United Kingdom, SOC ; Ms Valérie PILLER CARRARD, Switzerland, SOC ; Mr Søren SØNDERGAARD, Denmark, UEL ; Mr Georgios STAMATIS, Greece, EPP/CD ; Ms Susanna VELA, Andorra, SOC ; Ms Rian VOGELS, Netherlands, ALDE

This motion has not been discussed in the Assembly and commits only those who have signed it.

Attacks on the rights of LGBTI persons have increased in recent years and taken various forms. These have included administrative sanctions against organisations protecting the rights of LGBTI persons, bans on pride marches, physical and verbal violence, hate speech targeting rainbow families and an increase in online harassment.

There is a real political instrumentalisation of LGBTI rights. In several Council of Europe member states, LGBTI persons have been stigmatised by politicians, and their rights have been attacked during election campaigns. Under the guise of protecting so-called traditional family values, books on the equal rights of LGBTI persons have been censored and sex and relationship education programmes have not been presented to students. In some States, discrimination against LGBTI persons has been institutionalised by its inclusion in the constitution or by new laws. Transgender persons are particularly targeted by hate speech.

The protection of the rights of LGBTI persons is a legal, political, and societal issue. The Parliamentary Assembly should reiterate that LGBTI rights are human rights and that perpetrators of attacks against them must be prosecuted. It should also call on States to take the necessary measures to guarantee equal rights for LGBTI persons and to combat discrimination and violence. Attacks on the rights LGBTI persons have a broader scope and can constitute a democratic threat, often preceding attacks against other groups. A strong political response is needed.