EU Elections Candidates Across Europe Are Vowing to Support LGBTI Human Rights

As voters get ready to go to the polls in the European Elections, over a thousand candidates across Europe have pledged to protect and advance LGBTI human rights if they are elected

Download this press release in Finnish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese and Spanish.

While authoritarian leaders across Europe continue to use the scapegoating of LGBTI people to divide and mobilise their electorates, the rising number of candidates singing up to the Come Out 4 Europe pledge proves that many have their sights set on voters who seek and support the protection and advancement of LGBTI human rights in the EU.

Now in their thousands, candidates in 27 countries have signed ILGA-Europe’s Come Out 4 Europe pledge, which asks them, if elected, to propose and advocate for EU policies and laws; actively engage on rule of law, democracy and inequality; make sure the EU uses all its powers to hold Member States accountable for violations of the human rights of LGBTI people, and act as a strong defender of LGBTI organisations and human rights defenders across Europe and beyond.

While larger countries like Germany and France lead in the numbers of signatories, following close behind are countries where LGBTI rights have not traditionally been high on the agenda, such as Italy with 110 candidates for 76 seats,  Greece (69 candidates for 21 seats), Lithuania (23 candidates for 11 seats, and Finland (78 for 15 seats).

The top four European parties with candidates who have committed to LGBTI human rights are, in ascending order, Renew; The Left; S&D; and Greens/EFA. 

For the full Come Out 4 Europe pledge, which also asks candidates how they intend to live up to their commitments click here.  

Quote from Chaber: “The sheer numbers of candidates signing up with very real commitments to protect the human rights of LGBTI people should they be elected, along with showing how they intend to live up to those promises, shows that many politicians are standing strong amidst growing attacks on LGBTI rights, and are willing to work with us, and other LGBTI organisations and activists to counter polarisation and the scapegoating of LGBTI people in political divides. Now, it is time to go out and use your vote for those politicians.”

The candidates in countries across the EU who have pledged to protect and advance LGBTI human rights if they are elected can be found at www.comeout.eu.

About Come Out 4 Europe:

The Come Out 4 Europe campaign seeks to mobilise votes for candidates in the European Elections 2024 who will support, protect and advance LGBTI rights as part of their mandate. It does this by directing voters to candidates who have signed a detailed pledge, which includes the ways in which they will live up to their commitments if elected. Come Out 4 Europe comes from ILGA-Europe, an independent, international non-governmental umbrella organisation uniting over 700 LGBTI organisations from 54 countries across Europe and Central Asia. ILGA-Europe works for a world in which each and every LGBTI person is free, equal and safe, through resourcing and connecting communities, driving political change, and amplifying voices. Find out more here.

The current numbers of candidates per country:

Austria – 30

Belgium – 32

Bulgaria – 8

Croatia – 7

Cyprus – 19

Czechia – 60

Denmark – 27

Estonia – 3

Finland – 78

France – 116

Germany – 88

Greece – 69

Hungary – 25

Ireland – 16

Italy – 110

Latvia – 5

Lithuania – 23

Luxembourg – 13

Malta – 23

Netherlands – 43

Poland – 3

Portugal – 44

Romania – 9

Slovakia – 15

Slovenia – 24

Spain – 60

Sweden – 57