Everyone should be free to be themselves and love who they want to love without fear. 
Yet lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people still face discrimination in many parts of the world, including Europe. 
The EU is strongly committed to fighting against discrimination. Listen to find out more about how the EU is trying to build a more inclusive society where everyone can feel safe.

Fighting discrimination against LGBTIQ people

In response to growing threats to media freedom and the financial viability of media outlets, Parliament adopted a common framework for media services, known as the European Media Freedom Act. It is a true milestone, as the act protects journalists and media workers, encourages transparency in media ownership and promotes international cooperation to ensure a diverse and independent media landscape.

The EU’s Media Freedom Act

Am 10. Dezember 1948 verkündete die Generalversammlung der Vereinten Nationen in Paris die Allgemeine Erklärung der Menschenrechte. Diese Erklärung ist ein Meilenstein in der Geschichte der Menschenrechte, da in ihr zum ersten Mal die weltweit zu schützenden grundlegenden Menschenrechte festgelegt wurden. Sie wurde von einer Gruppe von Visionären mit unterschiedlichem beruflichem, kulturellem und religiösem Hintergrund verfasst. Sie arbeiteten in der kurz zuvor gegründeten Menschenrechtskommission der Vereinten Nationen zusammen. Die Erklärung wurde in mehr als 500 Sprachen übersetzt. Sie diente außerdem als Inspiration und Wegbereiterin für mehr als 70 Menschenrechtsabkommen, die weltweit oder regional dauerhaft gelten.

Allgemeine Erklärung der Menschenrechte - Deutsch

La Asamblea General de las Naciones Unidas aprobó la Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos el 10 de diciembre de 1948 en París. Es un documento que marca un hito en la historia de los derechos humanos porque, por primera vez, establece los derechos humanos fundamentales que deben protegerse universalmente. La Declaración consta de un preámbulo seguido de treinta artículos. La Unión Europea la ha adoptado plenamente, utilizándola para establecer normas en su legislación y acuerdos internacionales, así como para orientar su política exterior.

La Declaración Universal de los Derechos Humanos - español

Il 10 dicembre 1948, a Parigi, l'Assemblea Generale delle Nazioni Unite adotta la Dichiarazione universale dei diritti umani. Si tratta di un passo decisivo, perché, per la prima volta in assoluto, questo documento definisce i diritti umani fondamentali che godono di una protezione universale. L'UE ha fatto sua la Dichiarazione, che si compone di un preambolo e trenta articoli, prendendola come riferimento per stabilire norme nella sua legislazione e negli accordi internazionali e per orientare la sua politica estera.

La Dichiarazione universale dei diritti umani - italiano

Generalna skupščina Združenih narodov je 10. decembra 1948 v Parizu sprejela Splošno deklaracijo človekovih pravic. Deklaracija je v zgodovini človekovih pravic pomemben mejnik, saj so bile v njej prvič določene temeljne človekove pravice, ki jih je treba vedno varovati. Dokument je sestavljen iz preambule in tridesetih členov. Evropska unija je deklaracijo v celoti sprejela in jo uporablja za določanje standardov v evropski zakonodaji in mednarodnih sporazumih ter za usmerjanje svoje zunanje politike.

Splošna deklaracija človekovih pravic - slovenščina

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948 in Paris. The Declaration is a milestone document in the history of human rights because, for the first time, it set out fundamental human rights to be universally protected. The document is composed of a preamble followed by thirty articles. The EU has fully embraced the Declaration's significance, using it to set standards in its legislation and international agreements, and to guide its external policy.

The Universal declaration of Human Rights - English

DROI Committee meeting

EP Plenary session - Debates on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law

EP Plenary session - Debates on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law (Rule 144) Latest attacks against women, women's rights defenders in Iran, and its arbitrary detention of EU nationals

EP Plenary session - The EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders

EP Plenary session - Women activism – human rights defenders related to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)

EP Plenary session - Human rights and democracy in the world and the European Union’s policy on the matter - annual report 2022

Pakistani girls' rights activist Malala Yousafzai addressed the European Parliament about the importance of education in low-income countries. She made the speech accepting the 2013 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

* Watch the full speech on the European Parliament's Multimedia Centre: http://epyoutube.eu/q5wV

Malala Yousafzai speech on education | European Parliament

Liberian leader Ellen Johnson Sirleaf called for international help to prevent a return to violence after 14 years of civil war in her country.
 
The first woman elected president of an African nation addressed the European Parliament in September 2006, just eight months after taking office.
 
She said Liberians were committed to putting the conflict  - which ended in 2003 - behind them. She talked about the devastation left by war, the challenges of rebuilding and reconciliation, and the need for international help for sustainable development.
 
* Watch the full speech on the European Parliament's Multimedia Centre: http://epyoutube.eu/SpeechEllenJohnson

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf speech on Liberia | European Parliament

Peace Nobel Prize winner Denis Mukwege speaks out against the use of rape and violence towards women as a weapon of war.
He is the founder of the Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo. As a gynaecologist, he helped thousands of women victims of sexual and gender-based violence in his country.
In 2014, the European Parliament awarded him the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought for his work. Four years later, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. He continues to raise public awareness on the issue of sexual violence against women during armed conflicts.

* Watch the full speech on the European Parliament's Multimedia Centre: http://epyoutube.eu/SpeechMukwege

Dr Denis Mukwege speech on sexual violence in Congo | European Parliament

Czech President Václav Havel on feeling European four years before his country joined the EU.

Václav Havel was both the last president of Czechoslovakia and the first democratically-elected president in the country after the fall of communism, as well as the first of the Czech Republic after it was founded.

In 2000, four years before his country joined the EU, he addressed the European Parliament, speaking about the feeling of Europeanness and European unity.  

* Watch the full speech on the European Parliament's Multimedia Centre http://epyoutube.eu/speechhavel

Speech by Václav Havel on European identity | European Parliament

Pope John-Paul II said the Vatican strongly supported the ongoing European construction, a peaceful process bringing people together and providing a beacon to the world.
 
He urged tolerance among peoples and faiths and the protection of the environment. The pope spoke of the importance of Christianity in Europe’s past and future.
 
The first pope to visit the European Parliament addressed the plenary in Strasbourg in October 1988.
 
* Watch the full speech on the European Parliament's Multimedia Centre: http://epyoutube.eu/SpeechPopeJohnPaulII

Pope John-Paul II speech on the European construction ⎢European Parliament

For Simone Veil, a Holocaust survivor, the creation of the European Union is the most important event in the last 50 years.
 
In 1995, on the 50th anniversary of the Holocaust, Veil explained to the European Parliament how the tragedies of her past forged her faith in the European project.
 
She said it was important to remind the younger generation of the European Union’s key role in fostering peace and unity, especially whilst the EU was being criticised.
 
Born in France in 1927, Veil survived the Nazi concentration camps and went on to play a pivotal role in European feminism and politics. In 1979, she became the first President of the directly-elected European Parliament and was the first woman to preside over the assembly.
 
 
* Watch the full speech (12 minutes) on the European Parliament's Multimedia Centre: http://epyoutube.eu/SpeechVeil

Simone Veil speech on lessons from the Holocaust | European Parliament

Five days after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, the country's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to the European Parliament by video link from Kyiv, a city under siege.
 
In a defiant speech, he praised the bravery of his fellow Ukrainians, denounced the senseless killing and called on the European Parliament to back Ukraine's application to join the EU.
 
* Watch the full recording of the 1 March 2022 speech on the European Parliament's Multimedia Centre: http://epyoutube.eu/speechZelenskyy

Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s speech on war in Ukraine | European Parliament

South African leader Nelson Mandela called for a swift end to the apartheid system and preached reconciliation.
 
It was July 1990. Just four months earlier he had been released, after 27 years in prison.
 
At the time, South Africa was still ruled by a white minority government. Four years after this speech, Mandela would become the first president of a democratic South Africa.

* Watch the full speech on the European Parliament's Multimedia Centre:
http://epyoutube.eu/SpeechMandela

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