The US, most of the European Union and other allies criticized Hungary for an anti-LGBTQ campaign that they said was at odds with human rights law ahead of Budapest’s weekend Pride March.
The admonition from more than 40 countries and organizations underscored the deepening isolation of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whose government has been ramping up an anti-LGBTQ agenda that’s threatening to escalate a standoff with the EU over the rule of law and human rights.
“We are concerned with legislation and political rhetoric, including in Hungary, that is in tension with principles of non-discrimination, international human rights law and human dignity, and contributes to stigmatization,” they said in a statement on Friday. The embassies of the US, all EU countries except for Poland, the UK, Australia and others signed the letter.
Hungary already has effectively barred adoption for same-sex couples, restricted minors’ access to educational materials and literature related to LGBTQ topics and banned non-governmental organizations from holding sex education in schools.
On Thursday, the government fined a bookseller 12 million forint ($36,000) for displaying a graphic novel featuring a same-sex romance under a law meant to curtail minors’ access to content touching such themes.
“We stress the need for leaders and governments, here and elsewhere, to show respect for and protect the rights of LGBTQI+ individuals and communities, and to eliminate laws and policies that discriminate against them,” the countries and organizations said in the statement.
In 2022, the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, brought a lawsuit before the European Court of Justice against Hungary for one of the laws that it says discriminates against LGBTQ minorities. A majority of member states have joined the lawsuit on the commission’s side. Government officials have argued the law is intended to protect children.
Separately, the EU continues to withhold more than $30 billion in funding from the country on rule-of-law and graft concerns.
Budapest will hold its annual Pride March on Saturday. Some 10,000 people attended the event in 2021 ahead of a general election that Orban’s ruling Fidesz party later won decisively after campaigning in part against LGBTQ rights.
