Credit: US Embassy in Luxembourg
The US Embassy in Luxembourg has reported on its recent Pride Month celebrations.
In honour of Pride Month in the United States, on Friday 31 May 2024, the US Ambassador to Luxembourg, Tom Barrett, hosted key advocates for LGBTQI+ rights in the Grand Duchy to celebrate their role in advancing LGBTQI+ equality and to discuss avenues for continued collaboration.
Ambassador Tom Barrett said: "Pride Month is an opportunity to celebrate LGBTQI+ people everywhere and to reinforce our dedication to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - that everyone is born free and equal. We also recognise that despite significant advances, achieving full equality for all is an ongoing endeavor and collaborating with partners such as Luxembourg, a country that exemplifies the thriving nature of diverse democracies, is essential."
He continued: "Our Pride flag display this year is larger and more striking than ever, symbolising the unwavering US commitment to promoting LGBTQI+ equality and underscoring our enduring dedication to defending LGBTQI+ rights at home and around the world."
Attendees included members of Luxembourg's LGBTQI+ community, representatives of Rosa Lëtzebuerg, the Consultative Commission on Human Rights, the University of Luxembourg and other foreign missions.
As the US Embassy explained, Pride Month is celebrated each year in the United States in June to honour the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York City, which was a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. President Bill Clinton officially declared June as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month in 2000. President Barack Obama expanded the observance in 2011 to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month. Today, the United States advances the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons in line with President Biden's Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons Around the World, added the embassy.
Pride Month commemorates the ongoing pursuit for equal justice for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex community and celebrates the accomplishments of LGBTQI+ individuals and organisations.
