Ambassadors from 50 countries called on Poland to uphold its commitment to equality in an open letter condemning anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry.
An open letter published on Sunday called for an end to “verbal and physical abuse and hate speech” through a joint commitment to “non-discrimination, tolerance, and mutual acceptance.” Its release follows the continued spread of “LGBT-free zones” in Poland, in which over 100 cities and counties have passed largely symbolic ordinances banning the spread of so-called LGBTQ+ “ideology.”
“Human rights are universal and everyone, including LGBTI persons, are entitled to their full enjoyment,” reads the letter, which was posted to the U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Poland’s website. “This is something that everyone should support.”
The statement was affirmed by envoys from many of the world’s most powerful diplomatic leaders. Argentina, Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela all signed onto the pro-LGBTQ+ declaration.
Following the letter’s publication, U.S. Ambassador Georgette Mosbacher tweeted that “human rights are not an ideology,” echoing recent remarks from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“Fifty Ambassadors and Representatives agree,” Mosbacher wrote.
Polish leaders responded to the letter by claiming that its queer and trans community is not under siege, even despite all evidence to the contrary. After President Andrzej Duda was reelected in a brutal campaign which saw him refer to queer and trans equality as “destructive to man” and worse than communism, he proposed a constitutional amendment that would ban marriage equality and same-sex adoptions.
In comments delivered to the public on Monday, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki maintained “that tolerance belongs to Polish DNA.”
“Nobody needs to teach us tolerance, because we are a nation that has learned such tolerance for centuries and we have given many testimonies to the history of such tolerance,” he said, ignoring the fact that dozens of activists have been arrested in recent weeks for protesting Duda’s anti-LGBTQ+ agenda.
Joachim Brudzinski, who serves as deputy of the conservative ruling party, flippantly repudiated the letter because it didn’t call attention to alleged attacks on Christians.
“[W]e are waiting with hope for the next letter, this time in defense of murdered Christians, imprisoned #ProLife activists, people dismissed from work and persecuted for quoting the Bible, people subjected to euthanasia against their will,” he wrote in a Monday tweetstorm.
As other outlets have noted, Brudzinski’s response doesn’t make any sense. Euthanasia is already banned in Poland — where it is akin to criminal homicide — and access to abortions is severely restricted.
The letter is only the most recent show of support for LGBTQ+ people in Poland by the international community in recent weeks. Last week activists with the global advocacy organization All Out hand-delivered a petition to European Union Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli calling on her office to explore disciplinary measures against Poland, such as expelling the country from the E.U. It was signed by 340,000 people.
Meanwhile, Democratic candidate Joe Biden responded to the crisis by re-affirming his commitment to furthering LGBTQ+ rights abroad if elected president.
“Let me be clear: LGBTQ+ rights are human rights — and ‘LGBT-free zones’ have no place in the European Union or anywhere in the world,” wrote the former vice president in a September 20 tweet, which was immediately dismissed by the Polish embassy.
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