With the dynamic participation of the Diplomatic Corps, an event was held today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the theme: “Greece, a focal point in Europe for the defense of LGBTI+ equality in 2024 – From the equality law to civil marriage at EuroPride 2024”.

The event was attended by the heads of more than 30 foreign diplomatic missions in Athens and representatives of domestic equality and human rights bodies.

The opening address was delivered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Giorgos Gerapetritis, who characterized as emblematic the legislative recognition in Greece of marriage for all, without discrimination, and referred to the crucial importance of defending the rights of the LGBTI+ community as a constituent element of a democratic country. He also noted that this effort is not limited to the recent legislation, but is a continuous struggle, which Greece has set as a priority.

The event was organized as part of the activities of the diplomatic corps in support of EuroPride 2024, which will take place from June 21 to 29 in Thessaloniki, with the slogan “Persevere – Progress – Prosper”.

At the event, which was co-organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Athens, greetings were addressed by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Alexandra Papadopoulou, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Teresa Angelatos, the Ambassador of the Netherlands, Tereza Terstal, the Ambassador of Belgium, as chairperson country of the Council of the EU Marc Calcoen and the director of Pride of Thessaloniki Apostolos Karabairis.

A video message of welcome from the European Ambassador for Gender and Diversity Stella Ronner-Grubačić was also shown.

In her greeting, the Deputy Minister referred, among other things, to the establishment of an Equality office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from January 2024, which reports directly to the acting general secretary.

The equality office is responsible for monitoring the implementation, within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, of all national, European and international policies in the field of equality, inclusion and diversity.

Mrs. Papadopoulou emphasized that the fight against all discrimination is one of the top challenges of the time. Because, as he characteristically noted, what is at stake is not only the rights of specific groups, but also the very future of our democratic institutions, social cohesion and therefore the resilience of our societies against increasingly complex threats. It is our collective duty not to fail, he concluded.

As emphasized in the relevant interventions, the defense of equality is a strong commitment of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, both within the “walls” and at the level of foreign policy. With the recent legalization of same-sex marriage, Greece is now a member of the group of countries that protect, in practice and in substance, the rights of the LGBTI+ community.

The ambassadors of the Netherlands and Belgium – countries that were the first to establish marriage equality – praised, in their statements, Greece for this historic legislative initiative.

For her part, the secretary general in her speech emphasized that gender equality, the equality of LGBTI+ people, the inclusion of people with disabilities, the rights of the child, the fight against racism and intolerance, have been put at the top of the priorities regarding the way in which the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs is run.

He cited specific statistics, according to which the ratio of women to men in the entire staff of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is 50-50, i.e. 906 women and 907 men (a total of 1,813 for the year 2023). In the diplomatic sector, out of a total of 501 employees, 183 are women and 318 are men in 2023, which corresponds to a ratio of 36.5%.