European Commissioner for Equality Helena Dalli will be in Belgrade on September 16 and 17 September for EuroPride 2022. This year marks the 30th anniversary of EuroPride and Belgrade is the first city in the Western Balkans to host the event, said EU info.

Commissioner Dalli will begin her visit with a meeting with Serbian Deputy Prime Minister Zorana Mihajlovic, following which she will give a speech at the International Human Rights Conference at the Pride House in Belgrade.

Dalli will also meet Serbia’s Commissioner for the Protection of Equality Brankica Jankovic to present the main objectives of the upcoming European Union (EU) initiative on binding standards for equality bodies and discuss Serbia’s progress on equality.

She will speak with LGBT organizations from the Western Balkans to learn about the issues that civil society organizations are currently working on and their concerns and meet with a group of MEPs and parliamentarians from the Member States.

Dalli is also scheduled to have a meeting with Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic to discuss LGBTIQ+ equality.

“At this EuroPride human rights conference, I reiterate that LGBTIQ rights are human rights, and all human rights are LGBTIQ rights. Equality and human rights are inextricable. No tradition, culture or belief system may be invoked to undermine that. Instead, human rights have to inform our societies and challenge discrimination. The EU will continue to advance its global leadership in protecting the universality and indivisibility of human rights for all,” said Dalli, EU info reported.