Discrimination, harassment, violence and hatred against LGBTQI+ persons remain a reality in our countries and around the world. The impacts on individuals and the whole of society are devastating. In Korea and around the world, there are many LGBTQI+ individuals who continue to stand strong, seeking recognition and equality despite the challenges they face.

As like-minded partners, we are committed to preventing and actively combatting multiple and intersecting forms of violence and discrimination against LGBTQI+ persons and promoting diversity and inclusion. Our nations seek to ensure full, equal and meaningful enjoyment of human rights for all, translating into participation of all persons in all spheres of society, regardless of their sexual orientation, identity or expression, and to consistently mainstream equality and equity into all policy areas.

We salute the vibrant contribution of LGBTQI+ persons around the world and we will continue to stand ready to support local initiatives that raise awareness about the rights of LGBTQI+ persons, such as the upcoming Seoul International Pride Film Festival and the various queer culture festivals held in Korea. Determined to fight discrimination around the world, we reaffirm our commitment to total respect of all human rights for LGBTQI+ persons, including freedom of expression and association, as well as the protection of LGBTQI+ persons from hate speech and hate crime.

Our countries will continue to work tirelessly to support partners not only to lift legal provisions which restrict the rights of LGBTQI+ persons, but also to adopt policies against all forms of discrimination and violence against LGBTQI+ persons, including homophobia, biphobia and transphobia. We will continue to share best practices and lessons learned from our countries, particularly in relation to working with national human rights institutions, human rights defenders, civil society actors and ministries in charge of security and justice. We believe that the whole of society wins when each person is treated in a spirit of fairness, equality and justice.

We are committed to the protection and support of LGBTQI+ persons and will continue to mobilise our diplomatic networks to this goal, in a spirit of dignity and inclusiveness.