Dublin city declared an LGBTIQ+ Freedom Zone

James Cox

At last night's Dublin City Council meeting, councillors overwhelmingly supported a motion to declare Dublin city an LGBTIQ+ Freedom Zone.

It follows the European Parliament's declaration for the European Union of March 11th, 2021, and includes a commitment to public policies promoting and protecting LGBTIQ+ rights on the one hand, and explicitly sanctioning structural discrimination mechanisms on the other.

The motion also condemned the action of the Polish and Hungarian governments against LGBTIQ+ rights, in clear disregard of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and every other form of discrimination against LGBTIQ+ persons.

The motion committed Dublin City Council to continue to fly the Rainbow flag on the City Hall for one week during Pride Month.

Commenting on the declaration, Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland said: “Dublin City is a beautifully diverse city and declaring it a LGBTIQ+ Freedom Zone this evening sends out a strong motion of support, inclusion and respect for our LGBTIQ+ community. As a City we must ensure we promote and protect LGBTIQ+ rights and protections to create a safe and equal environment, we must celebrate diversity and we most show ourselves to be a strong ally of that diversity! Tonight Dublin joined a long list of progressive cities standing up for LGBTIQ+ rights.”