A powerful and urgent discussion was held this week bringing together parliamentarians, activists, and international voices to address the escalating threats to LGBT+ rights around the world.

The meeting served as a call to action for international solidarity, intersectional awareness, and resistance to authoritarian repression.
Kate Osborne MP opened the discussion by highlighting the coordinated aggression LGBT+ people face globally.

It has been two months since Hungary passed legislation banning LGBT+ assemblies, with Pride events now prohibited. She urged those present to stand in solidarity with Hungary’s LGBT+ community. She also shared that the Italian government had refused her entry during attempts to lead delegations confronting the crackdown on same-sex mothers.

Osborne marked the recent observance of Trans History Week in the UK and celebrated a successful Lesbian Visibility Week, with events held in the UK, US, Italy, and Malta.

Nia Griffith MP thanked Kate Osborne for her invaluable work and voiced her continued commitment to a global programme for LGBT+ rights, with a specific emphasis on trans rights. She raised concern about the UK Supreme Court’s recent decision and reaffirmed support for LGBT+ people fleeing violence, especially in Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa. She noted that Lord Ray Collins carries international LGBT+ engagement in his Foreign Office remit and stressed the UK’s responsibility to address colonial-era laws still affecting LGBT+ communities worldwide. Griffith also reassured attendees of efforts to safeguard funding for international LGBT+ programmes and announced her participation in an upcoming equality and inclusion forum in Malta focused on gender identity and sexual rights.

Barbaros Şansal, renowned Turkish fashion designer and activist, gave a historical account of LGBT+ experiences in Turkey, noting that under the Ottoman Empire, LGBT people were not criminalised. However, by the late 1970s, state crackdowns began targeting LGBT+ people through arrests and public humiliation. Today, Şansal remarked, “unless you are pro-regime, you are criminalised,” with pro-government trans figures even being included in official peace efforts. He urged for love and respect to take precedence over provocation in dealing with far-right violence. He closed with a poetic call for cultural dignity: “Make love with your mother tongue; make war with your enemy’s tongue.”

Lukas Sieper MEP reflected on growing patterns in Western democracies where LGBT+ rights are conditionally protected within nationalist frameworks. He drew attention to Islamophobic homonationalism, sharing alarming statistics such as the near doubling of far-right support among gay men in Germany. He stressed the urgency of building bridges with queer people of faith and fostering dialogue over division. “Wherever the far-right rises—be it the US, Hungary, or elsewhere—LGBT+ rights are always among the first to be marginalised. We are only as free as the most vulnerable in our society,” Sieper affirmed.

Towards the end of the meeting, James Asser MP, Co-Chair of LGBT+ Labour, joined briefly to express support and reinforce Labour's commitment to global LGBT+ rights.
The session concluded with a Q&A led by Kate Osamor MP, giving attendees the opportunity to engage directly on matters ranging from grassroots mobilisation to the importance of cultural solidarity in international LGBT+ advocacy.

Chair:
Kate Osborne MP
Chair of the Lesbian Visibility Network and Vice Chair of the LGBT+ PLP

Bio: Kate Osborne is a British Labour Party politician and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Jarrow and Gateshead East since 2019. She is an active campaigner for LGBT+ rights and trade union issues.

Speakers Include:

• Dame Nia Griffith DBE MP - Minister for Equalities

• Barbaros Şansal – Turkish fashion designer and outspoken LGBT+ rights activist

• Lukas Sieper  - Member of the European Parliament

• Representative from UK LGBT+ Organisations