#53 Equal Rights Coalition

The Equal Rights Coalition (ERC) is an intergovernmental body of 42 Member States dedicated to the protection of the rights of LGBTI persons. Member States provide leadership by actively engaging in thematic groups and commit to working closely with LGBTI civil society organisations who meet regularly as part of thematic groups.
More information about der ERC can be found at: equalrightscoalition.org

The boat is a collaboration of the embassies of the ERC member states. There will be around 100 people from the diplomatic corps along with some ambassadors and local staff on the boat. This year, 10 lhbtiq+ activists from Latin America will join the ERC boat. They have been selected for the annual Building Bridges visitor programme during Amsterdam Pride. These activists advocate for the human rights of lhbtiq+ persons in their countries. They also specifically focus on dialogue and acceptance with religious communities, where lhbtiq+ persons often face additional resistance. Through their work, these activists show that you can be both religious, and lhbtiq+.

With our boat, we campaigned on these issues:

• LGBTIQ+ rights are Human Rights
• End violence against LGBTIQ+ persons
• Building bridges for constructive dialogues
• Welcoming the positive steps to end discrimination

Our motto this year is: 42 countries for equality – we need more, who’s next?

ERC member countries are:
Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Honduras, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, The Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Portugal, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Uruguay.

In 2019, the ERC participated in Pride Amsterdam for the first time.