Statement: Orbán’s threat to ban LGBTI Pride marks a dangerous step toward silencing dissent
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s threat to ban the 2025 Budapest Pride march has sparked outrage, with concerns over restrictions linked to the country’s anti-LGBTI law. ILGA-Europe stand in solidarity with the organisers of Budapest Pride, and assert the Hungarian people’s right to peaceful protest.
On 22 February, the Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, delivered a speech in which he threatened to ban Budapest Pride. During his State of the Nation address, Orbán said: “I advise the Pride organisers that they should not bother preparing for this year’s march. It would be a waste of time and money”.
While no legislation has yet been tabled to outright ban the 2025 Pride march, the government has referred to restrictions on its location, justifying this on the basis of the Hungarian anti-LGBTI law adopted in 2021, which bans promotion or portrayal of so-called “divergence from self-identity corresponding to sex at birth, sex change or homosexuality” to minors. This effectively bans depictions or “promotion” of LGBTI identities in the public space or anywhere where minors could be present or see LGBTI related content.
The European Commission has taken Hungary to court over this aforementioned law, and any restrictions or bans on Pride would also contravene laws related to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression, protected in both international law1 and Hungary’s own Constitution2.
Last year, 35,000 people marched, making Budapest Pride the largest recurring civil rights demonstration in the country. Activists anticipate that this year’s march will be Hungary’s largest Pride ever. Many Hungarians who have never attended any Pride marches are publicly declaring their intention to join because the government is threatening a ban.
Banning Pride in Budapest would eliminate a crucial platform for Hungarians to demand that their government listen to its people and uphold democratic values. It would mark a dangerous step toward restricting the right to protest and silencing dissent.
We affirm the value and importance of Pride as a peaceful gathering to assert the equal human rights of LGBTI people, in the context of demanding equal human rights for all. We decry any attempt to stamp out Pride as an attack on everyone’s right to freedom of assembly. We stand in solidarity with Budapest Pride, who will march on June 28, and are determined to fight all obstacles laid in front of them. We urge the authorities in Hungary and every democratic state to respect and protect the right to peaceful assembly. A society that upholds human rights for all is a stronger, more just society for everyone.
