Ahead of Budapest Pride, 30 embassies from across the world have demanded “freedom from violence” for queer people in Hungary. The open letter, published Monday (19 July) was signed by the embassies of Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. It was also signed by 12 cultural institutes in Hungary. They expressed their “full support for members of the LGBT+ community and their rights to equality and non-discrimination, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, and freedom from violence” and declared that “respect for the rule of law and universal human rights are the foundations upon which democratic states are built”.