In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Michael O'Flaherty urged President Rumen Radev not to sign a controversial bill that banned "propaganda of non-traditional sexual orientation". He also urged the Bulgarian authorities to tackle the discrimination of LGBTQ people.
O'Faherty wrote, "Deeply concerned by the recent law passed by Bulgaria's Parliament to ban so-called LGBTI 'propaganda' in schools. I call on President of Bulgaria Radev not to sign it. Authorities should tackle discrimination and hostile rhetoric against LGBTI people including in the run-up to elections."
On August 7, Bulgaria's National Assembly voted, 135-57 with eight abstentions, to ban the propaganda, promotion or incitement, in the education system in any way, directly or indirectly, of any ideas and views related to non-traditional sexual orientation and/or gender identity other than the biological sex. The adoption of the legislation triggered protests in the capital Sofia. The Orthodox Church expressed satisfaction with the ban.
NGOs and activists have submitted a petition to the President's Office asking the head of State to veto the newly adopted ban, Denitsa Lyubenova, a lawyer with the non-governmental organization Action, said on the Bulgarian National Radio on Monday.
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