The text below was delivered by Arnout JO van Kooij, chairman of COC Haaglanden, on the occasion of the unveiling of a rainbow runner at Station Centrum West in Zoetermeer, in the context of the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia & Transphobia on Tuesday 17 May.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today, on the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, we draw attention to the phenomenon of homophobia and its social undesirability. IDAHOT stands for 'a global celebration of sexual and gender diversity'. I believe that every day of the year is now dominated by something, but May 17 was chosen for a reason.

The date of 17 May is prompted by the fact that on that day in 1990, not so long ago, the WHO, the World Health Organization, officially removed homosexuality from the internationally used list of diseases. It may sound bizarre to us that homosexuality was even on that list. But it's not that bizarre. There are still countries where being LGBT is considered unnatural or a disease and is a cause for persecution and murder.

Since 2003, more and more organizations have started activities on May 17 in more than a hundred countries. The day has been recognized by various states and governments, including the European Parliament.

COC Haaglanden, the LGBT center of expertise for the emancipation of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders and – that is a recent addition to our LGBT alphabet – the I of intersex people, works closely with the authorities in the Haaglanden region . We are happy to share our knowledge with you about the (deployment of) a diverse range of policy instruments.

Today we unveil a rainbow staircase. A rainbow staircase is so unique. You have to be Zoetermeerder and Regenbooggemeente for that to come up with that!!!

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