Responding to the ban of the Belgrade Pride 2013 event, Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland issued the following statement:
"I am very disappointed by the Serbian Government's decision to ban the Belgrade Pride once again. The fundamental rights of the Europeans to freedom of assembly and freedom of expression must be effectively guaranteed. LGBT minorities must not be discriminated in the exercise of their fundamental rights. The case law of the European Court of Human Rights is clear in this regard."