Subject: FYI: HILLARY CLINTON: GLOBAL LGBT ADVOCATE
From: Burns Strider <[email-masked]>
To: CTRFriendsFamily <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 12:29:04 -0700
List-Id: <CTRFriendsFamily.americanbridge.org>

Below and Attached:
HILLARY CLINTON: GLOBAL LGBT ADVOCATE
 
Secretary Clinton championed the cause of gay rights around the world. In recognition of International Human Rights Day, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton loudly and proudly declared gay rights are human rights. Her commitment to advancing the rights of LGBT individuals around the world produced the first ever UN resolution on LGBT rights. Across the globe Sec. Clinton condemned the discrimination and violenceenacted on the LGBT community and denounced criminalizing homosexuality.
 
“When Hillary Clinton gave that speech in front of the Human Rights Council in Geneva and said five simple words, ‘Gay rights are human rights,’ she transformed the debate. And standing here with Robyn, I want to build on that legacy, because LGBT rights are human rights, and human rights are LGBT rights.”
-Secretary of State John Kerry, 6/19/14
 
Championed Gay Rights as Human Rights Around the World
 
MADE LGBT RIGHTS A PART OF U.S. FOREIGN POLICY
 
Sec. Clinton directed the State Department to “champion a comprehensive human rights agenda” that included protection of LGBT human rights. “Human rights are inalienable and belong to every person, no matter who that person is or whom that person loves. Since January 2009, Secretary Clinton has directed the Department to champion a comprehensive human rights agenda — one that includes the protection of the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. The Department uses its full range of diplomatic and development tools to press for the elimination of violence and discrimination against LGBT people worldwide, particularly those forced to flee their homes or countries.” [State Dept. Fact Sheet: Promoting Human Rights of LGBT People, 12/6/11]
 
Sec. Clinton made the promotion of equality for gay people a core value of U.S. foreign policy. According to the Miami Herald’s world affairs columnist and former CNN producer and correspondent Frida Ghitis, “As Hillary Clinton makes a whirlwind round of appearances in her last days as secretary of state, one groundbreaking aspect of her work deserves a moment in the spotlight: In a bold departure with tradition, Clinton made the promotion of equality for gay people a core value of U.S. foreign policy. That is a transformative change, one that advances the cause of human rights around the world -- not just for gays and lesbians, but for everyone.” [Frida Ghitis, CNN, 2/8/13]
 
Sec. Clinton declared that “gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights” to the international community. According to Sec. Clinton’s remarks in recognition of International Human Rights Day in Geneva, Switzerland, “I want to thank Director General Tokayev and Ms. Wyden along with other ministers, ambassadors,excellencies, and UN partners. This weekend, we will celebrate Human Rights Day, the anniversary of one of the great accomplishments of the last century. […] This recognition did not occur all at once. It evolved over time. And as it did, we understood that we were honoring rights that people always had, rather than creating new or special rights for them. Like being a woman, like being a racial, religious, tribal, or ethnic minority, being LGBT does not make you less human. And that is why gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights.” [Remarks in Recognition of International Human Rights Day, state.gov, 12/6/11]
 
Sec. Clinton secured a policy change for foreign aid appropriation that would “take into account” a country’s LGBT human rights record. In her book Hard Choices, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote, “Early the next morning I learned that the White House had finally approved a policy change that we had been discussing. From now on, the United States would take into account the LGBT human rights record of a country when appropriating foreign aid. This kind of policy has a real chance of influencing the actions of other governments.” [Hard Choices, pg. 582, 2014]

WORKED WITH OTHER NATIONS TO ADVANCE LGBT HUMAN RIGHTS
 
Sec. Clinton launched the Global Equality Fund to support LGBT human rights advocates in partnership with eight countries. According to remarks by State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Acting Assistant Secretary Uzra Zeya, “We regularly engage with and support civil society organizations to ensure our work does no harm and supports long-term change. In December 2011, then-Secretary Clinton launched the Global Equality Fund to support civil society advocates working to strengthen the human rights of LGBT persons. The United States has partnered with eight-like minded governments – France, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Finland, Iceland, Sweden, and Denmark – as well several foundations to raise and allocate more than $7 million dollars for projects in over 50 countries.” [Uzra Zeya Remarks on Protecting and Promoting LGBT Rights in Europe, state.gov, 10/24/13]
 
Sec. Clinton worked with other countries to pass the “first ever” UN resolution on the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. According to Sec. Clinton’s statement on the UN Human Rights Council resolution on sexual orientation and gender identity, “Today, the UN Human Rights Council adopted the first ever UN resolution on the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. This represents a historic moment to highlight the human rights abuses and violations that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people face around the world based solely on who they are and whom they love. The United States worked with the main sponsor, South Africa, and a number of other countries from many regions of the world to help pass this resolution, including Brazil, Colombia, members of the European Union, and others.” [Statement on the United Nations Human Rights Council Resolution on Sexual Orientationand Gender Identity, state.gov, 6/17/11]
 
The State Department led efforts to reinsert language on sexual orientation into UN resolution on executions.According to the Department of State’s Accomplishments Promoting the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual andTransgender People fact sheet, “In December 2010, the State Department led efforts at the UN General Assembly to reinsert language on sexual orientation into a resolution on extrajudicial, summary, and arbitrary executions, after the language’s removal in committee. The amendment was approved by a 93-55 margin.” [The Department of State’s Accomplishments Promoting the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender People, state.gov,12/6/11]

Forcefully Condemned LGBT Violence, Discrimination and Criminalization
 
Under Sec. Clinton, the U.S. joined with Colombia and Slovenia in securing passage of a UN Human Rights Council statement on ending violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity. According to Sec. Clinton’sresponse on the UN Human Rights Council statement on ending violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity,“Today, 85 countries from every region of the world joined together in a historic moment to state clearly that human rights apply to everyone, no matter who they are or whom they love. The United States, along with Colombia and Slovenia, took a leading role on this statement along with over 30 cosponsors. Countries around the world participated including many that had never supported such efforts. And we hope that even more countries will step up, sign on to the statement and signal their support for universal human rights.” [UN Human Rights Council Statement on Ending Violence Based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, state.gov, 3/22/11]
 
Sec. Clinton fought Ugandan efforts to criminalize homosexuality. In a speech on the human rights agenda, SecretaryClinton said, “[T]he example that I used of a piece of legislation in Uganda which would not only criminalize homosexuality but attach the death penalty to it. We have expressed our concerns directly, indirectly, and we will continue to do so. The bill has not gone through the Ugandan legislature, but it has a lot of public support by various groups, including religious leaders in Uganda. And we view it as a very serious potential violation of human rights.” [Remarks on the Human Rights Agenda for the 21st Century, state.gov, 12/14/09]
 
Sec. Clinton: In many places in the world “violence against gays and lesbians – certainly discrimination and prejudice – are not just occurring, but condoned and protected.” According to Sec. Clinton’s remarks at a Europeantown hall, “Human rights is and will always be one of the pillars of our foreign policy, and in particular the persecution and discrimination against gays and lesbians is something that we take very seriously. It is terribly unfortunate…that right now in unfortunately many places in the world, violence against gays and lesbians – certainly discrimination and prejudice – are not just occurring, but condoned and protected. We would hope that over the next few years, we could have some influence in trying to change those attitudes.” [Remarks at a European Town Hall, state.gov, 3/6/09]
 
Sec. Clinton: “It is a violation of human rights when governments declare it illegal to be gay, or allow those who harm gay people to go unpunished.” According to Sec. Clinton’s remarks on International Human Rights Day, “It is violation of human rights when people are beaten or killed because of their sexual orientation, or because they do not conform to cultural norms about how men and women should look or behave. It is a violation of human rights when governments declare it illegal to be gay, or allow those who harm gay people to go unpunished. It is a violation of human rights when lesbian or transgendered women are subjected to so-called corrective rape, or forcibly subjected to hormone treatments, or when people are murdered after public calls for violence toward gays, or when they are forced to flee their nations and seek asylum in other lands to save their lives. And it is a violation of human rights when life-saving care is withheld from people because they are gay, or equal access to justice is denied to people because they are gay, or public spaces are out of bounds to people because they are gay. No matter what we look like, where we come from, or who we are, we are all equally entitled to our human rights and dignity.” [Remarks in Recognition of International Human Rights Day, state.gov, 12/6/11]