US Secretary of State John Kerry: ‘America unwavering in LGBT rights support’
By Ryan Love
The United States remains “unwavering” in ensuring the human rights of the LGBT community worldwide, Secretay of State John Kerry has said.
Kerry was speaking at an event at the State Department last night (February 27) to honour Randy Berry, who earlier this week was announced as the country’s first Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Persons.
Berry, who attended the event along with his husband and their two children, will work to highlight issues around the world, while helping countries work to eliminate violence and homophobia.
“The United States of America remains unwavering in our commitment to advance the human rights of all human beings, and that includes LGBT persons prominently, appropriately equal to everybody else – here at home and around the world,” Kerry said.
“I’d just say loudly and clearly: no matter who you are and no matter who you love, we stand with you. That’s more than a message,that is a movement that we can ignite and with our work together we will see this movement succeed.”
Berry, whose appointed has been praised by human rights campaigners, added: “This love still stands ground for imprisonment, harassment, torture and far worse in too many places around the world. That is a violation of human rights.”
Shawn Gaylord, advocacy counsel for Human Rights First, said that he hopes Berry will be able to engage with counties such as Russia.
“I don’t think it’s helpful for the U.N.’s discussions around LGBT issues to be seen as driven by the United States, nor do I think they are. Hopefully the special envoy can both network with those other countries but also encourage growth of that around the world,” he explained.
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