The World Reacts to Clton's Gay Rights Speech - The Atlantic

Contents:

• HILLARY CLTON CLAR 'GAY RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS'
• CLTON TO UNED NATNS: "GAY RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS"
• WATCH HILLARY CLTON'S SPEECH DECLARG 'GAY RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS'
• THE WORLD REACTS TO CLTON'S GAY RIGHTS SPEECH
• U.S. TO AID GAY RIGHTS ABROAD, OBAMA AND CLTON SAY
• HUMAN RIGHTS AS GAY RIGHTS
• HILLARY CLTON ENDORS GAY MARRIAGE

HILLARY CLTON CLAR 'GAY RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS'

It is a vlatn of human rights when ernments clare illegal to be gay or allow those who harm gay people to go unpunished. It is a vlatn of human rights when lbian or transgenred women are subjected to so-lled rrective rape or forcibly subjected to hormone treatments, or when people are murred after public lls for vlence toward gays, or when they are forced to flee their natns and seek asylum other lands to save their liv.

And is a vlatn of human rights when lifavg re is whheld om people bee they are gay or equal accs to jtice is nied to people bee they are gay or public spac are out of bounds to people bee they are gay. But fact, all untri, there are sts to not protectg the rights both gay and straight liv lost to disease and vlence and the silencg of voic and views that would strengthen muni and ias never pursued by entreprenrs who happen to be gay. Now, there are some who say and believe that all gay people are pedophil, that homosexualy is a disease that n be ught or cured, or that gays rec others to bee gay.

The liv of gay people are shaped not only by laws, but by the treatment they receive every day om their fai, om their neighbors. Many people, cludg myself, have experienced a epeng of our own nvictns on this topic over the years, as we have voted more thought to , engaged dialogu and bat, and tablished personal and profsnal relatnships wh people who are gay. To highlight one example, the Delhi High Court crimalized homosexualy India two years ago, wrg, and I quote, “If there is one te that n be said to be an unrlyg theme of the Indian Constutn, is clivens.

CLTON TO UNED NATNS: "GAY RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS"

Media ptn, Hillary Clton: "Beg gay is not a wtern ventn, is a human realy"The US has publicly clared will fight discrimatn agast gays and lbians abroad by g foreign aid and diplomacy to enurage reform. "It should never be a crime to be gay, " Mrs Clton said at the Uned Natns Geneva, addg that a untry's cultural or relig tradns was no exce for discrimatn. Her dience clud reprentativ om untri where homosexualy is a crimal ambassadors shed out of the room as soon as Mrs Clton fished speakg, the Associated Prs news agency October, UK Prime Mister David Cameron's suggtn that aid uld be cut to untri that did not regnise gay rights was nmned by several Ain untri where homosexual acts are banned, cludg Ghana, Uganda and week Nigeria beme the latt Ain untry attemptg to tighten homosexualy laws, wh the Senate passg a bill banng same-sex marriag.

'Human realy'The announcement, scribed by the Whe Hoe as the "first US ernment strategy to bat human rights ab agast gays and lbians abroad", is also beg seen as part of the Obama admistratn's outreach to gays and lbians ahead of the 2012 official memorandum do not outle nsequenc for untri wh poor rerds on gay rights.

WATCH HILLARY CLTON'S SPEECH DECLARG 'GAY RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS'

"Corrponnts say the new policy uld pose awkward qutns for US officials formulatg policy towards some regular alli and regnal 2011, the state partment's annual human rights report ced ab agast gay people Sdi Arabia, an ally of the US that bans homosexualy outright. Afghanistan also prohibs homosexual activy, and the same report found that thori "sporadilly" enforced the the US, Republin printial ndidat cricised the admistratn's cisn, wh Texas Governor Rick Perry sayg a statement that "promotg special rights for gays foreign untri is not Ameri's terts and not worth a dime of taxpayers' money". Earlier this year Print Barack Obama signed to law a bill repealg the "don't ask don't tell" law and allowg homosexuals to serve openly the US on this storyRelated Inter LksThe BBC is not rponsible for the ntent of external s.

Secretary of State Hillary Clton fends the rights of lbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgenr people om around the world a speech durg Internatnal Human Rights Day at the Uned Natns Geneva on Dec. Secretary of State Hillary Clton fends the rights of lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr people om around the world a speech durg Internatnal Human Rights Day at the Uned Natns Geneva on Dec. By the time the dience heard the le “gay rights are human rights and human rights are gay rights, ” echog the famo 1995 pronouncement then-First Lady Clton ma Beijg about women’s rights, there was no pe for the sr of ambassadors that filled the first few rows.

THE WORLD REACTS TO CLTON'S GAY RIGHTS SPEECH

We knew would be edgy to give a major speech on the rights of lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people an ternatnal fom; what we hadn’t realized was how quickly the mere act of dog so would make the topic ls edgy. Print Joe Bin nvened reprentativ of over 100 ernments, civil society, and ternatnal anizatns the virtual Summ for Democracy tasked wh tacklg rptn, unterg thorarianism, and fendg human rights—cludg the rights of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, queer, and tersex (LGBTQI) people. The backlash om those posns of power is rarely only about homophobic or transphobic attus; is often nnected to a sire to pe acuntabily for rptn and other crimal behavr.

He n’t offer a pellg posive visn for closer relatns wh Rsia (jt as he n’t offer Rsians a real visn for their own future the kleptocratic thorarian society he pris over) so he explos homophobia and transphobia to acplish his geopolil aims. When polil actors opportunistilly nigrate LGBTQI people, this grants permissn for societal vlence, such as Chechnya’s anti-gay pogroms) and n lead to specific laws and polici that target LGBTQI people, such as the creatn of so-lled “LGBT-ee zon” Poland. In dog so, they should seek to circumvent the thorarians who opportunistilly e homophobia to ver their own pilferg om their people.

Advot and policymakers alike n regnize that there is que a lot of space between not gettg killed, beaten, or imprisoned for beg gay or transgenr and enjoyg full equaly wh relevant legal protectns for employment, hog, and health re. The fight for lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT) human rights took not one but two cril steps forward this week wh Print Obama’s release of a Printial Directive on LGBT rights followed closely by Secretary of State Hillary Clton’s ternatnal human rights day speech at the Uned Natns Geneva, Swzerland.

U.S. TO AID GAY RIGHTS ABROAD, OBAMA AND CLTON SAY

As we’ve poted out, too many untri beg gay, or beg spected of beg gay, n get you thrown to jail, tortured, raped or killed.

From the so-lled rrective rape of lbians to proposed legislatn to stute the ath penalty for homosexualy, LGBT people around the world face the daily threat of vlence simply for who they are. The Printial Directive lled, Workg to Advance the Human Rights of Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgenr (LGBT) Persons Globally directs U.

From people like Jean-Cl Mbe, jailed Cameroon for 3 years on spicn of homosexualy, to the LGBT muny of Uganda, who fear the passage of a dranian new anti-gay law, the actns by the Obama Admistratn uld make all the difference. 's human rights group Geneva, Clton tackled many of the mon stereotyp leveled at gay people and lled on other natns to elimate laws that crimalize or margalize homosexuals. Saturday is the anniversary of the passage of the Universal Declaratn on Human Rights, one of the te landmark achievements of the Uned Natns, which provid the opportuny for Clton to challenge other ernments to fend gay, lbian, bisexual, and transgenr people.

HUMAN RIGHTS AS GAY RIGHTS

She was quick to adm that her own untry do not have the bt rerd on the matters — is worth notg that her speech quiet potedly did not mentn gay marriage — but announced new iativ by the Obama admistratn to bat discrimatn around the world, cludg a "Global Equaly Fund" that will support human rights groups that protect gay people. It is a vlatn of human rights when ernments clare illegal to be gay, or allow those who harm gay people to go unpunished. It is a vlatn of human rights when lbian or transgenred women are subjected to so-lled rrective rape, or forcibly subjected to hormone treatments, or when people are murred after public lls for vlence toward gays, or when they are forced to flee their natns and seek asylum other lands to save their liv.

And is a vlatn of human rights when life-savg re is whheld om people bee they are gay, or equal accs to jtice is nied to people bee they are gay, or public spac are out of bounds to people bee they are gay.

HILLARY CLTON ENDORS GAY MARRIAGE

In France, Le Nouvel Observatr noted that Print Obama still don't fully support gay marriage sayg only that his posn on the issue was "evolvg. "Obama was one of the world lears who spoke out agast the law preparatn Uganda that would make some homosexual acts a crime punishable by ath.

The German gay culture se lled the speech, bed wh Print Obama's policy to nsir gay rights ab alongsi foreign aid cisns, a "historic global iative.