Secretary Clinton: Culture, Religion Cannot Excuse Anti-Gay Discrimination

December 6, 2011

Secretary Clinton defends the rights of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender persons in a speech at the UN in Geneva.

By Stephen Kaufman

Washington — Like every human being, gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgendered (LGBT) people are born free and entitled to the same human rights protections as straight people, and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says religious and cultural traditions do not excuse discrimination against and criminalization of the gay community any more than they once were used to justify slavery and racism and deny equal rights to women.

Speaking December 6 in Geneva, where the United Nations Human Rights Council has its headquarters, Clinton called for humanity to “be on the right side of history” by ending discriminatory laws and practices that not only deprive LGBTs of their human rights, but in some cases target them for violence or even death.

The secretary spoke ahead of International Human Rights Day, December 10, which will be the 63rd anniversary of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a document that “proclaims a simple, powerful idea: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” and “governments are bound to protect them,” she said.

Since the time of the declaration, it has grown to apply to communities whose rights were not being considered at the time, such as indigenous peoples, children, people with disabilities, and the LGBT community. Clinton said recognition of the rights of marginalized communities has evolved over time.

“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,” she said.

The secretary acknowledged that it is challenging to confront those who justify discrimination or criminalization on the grounds of religious or cultural values, but said such justifications have been used to defend practices now considered by most people to be highly abhorrent, such as honor killings, the burning of widows and female genital mutilation.

“Likewise, with slavery, what was once justified as sanctioned by God is now properly reviled as an unconscionable violation of human rights. In each of these cases, we came to learn that no practice or tradition trumps the human rights that belong to all of us,” she said.

“For most of us, the bonds of love and family that we forge are also vital sources of meaning and identity, and caring for others is an expression of what it means to be fully human. It is because the human experience is universal that human rights are universal and cut across all religions and cultures,” she said.

Clinton said the LGBT community and its supporters must be prepared to discuss the fears and concerns of those who are misinformed and believe falsehoods that associate the community with pedophilia, disease or a desire to recruit others to become gay.

Such notions are “unlikely to disappear if those who promote or accept them are dismissed out of hand rather than invited to share their fears and concerns. No one has ever abandoned a belief because he was forced to do so,” Clinton said.

Remarks in full

Obama Implements U.S. Strategy to Promote Gay Rights

Clinton’s remarks came shortly after President Obama issued a memorandum to the heads of U.S. executive departments and agencies requiring them to strengthen international initiatives to end discrimination against LGBT people and advance their human rights.

 “I am deeply concerned by the violence and discrimination targeting LGBT persons around the world — whether it is passing laws that criminalize LGBT status, beating citizens simply for joining peaceful LGBT pride celebrations, or killing men, women, and children for their perceived sexual orientation,” Obama said.

“No country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere,” he said.

The memorandum requires U.S. government agencies to step up their efforts to combat the criminalization of LGBT status or conduct by foreign governments, as well as to increase their outreach to non-U.S. publics to combat discrimination, homophobia and intolerance.

It also increases U.S. efforts to protect vulnerable LGBT refugees and asylum seekers and to quickly respond when they are abused, targets foreign aid to promote LGBT rights, and works to engage international organizations and civil society advocates in the fight against LGBT discrimination.