02Mar2015
U.S. appointed first-ever Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Persons
On Monday, February 23, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry appointed Randy Berry as the first-ever Special Envoy for the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Persons worldwide.
Special Envoy will significantly advance efforts underway to move towards a world free from violence and discrimination against LGBT persons.
Secretary of State, John Kerry, emphasized that United States are committed to advance human rights globally and that Special Envoy reflects resolution to build “capacity to respond rapidly to violence against LGBT persons”.
He reiterated that “too often, in too many countries, LGBT persons are threatened, jailed, and prosecuted because of who they are or who they love. Too many governments have proposed or enacted laws that aim to curb freedom of expression, association, religion, and peaceful protest. More than 75 countries still criminalize consensual same-sex activity. At the same time, we know governments and civil societies in many regions are taking positive steps to advance LGBT rights. And we need to build on and learn from those successes.”
Secretary of State also indicated challenges U.S. face in promoting and protecting the human rights of the LGBT persons:
- To update and build on roadmap for how the United States should respond to anti-LGBT laws and practices;
- Continue to support governments and civil society activists that are driving the change on the ground;
- To set the gold standard in terms of the treatment and the posture of our own diplomats;
- To double down on nongovernmental partnerships - working with a diverse range of allies in the faith community, the business community, civil society in order to advocate for tolerance and to promote equality;
- Fully integrate LGBT rights into country’s multilateral and bilateral engagement.
Randy Berry has a long career with the State Department. He served as: Consul General in Amsterdam, Netherlands and Auckland, New Zealand; Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal; and at US posts in Bangladesh, Egypt, Uganda and South Africa. Mr. Berry speaks Spanish and Arabic.
At the ceremony of his appointment as Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Persons, Mr. Berry, noted: “Even though this special envoy position is new, most of you know that, in fact, the mission of promoting and protecting the human rights of our community is not. I am so proud to be joining a team of professionals here at the State Department within the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and to work more broadly with the other J bureaus and USAID and other government agencies, which have been working with heart and soul for years to advance the cause which we hold so dear.”
Special Envoy also stressed that “visibility has been key in seeing progress achieved in America and in many other places in the world” and that “members of our shared community have to be visible, they have to be heard, and they must be free to be open about who they are”.