June 22, 2010 -- In honor of LGBT Pride month, Secretary of State Clinton delivered a moving speech today to to a packed auditorium in the State Department. She highlighted the State Department's ongoing commitment to LGBT rights and emphatically declared that "human rights are gay rights and gay rights are human rights - once and for all!" She also made a number of policy announcements, including the addition of gender identity to the State Department's equal opportunity employment statement, and issued directives to all regional bureaus to expand their work on LGBT issues. During the address, she personally welcomed four visiting LGBTI activists from Uganda, Cameroon, South Africa, and Malawi, who attended the speech before settling into a working meeting with the State Department's Africa Bureau. She concluded by making a personal plea to do more for LGBT youth, and she thanked everyone for "being a part of history's great moments."
The event was co-sponsored by GLIFFA, and also included comments by USAID Administer Shaw and Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration, Eric Schwartz. A brief panel discussion followed the remarks and included Deputy Assistant Secretary Dan Baer, as well as the Council's Chair, Mark Bromley, and IGLHRC's Executive Director, Cary Alan Johnson.
