The UN Human Rights Council today adopted the first ever UN resolution on the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons.
Ambassador to the Human Rights Council Eileen Donahoe said the U.S. team was thrilled at the Human Rights Council as well as the international community that the historic resolution has passed the Human Rights Council.
“It is the first internationally recognized form of protection for lesbian, gay, transgender, and bisexual people, and it is based on a very simple and elegant idea that all individuals deserve universal rights.”
– Ms. Donahoe
She said the United States spend all of its time at the Council protecting the universality of human rights. She added that for the first time they have been able to explicitly extend that protection to LGBT people and with the support of the international community.
According to Ms. Donahoe, the resolution includes an expression of grave concern about acts of violence and discrimination that are committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
“And from our vantage point, that was an essential element because there are horrific acts of violence and discrimination that are committed against LGBT people around the world in many places, and sexual orientation is even criminalized in many places.” -Ms. Donahoe
She said the the extent of support they got for expressing the idea that people deserve to be protected regardless of who they are and who they love and how they want to live their lives was really essential.
Ms. Donahoe undercored that the operational provision of the resolution instructs the high commissioner for human rights to document discriminatory laws and practices that take place around the world, and the acts of violence that have taken place against individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
“We hope this is just the beginning of a movement within the international community, within the UN, and at the Human Rights Council where we can work together to further promote and protect the human rights of LGBT people.”
– Ms. Donahoe
