United States Mission to the United Nations
Office of Press and Public Diplomacy
For Immediate Release
May 15, 2021
Statement by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield on International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia
As we mark the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOTB) on May 17, the United States reaffirms the human rights and fundamental equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex persons.
This year’s IDAHOTB theme, “Together: Resisting, Supporting, Healing,” speaks to the discrimination, stigma, and violence LGBTQI+ persons too often face, as well as the additional challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic which have had a disproportionate effect on marginalized communities, including members of the LGBTQI+ community. This theme also speaks to the need for all of us to examine our biases, become better allies, and counter homophobic, transphobic, and biphobic narratives and actions.
Governments must do their part. The United States is committed to combating the criminalization of LGBTQI+ status or conduct, protecting vulnerable LGBTQI+ refugees and asylum-seekers, providing funding to protect and promote human rights and advance nondiscrimination, and engaging international organizations in the fight against LGBTQI+ discrimination. It is also incumbent on us to clearly and consistently respond to human rights abuses of LGBTQI+ persons, including the acute challenges faced by queer women, transgender and other gender-diverse people, intersex people, and other particularly marginalized LGBTQI+ communities.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights begins with the word “universal” for a reason. The foundational unit of the United Nations – from the first sentence of the Charter – is not just the nation state. It is also the human being. Along with our fellow members of the UN LGBTI Core Group in New York, we will continue to work within the United Nations system to ensure the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all human beings, including LGBTQI+ people in the U.S. and across the globe.
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