CULTURE, RELIGION, TRADITION CAN NEVER JUSTIFY DENIAL
OF RIGHTS, SECRETARY-GENERAL
STRESSES IN MESSAGE TO
CONFERENCE ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY
Following is the text of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s video message
to the International Conference on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender
Identity, in Oslo on 15-16 April:
Your Excellency, Espen Barth Eide, Foreign Minister of Norway, Your
Excellency, Minister for Women’s Rights of the French Republic, [Najat]
Vallaud-Belkacem, Excellencies, distinguished friends,
I am pleased to greet the participants in this important Conference.
We should all be outraged when people suffer discrimination, assault and
even murder simply because they are lesbian, gay, bisexual or
transgender. We should all speak out when someone is arrested and
imprisoned because of who they love or how they look. This is one of the
great neglected human rights challenges of our time. We must right these
wrongs.
Governments have a legal duty to protect everyone. But far too many
still refuse to acknowledge the injustice of homophobic violence and
discrimination. We need to document this problem and share information
with States on a regular basis for discussion and action.
We must institutionalize our efforts to address discrimination based on
sexual orientation and gender identity. We need public education to change
popular attitudes.
Some will oppose change. They may invoke culture, tradition or
religion to defend the status quo. Such arguments have been used to try
to justify slavery, child marriage, rape in marriage and female genital
mutilation. I respect culture, tradition and religion — but they can
never justify the denial of basic rights.
My promise to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members of the
human family is this: I am with you. I promise that as Secretary-General
of the United Nations, I will denounce attacks against you and I will keep
pressing leaders for progress.
I am committed to leading a global campaign in partnership with the United
Nations human rights office. I count on others to join us.
Together, we can make the world safer, freer and more equal for everyone.
Thank you.
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