3 min readNew DelhiNov 24, 2021 08:20 AM IST
First published on: Nov 24, 2021 at 08:20 AM IST
A champion of human rights, American politician Hillary Clinton has long been a crusader for equal rights across the world, irrespective of class, sex, nationality, gender or sexuality. She has publicly advocated for women’s rights and ran the United States presidential campaign against Donald Trump.
In this speech, she spoke in Geneva, Switzerland, in recognition of International Human Rights Day. The speech focused on the rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans people around the world.
She said, “It does not matter what country we live in, who our leaders are, or even who we are. Because we are human, we therefore have rights.And because we have rights, governments are bound to protect them.
“Step by step, barriers that once prevented people from enjoying the full measure of liberty, the full experience of dignity, and the full benefits of humanity have fallen away. In many places, racist laws have been repealed, legal and social practices that relegated women to second-class status have been abolished, the ability of religious minorities to practice their faith freely has been secured.In most cases this progress was not easily won.”
She made a crucial point, saying, “The way of protecting the human rights of LGBT people rests on deeply held personal,political, cultural, and religious beliefs. So I come here before you with respect, understanding, and humility.Even though progress on this front is not easy, we cannot delay acting.So in that spirit, I want to talk about the difficult and important issues we must address together to reach a global consensus that recognizes the human rights of LGBT citizens everywhere.Some have suggested that gay rights and human rights are separate and distinct; but, in fact, they are one and the same.”
Clinton concluded by saying, “Like being a woman, like being a racial, religious, tribal, or ethnic minority, being LGBT does not make you less human. And that is why gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights. It is violation of human rights when people are beaten or killed because of their sexual orientation, or because they do not conform to cultural norms about how men and women should look or behave.”
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The longtime politician is a staunch human rights activist. (Source: AP) 
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