UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addresses first ever UN debate on rights violations against LGBT people, Human Rights Council, Geneva, 7 March 2012.

The two-minute video features High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay talking about the human cost of homophobia and transphobia and the struggle for equal rights. Calling for the repeal of discriminatory laws and banning of discriminatory practices, the High Commissioner calls on States to “punish violence and hatred, not love.” Recorded in English, the video is available with closed captioning in English and French, with Spanish, Arabic and possibly Russian to follow in due course.

UN human rights chief Navi Pillay looks back at the evolution of the gay rights debate at the United Nations. International law requires States to eliminate discrimination against lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people, and to protect everyone from violent hate crimes. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is just that, the High Commissioner says: it is universal and applies to us all -- whoever we are, whatever we look like, whoever we share our lives with.

High Commissioner on Homophobia

The video features the High Commissioner talking about violent attacks against LGBT people in the United States, Brazil, Honduras and South Africa, stressing that such incidents are not isolated but part of a global problem. It is in English, with French and Spanish (available soon) sub-titled versions also available. The video script is also available in English, French, Spanish and Arabic. If you wish to show the video at an event, it is recommended that you download the ‘high resolution’ version.