Ladies and gentlemen,
Distinguished colleagues,
Friends,

The film you’re about to see tells the story of a group of brave, committed men and women who stand up against bigotry and discrimination at great personal risk to themselves.

They face derision and disapproval from their Government, their compatriots, even in many cases from members of their own families.

They are harassed, threatened and attacked, treated with a callousness and cruelty than no human being should have to endure.

And yet in spite of this, they conduct themselves with calmness, optimism and dignity. It is truly remarkable.

I watched the film at home and was very moved by what I saw. I think you will be too.

Violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people is a human rights crisis: a crisis that States have a moral duty and also a legal obligation to address.

At the end of last year, the High Commissioner for Human Rights published the first official UN report on the problem. It makes for shocking reading.

In all regions of the world, LGBT people suffer discriminated in their daily lives – whether at work, at home, at school or in accessing basic services, like housing, healthcare and pension benefits.

They are subjected to verbal abuse and treated as second-class. They are singled out for violent attack, torture, mutilation, even murder.

In 76 countries, having a partner of the same sex is a prosecutable criminal offence. People are arrested, imprisoned, in some cases executed, just because they are in a loving relationship.

This is an outrage. It is an affront to the very principles on which the United Nations was founded: equality, freedom, non-discrimination.

I have heard the arguments advanced by those who oppose change. They say that homosexuality can never be accepted because it runs counter to prevailing local customs, traditions, cultural values and religious beliefs.

If these arguments sound familiar it is because they are.

Exactly the same case was made to try to justify the subjugation of women, female genital mutilation, child marriage, apartheid, even slavery.

Most of us recognize these practices as unacceptable, yet all of them have been defended on grounds of custom, tradition, culture and religion.

No custom or tradition, no cultural values or religious beliefs can ever justify depriving a human being of his or her basic human rights.

I have spoken out on this issue because I believe strongly that to remain silent is to be complicit in appalling abuse.

I speak here in New York and when I travel abroad on mission. Homophobia is a global problem that knows no frontiers. I have noticed that when I raise the treatment of LGBT people in Africa I am told I should defer to African values. Other countries should respect our values, they say, not try to impose their own on Africa.

This is a deception. Homophobia is not an African value; it is a colonial value. The laws used to punish gay, lesbian and transgender Africans were mostly imposed on Africa during the colonial era. In most cases, the laws themselves were written in London, not Africa.

It is time for Africa to get rid of these last vestiges of 19th century colonialism and rediscover true African values. The value of ubuntu: the idea that we are all connected with one another; that each of us exists not in isolation but in relation to a greater whole; that each of us is diminished if anyone among us is humiliated or oppressed.

For my part, I promise to do all I can as Secretary-General to press leaders to listen and to act. But I am conscious that the hardest work will be done at the local level. By activists like those you will see in the film you are about to see, and others here tonight.

To them I want to say this: You are an inspiration to me and to millions of people around the world. I am more proud than I can say to join you in your struggle. It is a great human rights cause and however hard and however long it takes I know that together we will prevail.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,
Distinguished colleagues,
Friends,

The film you’re about to see tells the story of a group of brave, committed men and women who stand up against bigotry and discrimination at great personal risk to themselves.

They face derision and disapproval from their Government, their compatriots, even in many cases from members of their own families.

They are harassed, threatened and attacked, treated with a callousness and cruelty than no human being should have to endure.

And yet in spite of this, they conduct themselves with calmness, optimism and dignity. It is truly remarkable.

I watched the film at home and was very moved by what I saw. I think you will be too.

Violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people is a human rights crisis: a crisis that States have a moral duty and also a legal obligation to address.

At the end of last year, the High Commissioner for Human Rights published the first official UN report on the problem. It makes for shocking reading.

In all regions of the world, LGBT people suffer discriminated in their daily lives – whether at work, at home, at school or in accessing basic services, like housing, healthcare and pension benefits.

They are subjected to verbal abuse and treated as second-class. They are singled out for violent attack, torture, mutilation, even murder.

In 76 countries, having a partner of the same sex is a prosecutable criminal offence. People are arrested, imprisoned, in some cases executed, just because they are in a loving relationship.

This is an outrage. It is an affront to the very principles on which the United Nations was founded: equality, freedom, non-discrimination.

I have heard the arguments advanced by those who oppose change. They say that homosexuality can never be accepted because it runs counter to prevailing local customs, traditions, cultural values and religious beliefs.

If these arguments sound familiar it is because they are.

Exactly the same case was made to try to justify the subjugation of women, female genital mutilation, child marriage, apartheid, even slavery.

Most of us recognize these practices as unacceptable, yet all of them have been defended on grounds of custom, tradition, culture and religion.

No custom or tradition, no cultural values or religious beliefs can ever justify depriving a human being of his or her basic human rights.

I have spoken out on this issue because I believe strongly that to remain silent is to be complicit in appalling abuse.

I speak here in New York and when I travel abroad on mission. Homophobia is a global problem that knows no frontiers. I have noticed that when I raise the treatment of LGBT people in Africa I am told I should defer to African values. Other countries should respect our values, they say, not try to impose their own on Africa.

This is a deception. Homophobia is not an African value; it is a colonial value. The laws used to punish gay, lesbian and transgender Africans were mostly imposed on Africa during the colonial era. In most cases, the laws themselves were written in London, not Africa.

It is time for Africa to get rid of these last vestiges of 19th century colonialism and rediscover true African values. The value of ubuntu: the idea that we are all connected with one another; that each of us exists not in isolation but in relation to a greater whole; that each of us is diminished if anyone among us is humiliated or oppressed.

For my part, I promise to do all I can as Secretary-General to press leaders to listen and to act. But I am conscious that the hardest work will be done at the local level. By activists like those you will see in the film you are about to see, and others here tonight.

To them I want to say this: You are an inspiration to me and to millions of people around the world. I am more proud than I can say to join you in your struggle. It is a great human rights cause and however hard and however long it takes I know that together we will prevail.