Raise Your Voices against Homophobia & Transphobia!
On 25 September 2014, foreign ministers and other high-level representatives of UN Member States met at the United Nations to discuss next steps in the fight to end homophobia and transphobia. Unable to attend in person, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent this video message in which he welcomed efforts to raise awareness of rights abuses against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons and called on those present to do more to address the problem. The event, “Free & Equal: LGBT rights are Human Rights”, took place at UNHQ during the opening week of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. It featured remarks by US Secretary of State, Mr. John Kerry and Foreign Minister of Argentina, Mr. Héctor Timerman, and was moderated by Foreign Minister of The Netherlands, Mr. Frans Timmermans, with the presence of ministers and dignitaries from many other countries. The meeting was organized by the LGBT Core Group at the United Nations — a cross regional group that includes Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Croatia, El Salvador, the European Union, France, Israel, Japan, Montenegro, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Uruguay, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, as well as the UN Human Rights Office and the NGOs Human Rights Watch and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission.
