The Foreign Service Journal, June 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2015 33 is inclusive of LGBT rights, to sensitize local law enforcement to the dangers that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens face and how best to offer them protection. U.S. embassies can also use a wide array of public diplo- macy tools to support the local LGBT community. In fact, last year alone, more than 120 missions engaged in some form of public diplomacy in support of the local LGBT community. Missions can amplify local organizations’ outreach on their Web platforms or lend credibility to the organizations by hosting events, like film screenings or research presentations, featuring the participation of high-level embassy personnel, including the ambassador. Embassies can also host prominent American LGBT media, political or sports personalities, who can use their star power to make personal appeals through local media interviews and other public engagements. An Urgent Need Advocating for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans- gender persons in other societies is extremely difficult—and in many places, it can be dangerous. But the need could not be greater or more urgent. The advocates I have met in my work with the State Department—a straight South African woman whose sister was a victim of the terribly misguided “correc- tive rape” phenomenon, a prominent Ugandan activist who was later brutally murdered in his own home and a Bolivian transgender woman forced to flee violence in her indigenous community—all press for the same thing: They ask that I share their stories with the American people and the U.S. govern- ment. These activists are not looking to the outside world to solve their problems or to lead their movements. But they are seek- ing partnership, resources, strategic advice and training, and diplomatic assistance to defend themselves. LGBT rights are now a core component of our efforts to advance human rights globally—what Sec. Kerry rightly calls “the heart and conscience of our diplomacy.” All U.S. diplo- mats, especially those serving in the most anti-LGBT environ- ments, have an opportunity and responsibility to advance this national human rights priority. Working strategically in partnership with local human rights advocates, our diplomats can improve social attitudes toward this vulnerable population. And in the process, they can help eliminate the widespread violence and discrimi- nation that continue to threaten LGBT persons around the world. n