May 17 marks the 2014 commemoration of the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia. The UN celebrates IDAHO every May 17 to mark the day in 1990 when the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its International Classification of Diseases. The month of June was originally celebrated as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Pride Month to commemorate the June 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City, which sparked the modern LGBT civil rights movement in the United States. People around the world now mark these two events, even as LGBT individuals still face profound hostility and discrimination.
Recent laws institutionalizing discrimination against LGBT persons in Russia, Nigeria, and Uganda are setbacks to efforts to protect universal human rights. Even where tradition plays a powerful role in society, we voice our opposition to legislation that impinges on the fundamental freedoms of all persons, including LGBT individuals. The United States urges all governments, especially emerging democracies like the Kyrgyz Republic, to stand with us for the protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all people.
