About the Author: Esperanza Tilghman serves as a Public Affairs Officer in the Bureau of Consular Affairs.

Recently, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Consular Affairs (CA) launched its Smart Traveler Day campaign, designed to support CA’s ongoing efforts to keep U.S. citizens informed and connected to the latest travel information, and to emphasize the assistance CA provides to U.S. citizens traveling overseas.

On February 20, 2013, CA kicked off the campaign with the first-ever roundtable discussion engaging lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons. The roundtable focused on the unique challenges facing LGBT travelers, and how CA provides information and resources to help U.S. citizen travelers stay well-informed and safe. The event was organized… more »

About the Author: Hannah Johnson serves as an Assistant Editor for DipNote.

This week’s “Photo of the Week” comes to us from State Department photographer Michael Gross and shows U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivering remarks at the Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs (GLIFAA) 20th Anniversary celebration at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on November 28, 2012.

GLIFAA works to secure full parity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) personnel and their families in U.S. foreign affairs agencies. GLIFAA seeks to raise awareness about LGBT issues and advocate for LGBT Foreign Service, Civil Service, and Contract employees and their partners and children. GLIFAA also serves as a support network and resource of information for LGBT employees and their families.

During her remarks, Secretary… more »

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks at the 20th Anniversary of the Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA) at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. on November 28, 2012. A text transcript can be found at http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2012/11/201170.htm.

Notice to the Press
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
November 27, 2012

On Wednesday, November 28, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will deliver remarks at the 20th Anniversary Celebration of Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA), the State Department’s officially recognized employee affinity group for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees.

Today, under the leadership of Secretary Clinton, LGBT employees at the State Department and their families have a level of benefits and recognition never before seen in foreign affairs agencies of the U.S. government. Most notably, Secretary Clinton is responsible for the extension of the full range of legally available benefits and allowances to same-sex domestic partners of Foreign Service members serving overseas. She also instituted the 2010 revision of the Department’s equal employment opportunity policy to prohibit discriminatory treatment of employees and job applicants based on gender identity.

Advocating for employees of the Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Peace Corps, the Foreign Agricultural Service, the Foreign Commercial Service, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and all foreign affairs units of the U.S. government, GLIFAA works to ensure full parity for LGBT personnel and their families in U.S. foreign affairs agencies serving both domestically and abroad. MORE

About the Author: Frankie Sturm serves as Deputy Cultural Attache at U.S. Embassy Warsaw in Poland.

Sitting down to dinner to wrap up two jam-packed days of outreach by Judy and Dennis Shepard in Poland to parents of LGBT individuals, non-governmental organizations, parliamentarians, TV reporters, and others, I was struck by how universally their story resonates even thousands of miles from the United States.

As co-founders of the Matthew Shepard Foundation, Judy and Dennis have worked tirelessly to expand LGBT rights and protections through the legal system, while changing hearts and minds by telling the tragic story of their son’s murder due to hate and intolerance.

The State Department is proud to be sponsoring the Shepards on a five-country, two week-plus European outreach trip. The Shepards’ tour includes stops in Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, and… more »

About the Author: Hannah Johnson serves as an Assistant Editor for DipNote.

This week’s “Photo of the Week” comes to us from the U.S. Embassy in Prague, Czech Republic and shows Ambassador Norman L. Eisen and a group from the embassy marching in the second annual Pride Parade in Prague on Saturday, August 18, 2012. The parade participants walked from Wenceslas Square to Strelecky Island accompanied by floats with music and dancers.

The United States is working throughout the world to defend the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people of all races, religions, and nationalities as part of our comprehensive human rights policy… more »

Press Statement
Victoria Nuland
Department Spokesperson
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
August 23, 2012

The United States condemns the Government of Zimbabwe’s violent arrest and detention of 44 members of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe on August 11 and a second raid by police on August 20. Several of these members sustained serious medical injuries from the attacks and were detained without charges. The Government of Zimbabwe has also targeted these same members’ homes and singled out their families for interrogation and harassment.

The United States stands in solidarity with Zimbabwe’s civil society, including LGBT activists. We are deeply concerned when security forces become an instrument of political violence used against citizens exercising their democratic rights. We call upon the Government of Zimbabwe to end this pattern of abuse and to eradicate the culture of impunity that allows members of the security sector to continue to violate the rights of the Zimbabwean people.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks on the human rights of LGBT people and U.S. foreign policy at the Department of State in Washington, D.C., June 27, 2011.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will deliver remarks on “The Human Rights of LGBT People and U.S. Foreign Policy,” at an event co-hosted by the State Department and Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA), on Monday, June 27, at 10:25 a.m. (EDT). Under Secretary Maria Otero will lead a panel discussion with senior U.S. Government Officials at 9:30 a.m. (EDT), prior to Secretary Clinton’s remarks. The discussion topics will include the status of LGBT people around the world and how the U.S. Government can promote the protection of their human rights. The event is part of a series of LGBT Pride Month celebrations at the U.S. Department of State. You can watch the event streamed live on www.state.gov and DipNote. more »

About the Author: Curtis Ried is a Political Advisor at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. For more information on the work of the U.S. Mission to the UN, visit www.usun.state.gov and follow Ambassador Rice on Twitter and Facebook.

Life at the State Department has changed immeasurably for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) employees since the founding of Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA) in 1992. As a member of GLIFAA and a Foreign Service Officer, I deeply appreciate the dedication of the Obama Administration to ensuring that LGBT members of the Foreign Service enjoy many more equal benefits for our partners and families than was the case until just a few years ago. On a broader level, the central role this Administration has given to the promotion of human rights for LGBT persons around the world is a tremendous source of pride for me and for my fellow LGBT colleagues.

GLIFAA was thus particularly honored to host Ambassador Susan Rice at a commemoration of LGBT Pride Month on Friday in Washington, D.C. Standing before nearly 80 employees of the Department of State… more »