While in Washington on business last week I had the great pleasure of attending a reception in honor of the 20th anniversary of the founding of GLIFAA, which stands for Gays & Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies. Secretary Clinton hosted the event in the historic Ben Franklin Room and delivered a powerful keynote address to attendees from State, other agencies, and NGOs. I reprint below the Secretary’s stirring remarks about the evolution of the Department and the transformative importance of the human rights work we do.

* * *

REMARKS BY HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON
Secretary of State
Benjamin Franklin Room
Washington, DC
November 28, 2012

I’m delighted that Deputy Secretary Tom Nides is here. Tom, who some of you know, who you’ve had a chance to work with him, has been just an extraordinary deputy. Also let me recognize USAID Deputy Administrator Don Steinberg. He’s been an unyielding advocate for the LGBT community at USAID.

We also have a number of ambassadors and deputy chiefs of mission, both past and present, some of whom have literally traveled from the other side of the world to be here. David, I’m talking about you. [DH note: yes, that was me.] And we have Michael Guest with us, our country’s first out ambassador to be confirmed by the Senate and someone who’s remained an outspoken champion for LGBT rights, despite having to endure countless attacks and threats. Michael, why don’t you stand up so that you can be recognized? [Applause.]

Also let me thank the GLIFAA board and members. I just had a chance to meet the board and former presidents. I don’t think I’ve ever been in a room with so many former presidents. [Laughter.] The last count was maybe five. [Laughter.] But it’s really due to their leadership over 20 years that GLIFAA has reached this milestone, and it will be up to all of you and those who come after you to keep the work going for the next 20 and the 20 after that.

Now, it wasn’t really that long ago since this organization was created, but in many ways it was a completely different world. As we heard, in 1992 you could be fired for being gay. Just think about all of the exceptional public servants, the brilliant strategists, the linguists, the experts fired for no reason other than their sexual orientation.

Think of what our country lost because we were unable to take advantage of their hard work, expertise, and experience. And the policy forced people to make terrible choices, to hide who they were from friends and colleagues, to lie or mislead, to give up their dreams of serving their country altogether.

That began to change, in part because of the brave employees here at State, who decided that it was time for the bigotry, the ignorance, the lying, and discrimination to end. The LGBT community deserve the same chance as anyone else to serve. And indeed, as we all know, many had for many years, just without acknowledgment of who they were. So enough was enough, and that’s how GLIFAA was formed. And thank goodness it was.

We’ve come a long way since then, and we have seen milestones along that journey over the last 20 years. I remember that I think on my husband’s first day in office back in ’93, he announced that gays and lesbians working in the Federal Government would receive equal treatment under the Civil Service Reform Act. Two years later, Secretary Warren Christopher made clear those rules would be enforced within the halls of the State Department when he issued a statement that explicitly prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

Now over the past four years, we’ve built on those and other steps to really acknowledge and welcome LGBT people into the State Department family and other agencies. We’ve extended benefits to same-sex domestic partners of State and USAID employees, Foreign Service officers, personal service contractors, third country nationals at missions overseas.

We’ve institutionalized these changes by creating a classification for same-sex domestic partners in the Foreign Affairs manual. We’ve also made it clear in our Equal Opportunity Employment statement that the Department doesn’t discriminate on the basis of gender identity or expression. We’ve helped to make it easier for transgender Americans to change the gender listed on their passports, because our mission is not only to protect the rights and dignity of our colleagues, but also of the American people we serve. And we’ve taken this message all over the world, including the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, where we worked to pass the first ever UN resolution affirming the human rights of LGBT people.

Together we have worked to make something very simple and right come true. Our people should not have to choose between serving the country they love and sharing a life with the people they love. And I want to say a few words about why this work is so important.

Now, leaders of all kinds will stand in front of audiences like this and tell you that our most important asset is our people. And of course, that’s especially true in diplomacy, where we try to be very diplomatic all the time. But what our success truly depends on is our ability to forge strong relationships and relate to people of all backgrounds. And what that means for me, as your Secretary, is that creating an LGBT-welcoming workplace is not just the right thing to do, it’s also the smart thing to do.

In part, that’s because the nature of diplomacy has changed, and we should and need to keep up. Today we expect our diplomats to build relationships not just with their counterparts in foreign governments, but with people from every continent and every walk of life. And in order to do that, we need a diplomatic corps that is as diverse as the world we work in.

It’s also smart because it makes us better advocates for the values that we hold dear. Because when anyone is persecuted anywhere, and that includes when LGBT people are persecuted or kept from fully participating in their societies, they suffer, but so do we. We’re not only robbed of their talents and ideas, we are diminished, because our commitment to the human rights of all people has to be a continuing obligation and mission of everyone who serves in the Government of the United States.

So this is a mission that I gladly assume. We have to set the example and we have to live up to our own values.

And finally, we are simply more effective when we create an environment that encourages people to bring their whole selves to work, when they don’t have to hide a core part of who they are, when we recognize and reward people for the quality of their work instead of dismissing their contributions because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

So really, I’m here today to say thank you to all of you. Thank you for your courage and resolve, for your willingness to keep going despite the obstacles – and for many of you, there were and are many. Thank you for pushing your government to do what you know was right, not just for yourselves but for all who come after you.

I want to mention one person in particular who was a key part of this fight, Tom Gallagher. I met Tom earlier. Where is Tom? There you are, Tom. Tom joined the Foreign Service in 1965 and in the early 1970s he risked his career when he came out and became the first openly gay Foreign Service officer. He served in the face of criticism and threats, but that did not stop him from serving.

I wanted to take this moment just to recognize him, but also to put into context what this journey has meant for people of Tom’s and my vintage, because I don’t want any of you who are a lot younger ever to take for granted what it took for people like Tom Gallagher to pave the way for all of you. It’s not a moment for us to be nostalgic. It is a moment for us to remember and to know that all of the employees who sacrificed their right to be who they were were really defending your rights and the rights and freedoms of others at home and abroad. And I want to say a special word about why we are working so hard to protect the rights of LGBT people around the world. And Dan Baer, who works on this along with Mike Posner and Maria Otero, have been great champions of standing up for the rights of LGBT communities and individuals.

We have come such a long way in the United States. Tom Gallagher is living proof of that. And think about what it now means to be a member of a community in this country that is finally being recognized and accepted far beyond what anyone could have imagined just 20 years ago.

And remind yourself, as I do every day, what it must be like for a young boy or a young girl in some other part of the world who could literally be killed, and often has been and still will be, who will be shunned, who will be put in danger every day of his or her life.

And so when I gave that speech in Geneva and said that we were going to make this a priority of American foreign policy, I didn’t see it as something special, something that was added on to everything else we do, but something that was integral to who we are and what we stand for.

Those who serve today in the State Department have a new challenge to do everything you can at State and AID and the other foreign affairs agencies to help keep widening that circle of opportunity and acceptance for all those millions of men and women who may never know your name or mine, but who because of our work together will live lives of not only greater safety but integrity.

This is not the end of the story. There’s always more we can do to live our values and tap the talents of our people. It’s going to be an ongoing task for future Secretaries of State and Administrators at AID and for people at every level of our government.

Even as we celebrate 20 years with Ben Franklin looking down at us, I want you to leave this celebration thinking about what more each and every one of you can do – those who are currently serving in our government, those who have served in the past, and those who I hope will decide to serve – to make not only the agencies of our government but our world more just and free for all people.

Thank you very much. [Applause.]

- HRC

 * * *

It was powerful, uplifting afternoon, and I was honored to meet several important pioneers including Tom Gallagher and David Buss (GLIFAA’s founder and first president). There is much in the Secretary’s remarks to ponder, not just in Washington but in other capitals around the world. You can access the official transcript here.

I’m signing off now to get to my first meeting of this week. I have a hectic schedule for the next six days before returning to Wellington, so please excuse me if I fall a bit off pace with my posts.

Our friends at Women in Business (WIBDI) continue to work hard, achieve great things, and draw much needed attention to economic development and gender equity issues in the Pacific. In the driver’s seat is executive director Adi Tafuna’i, who’s been busy in Apia, Washington, New York, Palau, Rarotonga, and other places far and wide making friends, talking business, and picking up awards. I share below an article from the Samoa Observer about Adi and WIBDI.

***

Clintons Showcase Samoa in New York

(from the Samoa Observer)

Bill and Hillary Clinton’s focus on Samoa’s Women in Business continues with the organisation being a highlight feature at the Clinton Global Initiative design meetings in New York recently.

Addressing Women’s Barriers: Chelsea, Hillary, and Bill Clinton at the Clinton Global Initiative.

The Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) was established in 2005 by former President Bill Clinton.

It brings together global leaders, including heads of state, Nobel Prize laureates and hundreds of philanthropists, company and organisation heads to forge solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges.

Women in Business executive director, Adimaimalaga Tafuna’i says the organisation was honoured to be in the spotlight last month because it shows that they are on the right track, and that others around the world consider their work as essential to global development.

“We were humbled and honoured when we were told that CGI wanted like to highlight Women in Business this year during one of their ‘Design Lab Sessions’ to focus on the economic advancement of women,” says Tafuna’i.

Women in Business received an international boost earlier this year when Tafuna’i received a Global Leadership Award for economic empowerment from Vital Voices, a Hillary Clinton and Madeline Albright foundation.

Ten awards are given out each year and Tafuna’i was the first woman from the Pacific to be honoured.

Adi receives Vital Voices Award from U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (left) and news anchor/correspondent Andrea Mitchell (right).

CGI also gave out its own global awards last month to Digicel Group chairman and founder Denis O’Brien for Leadership in the Corporate Sector, Sexual Minorities programme director Pepe Julian Onziema (Uganda), St Paul’s Reconciliation and Equality Centre executive director Rt Rev Christopher Senyonjo (Uganda), and Katie’s Krops founder Katie Stagliano for Leadership in Civil Societies; and Luis Alberto Moreno, Inter-American Development Bank president for Leadership in Public Service.

The Initiative showcased Women in Business as a way to spur discussion and urge CGI members to address some of the critical barriers that women face around the world.

“CGI identified Women in Business as an organisation that had been able to forge a ‘best practice’ approach to build the capacity of women-owned businesses in isolated regions of the world,” says Tafuna’i.

The Design Lab that looked at how to support women-owned business produced a series of ideas. They included a crowd-sourcing web-based platform where women can connect with those who seek to fund female entrepreneurs; using social media platforms for one-on-one coaching and funding for new female entrepreneurs by successful female entrepreneurs; and launch an awareness campaign to encourage consumers to purchase products from female entrepreneurs; begin in developed markets to build the program and awareness.

Adi Tafunai and Hilary Clinton in the Cook Islands.

Promoting equality for women is not new for Tafuna’i, who sat alongside US State Secretary Hillary Clinton on a panel for the Gender Equality Dialogue as part of the Pacific Island Leaders Forum in the Cooks Islands in August.

Clinton, Tafuna’i and other Pacific leaders signed a joint statement in the Cook Islands, pledging to address issues including violence against women, limited economic opportunities and the representation of women in Pacific parliaments, which is among the lowest in the world.

- Samoa Observer

***

A few months ago while in Washington, D.C. for consultations with colleagues at the State Department and other agencies, I met with our new Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, Tara Sonenshine. Having held senior positions in both communications and government, the Under Secretary is well-suited to her current role. Among other highlights, she reported for ABC World News Tonight, was editorial producer of ABC News’ Nightline, and won 10 News Emmy Awards for her work.

The Under Secretary and I had a long chat about a variety of topics, including our program celebrating Samoa’s 50th Independence Day, the innovative social media work being done at Embassy Wellington, our development of new events such as The Project: [R]evolution Conference, and of course our need for certain kinds of support here in the field. I pitched the Under Secretary re our plan to build a digital/video studio at the Embassy to create more engaging content for our expanding social media and education platforms.

Under Secretary Tara D. Sonenshine (at center) responds to questions during a Twitter Q & A in nine languages earlier this year.

While trawling Twitter a week ago I discovered that Under Secretary Sonenshine recently delivered remarks in my hometown of Los Angeles at a Pacific Council on International Policy luncheon. Her address touched on a variety of interesting current topics, in the nature of an update on how Secretary Clinton’s vision of 21st Century Statecraft continues to play out in a kinetic world. Below is a transcript of what she said.

continue reading…

If you read my blog regularly, you know that I’m a strong advocate of engaging directly and sincerely with young people, and encouraging future leaders to voice their opinions and get involved in societal discourse early. So I listened with great interest to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s remarks about the State Department’s youth engagement policy delivered yesterday in Tunisia, where young activists first launched the Arab Spring.

The speech confirmed the Department’s deep commitment to engaging future leaders and highlighted the various concrete steps we are taking to advance the economic and civic empowerment of young people around the world through the Department’s new Office of Global Youth Issues.

I urge you to view the video of the speech below or, if you prefer, to read the transcript of the event here. I particularly commend to you the robust, wide-ranging town hall that the Secretary held with Tunisian youth after her prepared remarks, including questions about entrepreneurship, Syria, democracy in Tunisia, empowerment of women, LGBT equal rights, and Muslims in America.

I was delighted to hear the Secretary emphasize the establishment of Youth Councils in US Embassies around the world to better inform American diplomats about local conditions, concerns, and policy matters. We pioneered that approach here in New Zealand with the formation of American Ambassador Adviser Councils at Kiwi universities two years ago. My regular interactions with those advisers have greatly influenced the way in which I view New Zealand and execute my duties.

Engaging and including students in that manner is obvious, natural, and right. In my view, it’s also smart. There simply is no more effective and powerful investment in the future than time spent talking with – not at — youth and equipping them to face the challenges ahead. In fact, with 3 billion people now under the age of 30, 90% of whom live in developing countries, we ignore or marginalize youth at our peril.

To paraphrase the Secretary, young people are at the heart of today’s great strategic opportunities and challenges, from rebuilding the global economy to combating violent extremism, to building sustainable democracies, to addressing seemingly intractable climate change and food security issues. It’s high time to put youth empowerment at the center of the international agenda.