Secretary of State Hilary Clinton announced fighting anti-gay violence across the world is a priority  Sept. 11 at the Four Freedoms Medals Gala Dinner in New York City.

Roosevelt Institute held the event where Clinton received the Institute’s Four Freedoms Award and spoke about the international issue.

“(We) must condemn violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” she said according to PrideSource.com. “In country after country after country, young men and women are persecuted, are singled out, even murdered in cold blood, because of who they love or just based on claims that they are gay.”

In an article, according to Advocate.com, the Obama administration announced in March it would sign a United Nations declaration that calls for global decriminalization of homosexuality, a policy against what the Bush administration originally proposed.

“We are starting to track violence against the LGBT community, because where it happens anywhere in the world, the United States must speak out against it and work for its end,” Clinton said, according to PrideSource.com.

“Through our annual human rights report, we are documenting human rights abuses against LGBT communities worldwide. And we are seeking out partners at the United Nations such as Brazil, France, Sweden and the Netherlands to help us address these human rights abuses,” she said.

Read the full story at Advocate.com or at PrideSource.com.

— Kim Brown