Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon denounced discrimination against lesbian， gay， bisexual and transgender （LGBT） people， and declared that religion， culture and tradition can never be a justification for denying their basic rights.
　　“Governments have a legal duty to protect everyone，” he said in a video message to the Oslo Conference on Human Rights， Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. “Some will oppose change. They may invoke culture， tradition or religion to defend the status quo.
　　“Such arguments have been used to try to justify slavery， child marriage， rape in marriage and female genital mutilation. I respect culture， tradition and religion – but they can never justify the denial of basic rights.”
　　“My promise to the lesbian， gay， bisexual and transgender members of the human family is this： I am with you. I promise that as Secretary-General of the United Nations， I will denounce attacks against you， and I will keep pressing leaders for progress.”