During the past eight years, the United States has made some serious strides with respect to the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons at every level of our federal system: the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, the Obergefell Supreme Court decision, and the Matthew Shepard-James Byrd Hate Crimes Act are all good examples. 

Globally, boys tend to be favored over girls. This is particularly true in the developing world, where data show discrimination against girls deprives them of an education and makes them vulnerable to harmful practices. [...] Developing countries that allow girls to complete their secondary education will earn an economic dividend of $21 billion every year, the UN report says.

As yet another report highlights the human toll of Australia’s offshore migrant processing system, NGOs and advocacy organizations are asking themselves what it will take to make a change. Countless investigators and human rights groups have raised concerns about Australia’s processing system in recent months, most recently Amnesty International with a report published Tuesday. 

With its future increasingly intertwined with ASEAN, the United States must maintain the momentum of its rebalance towards the Asia-Pacific, focusing on three pillars: comprehensive and inclusive security networks, economic integration and connectivity, and soft power and people-to-people ties.

These values do not just cover human rights, media freedom, the rule of law, and accountability. They also relate to other specific EU values, especially the free movement of people and access by all member states to the EU single market. These sets of values have made the EU attractive to its members as well as to those countries aspiring to join the bloc.

The Committee of the Whole that adopted 22 guidelines worth considering had its marathon meeting here under the Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani has also suggested that Pakistan should re-establish a Public Diplomacy Office at the Foreign Office. This will function as the Foreign Office’s public diplomacy and soft power office and an inter-ministerial space for projecting cultural, economic and trade outputs.

The Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (Diplocat) has been invited by the National Council for Human Rights, to monitor the parliamentary elections [...] The general secretary of Diplocat, Albert Royo, stressed that this mission "makes Catalonia visible as an international committed, serious and responsible actor, in a natural space of action as is the Mediterranean area".