Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons Jessica Stern will travel to Italy and Poland from October 4-11.
From October 4-6, Special Envoy Stern will join the U.S. delegation, led by the Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues Principal Deputy, Katrina Fotovat, at the G7 Ministerial meeting on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in Matera. The U.S. delegation will hold bilateral discussions with members of the G7 on the margins of the Ministerial. Special Envoy Stern then will travel to Rome to meet with Italian government officials, legislators, and members of civil society.
On October 8, Special Envoy Stern will travel to Poland to participate in the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference (WHDC) hosted by the Chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. She will deliver the U.S. plenary intervention addressing racism, xenophobia, discrimination, and intolerance. Later that day, she will moderate a side-event on the link between LGBTQI+ inclusion and democratic resilience. Special Envoy Stern will also hold bilateral conversations with participating States and civil society organizations taking part in the WHDC. While in Warsaw, Special Envoy Stern also will meet with government officials and representatives of civil society organizations working to advance equality for LGBTQI+ persons in Poland.
