Tillerson condemns violence against LGBT people on Transgender Day of Remembrance

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson released a statement marking Monday Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Tillerson’s statement condemned the violence against transgender individuals, saying that they “should not be subjected to violence or discrimination.”

“Transgender individuals and their advocates, along with lesbian, gay, bisexual and intersex persons, are facing increasing physical attacks and arbitrary arrests in many parts of the world,” Tillerson wrote. “Often these attacks are perpetrated by government officials, undermining the rule of law.”

Transgender Day of Remembrance has been commemorated on Nov. 20 for nearly 20 years, and the White House began participating in 2012, according to GLAAD.

{mosads}“On this Transgender Day of Remembrance, the United States remains committed to advancing the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons,” Tillerson’s statement read. “These principles are inherent in our own Constitution and drive the diplomacy of the United States.”

The Trump administration has been criticized for its treatment of transgender rights.

Trump tweeted in July that he would ban transgender people from serving in the military, signing a memo in August that prevented transgender individuals from enlisting, and blocked the use of federal funds to pay for gender reassignment surgery for troops. A federal court partially blocked the ban in October.

Also in October, Attorney General Jeff Sessions reversed an Obama-era policy that protected transgender individuals from discrimination in employment.