Washington:
The United States will appoint an openly gay official as a special envoy to promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people overseas, the US State Department said on Friday.
State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said US top diplomat John Kerry would "soon" make the appointment.
"It will be an openly gay foreign service officer. We don't have a finalised name yet. But we will announce soon," Harf said.
Harf said the appointment reflected Kerry's "commitment and the administration's commitment to advancing the human rights of LGBT persons globally."
President Barack Obama's administration has repeatedly pressed foreign governments on the human rights of gays and lesbians, systematically drawing attention to rights abuses or repression in several African countries.
Harf, meanwhile, declined to comment on a referendum on same-sex marriage due to take place in Slovakia on Saturday.
"The US doesn't take a position on the issue of same-sex marriage in other countries," Harf said.
The US Supreme Court announced last month it will hear a case on same-sex marriage later this year that is expected to finally settle once and for all the debate in America surrounding the long-running civil rights issue.
COMMENTS
Advertisement
7.4- Magnitude Earthquake Hits Northern Chile Biden Nears Crunch Point As Pressure Grows To Drop Out Of White House Race Biden, Netanyahu Expected To Meet Next Week: White House Windows Computers Leading To 'Blue Screen Of Death' Due To This Error Explained: What Is Causing The Dreaded 'Blue Screen Of Death' On Windows? Massive Worldwide Microsoft Outage: Flights, Markets, Stock Exchange Down Watch: Anand Mahindra Praises Elderly Man For His Unique Cycle Designs Microsoft 'Blue Screen Of Death' Outage: Full List Of Services Hit In India "Macrohard >> Microsoft": Elon Musk Takes A Dig At Tech Giant Amid Outage Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.