The global struggle to secure the human rights of LGBTQ people has a powerful advocate at the United Nations: the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. But the advocate’s voice could be silenced in July 2025 if the U.N.’s Human Rights Council fails to renew its mandate.

Behind the scenes, an international coalition of nongovernmental organizations is campaigning for the mandate's renewal.

Journalist David Hunt talks with human rights activist Fabiana Leibl of the International Service for Human Rights in Geneva about the upcoming vote. The program also features audio of human rights experts Jessica Stern and Ignacio Saiz, courtesy of the Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Produced for This Way Out: The International LGBTQ Radio Magazine.

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David Hunt is an Emmy-winning journalist and documentary producer who has reported on America's culture wars since the 1970s. Explore his blog, Tell Me, David.

Efforts to restrict the rights of transgender Americans got a boost from the conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court June 18, 2025, when justices ruled 6–3 that a law banning gender affirming health care for young people in the Southern state of Tennessee meets the barest standard of constitutional review.

The ruling imperils the rights of transgender youth across the nation, allowing similar laws in 20 states to remain in force, despite the opposition of every major U.S. medical association.

Journalist David Hunt sat down with legal scholar Brad Sears of the Williams Institute to untangle the Supreme Court's twisted logic and discuss the ruling's ramifications for trans youth and their families.

Produced for This Way Out: The International LGBTQ Radio Magazine.

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David Hunt is an Emmy-winning journalist and documentary producer who has reported on America's culture wars since the 1970s. Explore his blog, Tell Me, David.

When Elon Musk and his cadre of juvenile tech bros took a chainsaw to the U.S. federal government this year, they said they were out to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse. It just so happens that most of the departments they slashed were either regulatory bodies with statutory authority to regulate Musk’s businesses or agencies that had run afoul of President Donald Trump’s vision for a less inclusive America. At the top of the list: The United States Agency for International Development, which was gutted in March.

Among the 5,000 foreign aid programs shut down in the process: more than a hundred working to advance the health, safety and human rights of LGBTQ people in countries worldwide.

Journalist David Hunt talked with Ari Shaw, Ph.D., senior fellow and director of international programs at the Williams Institute, about the impact of those funding cuts. Produced for This Way Out: The International LGBTQ Radio Magazine.

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David Hunt is an Emmy-winning journalist and documentary producer who has reported on America's culture wars since the 1970s. Explore his blog, Tell Me, David.