Global Report Highlights LGBT Abuses

An annual report on human rights shows a global increase in violence against LGBT people as well as racial, religious, and ethnic minorities and women, children, and people with disabilities.

In a press conference announcing the results of the study, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said there had been a vast crackdown on Internet freedom in the past year and increased suppression of civil rights groups, especially in the Middle East.

"Societies flourish when they address human rights problems instead of suppressing them," Clinton said, according to The Washington Post.

The report by the U.S. State Department released Friday cites several countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Caribbean that persecute people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The country of Uganda has shown an increase in violence against LGBT people, and the department says Honduras saw "an upsurge in killings of members of the LGBT community by unknown perpetrators."

The report largely addresses the status of LGBT rights in the 190 countries studied in 2010. The United States is excluded.

Click here for reports on all 190 countries.