Kathmandu (Pahichan) October 4 – Blue Diamond Society (BDS) has said that it is pleased to welcome Randy Berry as the new ambassador of the United States of America to Nepal.

Since our inception in 2001, BDS has enjoyed strong support from the U.S. Embassy in Kathmandu.  We are keen to deepen and expand our engagement with the U.S. Embassy under Amb. Berry’s leadership, BDS said in a press release.

Nepal promulgated a new constitution in 2015 that explicitly guarantees the rights of gender and sexual minorities.  Our government has also recognized transgender people and given them the right to legal gender recognition and a third gender option on official documents.  We are keen to share these good practices with our friends at the U.S. Embassy and with advocates in the U.S. and hope that Amb. Berry can facilitate such efforts.

The arrival of marriage equality in the U.S. in 2015 was good news for LGBTIQ people around the world and we hope we can work with Amb. Berry in getting the Nepali government to honor the spirit of the 2007 Supreme Court decision and enact marriage equality.

As an open and proud gay man with a husband and children, Amb. Berry will be a role model and inspiration for many LGBTIQ Nepalis and we are grateful for that. We are hoping he and his family will participate in our annual Gaijatra Pride rally next year, like outgoing Amb. Alaina Teplitz and DCM Michael Gonzales have done in the last few years.

Amb. Berry’s work as Special Envoy for LGBTI rights under the previous administration of President Barack Obama was very successful and we hope to learn from him about that experience.

Finally, we would like to express our profound gratitude to outgoing Amb. Alaina Teplitz who has been a champion of LGBTQ and human rights in Nepal. We hope that the existing relationship between BDS/LGBTIQ Nepalis and the U.S. will be strengthened during Amb. Berry’s tenure.