U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today addressed a State Department audience on LGBT issues in the human rights work of the United States, declaring, “Let me say today that human rights are gay rights and gay rights are human rights, once and for all.”

Clinton went on to detail specific LGBT-related efforts her department is engaged in around the world, most pointedly in Africa, where there has been a dramatic uptick in anti-LGBT rhetoric among government officials.

Clinton then turned her attention to the professionals and State Department’s LGBT staffers in the room, thanking them for engaging in careers in diplomacy while being out and honest about themselves.  But she cautioned them not to delude themselves into thinking the fight for equality is over:

“The struggle for equality is never, ever finished.  And it is rarely easy, despite how self-evident it should be.  But the hardest-fought battles often have the biggest impact.  So I hope that each and every one of us will recommit ourselves to building a future in which every person – every, single person can live in dignity, free from violence, free to be themselves, free to live up to their God-given potential wherever they live and whoever they are.”

UPDATE:  A full transcript of Clinton’s remarks is available here.