According to a Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office announcement published on 29 June 2026, Lord Collins of Highbury has been appointed as the UK's Special Envoy for LGBT+ Rights. The department says the post is intended to support international work to protect LGBT+ people from violence, persecution and discrimination, placing the appointment within the UK's wider human rights and diplomatic agenda. (gov.uk)
The FCDO says Lord Collins will work across civil society, governments, parliamentarians, business and international organisations, with a brief that covers both diplomatic and development activity. In practical terms, the role gives the UK a named political figure to carry this work across international engagement and funded programmes, while backing locally led change rather than presenting the issue only through Whitehall. (gov.uk)
The announcement is framed against what ministers describe as a worsening external context. The department says LGBT+ communities, human rights defenders and civil society organisations are facing rising hostility, less space to speak publicly and more severe discriminatory laws in a number of countries, and presents the envoy appointment as part of the UK's response to that pressure. (gov.uk)
According to the government notice, the envoy will report to Chris Elmore, the FCDO Minister for Multilateral and Human Rights, while Lord Collins continues in his separate posts as Deputy Leader of the House of Lords and Government Spokesperson for Equalities. The same notice points to his earlier service as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the FCDO, indicating that ministers want the role held by someone already familiar with departmental process and multilateral human rights work. (gov.uk)
Lord Collins succeeds Lord Herbert of South Downs, who served as the first UK Special Envoy for LGBT+ Rights from May 2021 until January 2025. The FCDO links the new appointment to a £21 million commitment announced in May 2026, with three years of funding intended to support legal reform, freedom of expression and locally led organisations tackling violence and persecution. (gov.uk)
The government also places the appointment alongside the draft Conversion Practices Bill and preparations for the European IDAHOT+ Forum, which the UK is due to host in London in May 2027. For policy professionals and advocacy groups, the immediate significance is not a new statutory power but a clearer channel into government ahead of that forum, with ministers using the envoy role to connect domestic equalities policy, overseas funding and international partnership work. (gov.uk)