Caitlyn Jenner Praised for Her Transgender Advocacy Efforts

Ambassador Samantha Power said Jenner has “already changed so many lives."

ByABC News
December 10, 2015, 5:03 PM

— -- Samantha Power, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, praised Caitlyn Jenner for her work to promote transgender rights.

Power recognized Jenner as a person who has “already changed so many lives" on her Facebook page, posting an interview she conducted with the reality star.

Dec. 10 marks “Human Rights Day,” a day that commemorates the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Power said the UN is working to make sure LGBT rights are integrated into every conversation about human rights.

“We have tried here at the United Nations, so hard, to lift up LGBT rights,” Power said in her conversation with Jenner. “We’ve made some progress, but I confess the road ahead of us is long.”

“I’m pretty comfortable with the issues here in the United States, we have come a long way, we have a long way to go," Jenner said in the interview. “If you look at this on an international level, these issues are huge. People are murdered, killed, hung over this issue, and it just doesn’t have to be that way.”

Jenner recounted her struggle to live openly as transgender, and even considered taking her own life.

“I thought about -- on one particular occasion -- that maybe the easy way out of this is just take your life,” Jenner told Power.

Jenner said she is “so excited about life" after transitioning.

Power and Jenner also noted that they will continue to work together to promote transgender rights. Recognizing the challenge ahead, Jenner said, “We got to start somewhere. You don’t win the race if you don’t start it.”