The US interest into gay rights in the India comes after Supreme Court of India ruled consensual homosexual activity as unconstitutional. A US official said in Washington, "despite progress in equal rights for LGBT persons around the world, our work is far from finished." Richard E Hoagland, principal deputy assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asian Affairs, said yesterday in his address to the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies that about 80 countries worldwide criminalise homosexuality, LGBT persons around the world remain vulnerable to arbitrary arrest, harassment, discrimination and violence.