The memorandum also gives agencies 100 days to report to the president on their progress and recommend additional actions.ĭuring the hearings on his nomination, Secretary of State Antony Blinken referenced the dramatic uptick in anti-LGBT+ violence and hate crimes, stating “We’ve seen violence directed against LGBTQI+ people around the world increase.
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Insisting that any anti-LGBT+ policies be vitiated, “including those issued from January 20, 2017, to January 20, 2021,” Biden’s memorandum speaks directly to the Trump-Pompeo policies. It shall be the policy of the United States to pursue an end to violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics, and to lead by the power of our example in the cause of advancing the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons around the world.” The memo actively rebukes the Trump administration, stating, “The United States belongs at the forefront of this struggle - speaking out and standing strong for our most dearly held values. The Trump administration vitiated all the efforts of the Obama administration to build global consensus on the need for LGBT+ rights which began in 2011, when then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton became the highest-ranked global leader to declare “gay rights are human rights” in an historic speech in Geneva that delved into anti-LGBT+ oppression globally.īiden’s memo reads in part, “Around the globe, including here at home, brave lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) activists are fighting for equal protection under the law, freedom from violence, and recognition of their fundamental human rights.” His actions and those of his staffers were cited as dangerous and anti-LGBT+ by human rights advocates. with some of the most flagrantly anti-LGBT+ nations in the world to promote his personal ideologies. Pompeo had reframed the agency as an anti-LGBT+ think tank and policy vehicle, teaming the U.S. abroad and has a massive budget of nearly $30 billion. One example of Pompeo’s agenda was regarding The United States Agency for International Development, an independent agency of the federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. As PGN has reported over the past two years, Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had totally re-made the State Department with policy and staffing that reflected his own virulently anti-LGBT+ politics and evangelical Christian precepts. This commitment from Biden marks a complete shift in policy from the Trump administration. “cannot afford to be absent any longer on the world stage.” Last fall, at a town hall at the Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Biden committed to queer and trans rights in response to questions from several members of the audience, including the mother of a trans child.Īt the State Department, Biden affirmed that his administration would be returning to the inclusive policies of the Obama administration and building on those. “to reinvigorate our leadership on LGBTQI+ issues and to do it internationally.”īiden explained, “When we defend equal rights of the people the world over, of women and girls, of LGBTQ individuals, indigenous communities and people with disabilities, the people of every ethnic background and religion, we also ensure that those rights are protected for our own children here in America.” 4 in advance of issuing the directive, Biden said he was committing the U.S. While speaking at the State Department on Feb. A dozen countries have penalties of life imprisonment and 11 have the death penalty for lesbian and gay relationships. The memorandum also calls for agencies to combat criminalization of LGBT+ identity or conduct, protect LGBT+ refugees and asylum-seekers, address human rights abuses affecting LGBT+ people, and work with like-minded nations and international organizations to combat discrimination.Īccording to Human Rights Watch, there are more than 70 countries globally with current laws criminalizing same-sex relationships between consenting adults.
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President Joe Biden has issued an historic commitment to promoting LGBT+ rights internationally, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken committing to upholding LGBT+ rights via the State Department.īiden’s “Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Persons Around the World” directs American agencies operating abroad “to ensure that United States diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons.”
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressing State Dept.