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May 6, 2011
In This Issue
State Department Reports on LGBT Human Rights
Foreign Aid Jeopardized
Progress on the International Front
U.S. Accepts UN Recommendations
Congressman Barney Frank's Amendment
"As I Am," International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia (IDAHO)
Council's Spring Meeting
Welcoming a New Council Member - ORAM

Quick Links

  

EVENTS:

The Effect of Homophobia on Development

World Bank

May 17, 12:00pm

 

Congressional Briefing

International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia

May 17, 3pm

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VIDEO:
In the Life Media"Coalitions & Allies"

IN THE LIFE exposes ties between an elite organization of  

American conservatives and a proposed anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda  

 

OHCHR video/pamphlet
on homophobic violence and discrimination

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State Department Reports on LGBT Human Rights Abuse Worldwide
Secretary of State Hilary Clinton In April, the State Department released its annual human rights report. Once again, the Council for Global Equality applauds the State Department's overview of the human rights situation around the world, with a special focus again this year on abridgments and abuses of the rights of sexual minorities. The report bears witness to a clear and growing crisis in human rights abuse directed against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people worldwide.

For the second consecutive year, every country chapter now includes a section on "societal abuses, discrimination, and acts of violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity," highlighting LGBT-related incidents in almost every country in the world. Those abuses include arbitrary arrest and detention, police abuse, rape, and murder; they also include social exclusion, impediments to political participation, discriminatory health practices and employment discrimination that, singularly and together, exclude far too many citizens from the political, social and economic life of their own country. (View a compendium of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) references in the report.) View an analysis of the report here.

 

Foreign Aid Jeopardized by Malawi's Move to Criminalize Lesbian Relationships

US Millenium Challenge Corporation

In February the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. government-funded development institution, delayed signature of a new bilateral assistance agreement with Malawi that focused on energy sector development. The decision to delay signature was based in part on concerns over a new law in that country that criminalizes consensual relations between women. (See news reports here.) After discussions with Malawian officials and further internal deliberations, MCC announced that the development program would move forward.

 

The Council appreciates the attention that MCC and the U.S. government as a whole have paid to this important human rights concern.  MCC made it clear to the government of Malawi that "criminally punishing lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender individuals under laws will prompt MCC to initiate the investigation required for suspension or termination of the Compact". (Read the entire press release here.) The Council believes that human rights and democratic good governance issues must remain at the heart of U.S. foreign policy, as a reflection of the fundamental principles for which our country stands, and looks forward to continuing to work with MCC on incorporating these issues in the review of countries. Read the MCC fact sheet on this matter here.

 

Progress on the International Front - UN Statement, OAS Special Rapporteur

United Nations Geneva

In March, the United Nations Human Rights Council issued a joint statement on "Ending Acts of Violence and Related Human Rights Violations Based On Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity."  The text calls for an end to violence, criminal sanctions, and human rights violations against people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. With strong support from the State Department, the statement was signed by a record-breaking 84 countries.The number of countries increased by 30 since 2006, when a similar statement was also debated at the UN.This is a positive step toward improving the lives of LGBT persons in communities around the world.View the full UNHRC statement here. Read Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton's press statement here.

 

Also in March, President Obama and President Rousseff of Brazil announced that our two countries would work together to create a "special rapporteur on LGBT issues at the Organization of American States." This would be the first expert position on LGBT issues in the international system. Read the White House press statement here.

 

U.S. Accepts UN Recommendations for Improving LGBT Rights at Home

United Nations Human Rights Council

The State Department in March released its response to the recommendations made by the UN Human Rights Council on the human rights record of the United States. Of the 228 recommendations made by countries around the world to the United States, three of the recommendations relate to LGBT rights. The United States officially accepted all three of these recommendations.The Council and the Human Rights Campaign worked together to engage the "Universal Periodic Review" process to ensure inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the review, and we are pleased that the U.S. officially and formally accepted the recommendations. Read the report submitted by Human Rights Campaign and the Council for Global Equality here.

House Financial Services Committee Unanimously Adopts Congressman Barney Frank's Amendment on the Persecution of Sexual and Religious Minorities

Barney Frank

Congressman Barney Frank, Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee, introduced an amendment in March to limit countries that persecute people on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or religious belief from participating in development programs sponsored by the World Bank and other international development institutions. While many Committee votes have broken along party lines, Congressman Frank's amendment passed the Committee with near-unanimous support.  Details and the text of the resolution are available here.

"As I Am," International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia (IDAHO) - May 17

IDAHO May 17

IDAHO is celebrated worldwide on May 17 as the date in 1990 when the World Health Organization (WHO) removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders.  The theme this year is "As I Am," which is a response to the daily homophobia and transphobia that seek to deny the individual worth of LGBT people. See a list of IDAHO events and campaigns here. The Council will participate in a World Bank panel in Washington to commemorate IDAHO with a discussion on "The Effect of Homophobia on Development." 

Council's Spring Meeting Includes Briefings with State Department, Congress and the White House

White House

Council member organizations met in Washington in April to urge that U.S. government representatives at the State Department, in Congress and at the White House continue to speak out against LGBT human rights abuses abroad.  Council members discussed the State Department's strategy for promoting human rights for LGBT individuals within the UN's human rights institutions; officials from the State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs briefed the Council on their efforts to address LGBT issues in the Americas; and NGO leaders highlighted the unique vulnerability and resettlement needs of LGBT refugees. The Council also organized a briefing for the LGBT Equality Caucus in Congress on the LGBT findings in the State Department's annual human rights report.  At the National Security Council, our members pressed foreign affairs staff from the White House to lead an "all of government" response to the human rights crisis impacting LGBT communities worldwide.  

Welcoming a New Council Member - ORAM

ORAM

The Council is pleased to welcome the Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration (ORAM) as a new organizational member of the Council. That brings the Council's organizational membership to 20 leading equality champions.  (See the list of all organizational members of the Council here.) Founded in 2008, ORAM is the first migration organization focusing exclusively on refugees fleeing sexual and gender-based violence worldwide. It brings a new network spanning national, ethnic, religious, racial and gender divides to the work of the Council.