Reports 
The Council for Global Equality (CGE) is actively engaging the new Biden Administration to restore U.S. leadership in support of human rights for LGBTQI persons abroad. CGE released a set of transition policy papers after the November presidential election (read our proposals here) that continue to guide our advocacy. Time Magazine quotes CGE on “How Biden Can Make the U.S. a Global Leader on LGBTQ Rights.”
Reaffirming Pride in Washington. As we celebrated Pride month in Washington in June, the Biden Administration announced the appointment of a new Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI Persons, nominated our country’s first openly lesbian ambassador, raised Pride flags over more than 130 U.S. embassies and over the State Department in Washington for the first time, announced new procedures to simplify gender marker changes and allow nonbinary “x markers” on U.S. passports, reinterpreted regulations to ensure children born abroad to same-sex parents receive U.S. citizenship, and hosted the first government panel focused on transgender rights at the UN Human Rights Council.
Also in June, Congress held the first foreign affairs hearings dedicated to LGBTQI rights abroad, reintroduced the GLOBE Act and other international LGBTQI bills with more support than ever, and increased annual appropriations to support human rights and development funding for LGBTQI communities abroad.
CONGRESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
First Global LGBTQI Hearing in the House Foreign Affairs Committee: CGE Senior Advisor Julie Dorf joined a State Department official and international human rights defenders in the first hearing dedicated to global LGBTQI trends before the full Foreign Affairs Committee. Entitled “Advancing and Protecting LGBTQI+ Rights Abroad,” Chairman Meeks (D-NY) gaveled the hearing to order by noting that “the threats posed to LGBTQI people around the world are dire” and calling on the Committee to speak out, lead by example, and pass the Committee’s pending LGBTQI protection bills. Watch the video here.
European Subcommittee Hearing: This Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee also held an in-depth hearing focused on “Understanding the Fight to Protect LGBTQI+ Rights in Europe and Eurasia.” Watch the video here.
GLOBE Act Introduced (H.R. 3800, S. 1996): Representative Titus (D-NV), Senator Markey (D-MA), Senator Shaheen (D-NH), and Senator Merkley (D-OR) reintroduced the GLOBE Act (Greater Leadership Overseas for the Benefit of Equality) in both the House and Senate. This comprehensive “vision bill” provides a broad roadmap for U.S. leadership to advance the human rights of LGBTQI and other vulnerable minority communities around the world. The bill has strong support, with 109 cosponsors in the House, 22 cosponsors in the Senate, and the endorsement of 36 leading human rights organizations. House markup is expected in September. Read more here.
International Human Rights Defense Act Introduced (H.R. 1201, S. 424): Representative Lowenthal (D-CA) and Sen. Markey (D-MA) reintroduced this bill to protect the human rights of LGBTQI individuals by codifying the position of Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI Persons at the State Department and requiring the State Department to develop a global strategy to respond to criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI people internationally. There are 122 cosponsors in the House and 30 cosponsors in the Senate. House markup is expected in September.
Global Respect Act (H.R. 3485, S. 2277): Representative Cicilline (D-RI) and Senator Shaheen (D-NH) reintroduced this bipartisan bill to require a biannual list of foreign individuals who commit human rights violations targeting the LGBTQI community. Those individuals would then be subject to U.S. visa sanctions. It also would codify LGBTQI reporting requirements in the State Department’s annual Human Rights Report. The bill had 49 cosponsors in the House and 9 cosponsors (including 3 Republicans) in the Senate. House markup is expected in September.
Appropriations: CGE worked closely with member organizations and appropriation staff to increase the set-aside for LGBTQI programming at the State Department and USIAD in the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Bill (SFOPS). The FY 2022 House appropriation for the Global Equality Fund at the State Department was increased to $15 million (from $10 million this fiscal year). USAID funding was set at $10 million in FY 2022 (from $6 million this fiscal year). Based on an analysis of global funding dedicated to LGBTI programming from other leading donor governments, CGE is already advocating for an increase to $60 million for State Department and USAID in the FY 2023 appropriation. See our analysis of LGBTQI funding here.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH ACTION
The Biden Administration continued to implement its Presidential Memorandum on the advancement of human rights of LGBTQI persons. A factsheet was issued on May 17 to catalogue progress and to recognize the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.
In a Pride Speech at the White House, President Biden announced the appointment of Jessica Stern to serve as the next Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI Persons. CGE joined many others in celebrating this choice, writing: “We could not imagine a better choice to lead President Biden’s vision for equality and human rights abroad.”
President Biden also nominated our country’s first open lesbian for an Ambassador-ranked position, almost 30 years after our first openly gay Ambassador (James Hormel) was nominated by President Clinton. If confirmed by the Senate, Chantale Wong will serve as the U.S. Director of the Asian Development Bank. Read more about her historic nomination here.
The State Department announced changes in passport guidelines to allow U.S. citizens to self-select their gender designation on U.S. passports without any medical certifications for transgender Americans. It also announced that it is in the process of creating a new nonbinary or “X-marker” on U.S. passports for non-binary, intersex, and gender non-conforming persons who do not identify as male or female.
The State Department announced that it has updated its interpretation of citizenship laws to ensure that children of same-sex couples born abroad using assisted reproductive technology are eligible for U.S. citizenship, even if they are not genetically related to a U.S. citizen. Previous interpretations of the law resulted in the denial of U.S. citizenship to some children born abroad to same-sex couples.
Secretary Blinken sat down for a substantive Pride discussion with the Atlantic Council and also addressed the first transgender panel hosted by governments at the UN Human Rights Council. The transgender panel was organized by the United States and co-hosted by 22 other UN member states. Addressing the theme of “An Epidemic of Violence – Defending the Lives of Transgender Women,” the event featured a keynote address by actress and activist Angelica Ross and remarks from a panel of global experts. It was moderated by Delaware State Senator Sarah McBride, the first transgender state senator in the U.S. The panel can be viewed here (password hrc0623).
GLOBAL LGBTQI DEVELOPMENTS
In recent good news . . .
Argentina began issuing non-binary identification cards and passports in July, making it the first country in Latin America to do so.
The Senate in Chile passed marriage equality in July, after President Piñera announced his support for the bill. It now goes to the House of Representatives for the next vote. This has been a goal of the LGBTQI movement in Chile since former President Bachelet’s time in office.
Two transgender women were released after five months in prison on bail in Cameroon pending an appeal of their conviction. They were arrested in February for wearing women’s clothing in a restaurant and convicted of “attempted homosexuality,” public indecency, and failing to carry identification.
In a landmark decision, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled for the first time that the government of Honduras was liable in the death of transgender woman Vicky Hernandez.The court ordered Honduras to train security forces on how to conduct investigations of anti-LGBTQI violence within two years and to improve data collection on cases motivated by anti-LGBTQI bias.
The European Commission finally took action against Poland and Hungary for their infringements on LGBTQI people’s rights by initiating procedures against the censorship of LGBTQI-affirming children’s books in Hungary and “LGBT-Free” zones in Poland.
In bad news . . .
Tblisi Pride was targeted by religious and political forces in Georgia, resulting in the cancellation of the pride events and a brutal attack on a group of journalists attempting to cover the anti-gay protests. Over 60 journalists were hurt in the attack, including a local cameraman who was killed by the mob. Hundreds of anti-gay protesters took to the streets on July 5 to block the Pride event, which the journalists were attempting to cover. The footage from the events is chilling, with the police doing nothing to stop the violence. A week prior to this tragedy, U.S. anti-gay extremist Brian Brown spoke at an event supporting the ultra-conservative group that called for the anti-Pride protest.
After a raid during the opening of an LGBTQI center in Ghana earlier this year, and the arrest of 21 gay and trans people, anti-gay forces in Ghana introduced the world’s worst piece of anti-LGBTQI legislation in July, called the “Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values.” This new bill would imprison LGBTQI people for 10 years, as well as groups or people who advocate for or provide services to LGBTQI people for 5 years. With apparent links to U.S. extremist organizations such as World Congress of Families and Family Watch International, Ghana’s National Coalition of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values has been pushing this extreme legislation and creating a dangerous repression against the LGBTQI community.
In Hungary, after the government passed a Russian-style “anti-propaganda” law which criminalizes the positive depiction of LGBTQI people, tens of thousands defied far-right Prime Minister Orbán's LGBTQI content ban with a large Pride parade in Budapest. This occurred just a few days after he announced a public referendum on “child protection” as another way of drumming up support for his party prior to spring elections. One of the (mis)leading questions in the referendum asks: “Do you support minors being shown, without any restriction, media content of a sexual nature that is capable of influencing their development?”
In early July, China unexpectedly shut down LGBTQI social media accounts, with no explanation. After years of the government silently tolerating LGBTQI centers and media activity, this surprising move has scared activists and organizations in the county.
The Uzbekistan government admitted in the press that there are currently 49 men in prison with convictions under the country’s sodomy law, one of only two countries with a Soviet-era sodomy law still in force. Human Rights Watch reported that at least six men were subjected to forced anal examinations as part of their prosecutions. Despite attempts to improve its human rights record, and with affairs between our two countries increasingly crucial to security in the region, the Uzbekistan government is nonetheless considering a new draft penal code that maintains the sodomy provision. Some members of the U.S. Congress have proposed legislation to normalize trade relations with Uzbekistan, which should be considered in the context of the country’s human rights record and its treatment of its LGBTQI citizens.
In late June, the Dominican Republicchanged its penal code to eliminate sexual orientation from existing nondiscrimination protections and created a massive religious exemption clause to allow for anti-LGBTQI discrimination in the country.
And some additional worthwhile media . . .
The Washington Blade’s four-part series “Locked Up in the Land of Liberty,” by Cuban gay asylee Yariel Valdés González, is a detailed diary of life in ICE detention over 11 months, after fleeing persecution in Cuba. The GLOBE Act would prohibit ICE detention for similar asylum seekers.
Open Democracy released findings from a six-month investigation on conversion therapy in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, which revealed that USAID, PEPFAR and the Global Fund were inadvertently supporting health clinics that were referring gay people to facilities that claimed they could help change their sexual orientation.
A wonderful HBO film was released during Pride month on the perseverance and creativity of LGBTQI people in Nigeria called The Legend of the Underground.
