Summary
In the face of increasingly coordinated anti-rights movements and a simultaneous resurgence of authoritarianism, the Trump administration is actively undermining human rights protections for LGBTQI+ persons both in the United States and around the world. The United States is not only advancing domestic and foreign policies that threaten the lives of LGBTQI+ persons but also withdrawing from and undermining multilateral institutions that are leading international protection efforts, including the Equal Rights Coalition (ERC), the UN Human Rights Council, and regional human rights bodies such as the Organization of American States. The United States is now a global leader in an organized international campaign to undercut the rights of LGBTQI+ persons.
The Council for Global Equality (CGE), a coalition of 45 prominent U.S.-based organizations, each standing at the intersection of human rights and LGBTQI+ equality in the United States and overseas, supports a multifaceted response to this protection crisis. As part of that response, we urgently call on Equal Rights Coalition member states to leverage their human rights and development commitments, coupled with both public and private diplomacy, to counter Trump administration policies and rhetoric that stand to undermine decades of global efforts toward LGBTQI+ inclusion.