Serious Human Rights Abuses Directed at LGBT Populations in Every Region

The State Department’s latest country human rights reports, released April 19, confirm the lack of respect that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people face in many areas of the world. However, the reports also point to a range of serious human rights abuses directed at LGBT populations in every region.

The Obama Administration has made a commendable effort to catalog instances and trends of LGBT abuse worldwide. We were pleased that Secretary Kerry specifically lauded the Department’s expanded coverage of LGBT rights in a speech marking the release of this year’s reports.

Of no surprise, hate crimes top the list of violent actions directed against LGBT people in many countries. But even more appalling, are the numerous instances of government officials’ complicity in LGBT abuse. For instance:

• In Jamaica, prison wardens reportedly were involved in numerous incidents of violence against gay inmates.
• In Chile, gay prisoners were denied access to hygienic services.
• In Libya, a government-affiliated brigade arrested, detained, and beat 12 allegedly gay men who were at a private party.
• A military unit in Moldova beat two gay men while verbally abusing them on grounds of their sexual orientation.
• Cameroonian police detained three men, and jailed them for a week, because two of the men appeared effeminate; beat them until they confessed to being gay; then sentenced them to five years in prison.
• In El Salvador, police officers allegedly physically abused a gay teenager, then made a phone call after which three gang members appeared and beat the teenager further.
• In Kyrgyz Republic, LGBT groups documented 18 cases of police extortion.
• Zimbabwean police raided the offices of an LGBT support organization; arrested 44 of its members; outed those members to families and employers (with consequences to jobs and family ties); and effectively closed the organization.

Many country reports also offer clear examples in which government authorities failed to fulfill their responsibility to protect the rights of LGBT citizens. As examples:

• In El Salvador, for instance, police officers are alleged to have verbally and physically abused a 17-year-old gay adolescent, forcing him off a bus and then calling local gang members who beat the victim unconscious.
• In Namibia, police ridiculed LGBT citizens who reported abuse.
• When hundreds of demonstrators in Burkina Faso demanded that a gay couple leave their home, police took no protective action.
• And LGBT citizens in the former Soviet Union faced extreme challenges to their democratic freedoms of speech and assembly: in Ukraine, a gay pride event was canceled after police said they would not protect participants in the face of extremist threats of violence; in Russia, the city of Moscow refused to allow a gay pride march to proceed.

These and other cases of government action and inaction deserve serious protest, and we trust that the State Department has directed our ambassadors to make clear our government’s official concern. Equally important, we hope our embassies in these and other countries are using all other available diplomatic tools to raise the profile of LGBT rights, and are targeting our foreign assistance to respond to the needs of LGBT communities.

The 2012 reports also underscore a clear need for attention to infringements of the rights of transgender people, including cases of extreme violence and targeted killings:

• In Nicaragua the report highlights the murder of a young transgender woman, whose body was found with signs of sexual assault.
• Transgender individuals in Indonesia are routinely abused, detained, and forced to pay bribes by local authorities.
• Japanese authorities refused to list a married transgender man’s two-year-old son, who was conceived by artificial insemination, as a legitimate child.
• In Malaysia, transgender Muslim citizens were fined under Sharia law for dressing and posing as women.
• In Uganda, a local news station aired a video of police taunting a transgender individual by forcing the individual to undress in front of jeering onlookers.
• In the United Arab Emirates, a transgender sex worker was beaten, tortured, and raped repeatedly while in prison.

Unfortunately these cases are not unique. The reports bear witness to similar violations and indignities against transgender individuals in every region of the world. We hope that all embassies will examine more carefully the situation of transgender people in their host countries, with a view to raising awareness with government officials well in advance of next year’s reports.

Some of this year’s reports also indicate emerging areas of human rights concern:

• “Reparative Therapy”: The United Arab Emirates government forced some caught in consensual same-sex activity to undergo psychological treatment and counseling, while the Chinese government and some school districts promoted “reparative therapy” to avoid having LGBT children.
• Internet and Religious Freedom: LGBT religious groups in South Korea saw their internet forum taken down, and Korea’s National Human Rights Commission refused to rectify this infringement of religious freedom.

We urge the Administration to take suitable steps to address these new efforts at intolerance, which we know are spreading to other countries and regions.

We are not raising these country-specific examples from the reports because they are in any way unique. To the contrary, these specific instances are highlighted here because we know them to be extremely typical of violations we have seen replicated the world over. Our hope, however, is that the human rights reports will cast an uncommon light – and appropriate shame – on these common violations.

Finally, despite all of these concerns, we are encouraged by a number of positive signs that some governments are beginning to address inequalities in how LGBT people are treated. For instance:

• Colombian authorities created a national public policy framework for LGBT rights, along with a working group aimed at identifying problems of LGBT abuse and exclusion that call for community solutions.
• The Cypriot Ministry of Education allowed an anti-homophobia training program to be carried out for teachers, the first-ever LGBT awareness training allowed in that country’s schools.
• In Bangladesh, two government ministries led a pilot job training project for transgender citizens, instituted an awareness program to alter negative views of transgender people, and established a foundation through which the program can continue.
• Montenegro passed legislation to provide government funds for gender reassignment surgery.
• An Algerian gay rights group has been allowed to advertise advocacy and support efforts for the Algerian LGBT community through a website and Facebook account.
• Increased media freedom in Tunisia has increased the flow of LGBT-related information to members of the LGBT community.
• Kenyan LGBT advocacy organizations noted that homophobic hate speech had declined due to improved enforcement of hate speech laws and better media self-regulation.
• And Poland’s legislature now includes both openly gay and transgender members – a political process breakthrough that portends greater awareness of the rights of LGBT citizens in that country.

We applaud these instances of leadership in efforts to promote fully inclusive societies. They both echo and amplify the growing appreciation in our own country that LGBT citizens deserve nothing more, or less, than full dignity and equal treatment under the law.

Download the full compendium of sexual orientation and gender identity references in the report here.

The Immigration Bill: What’s There, What’s Missing & What’s Next

Repost from Immigration Equality

This afternoon, the long-anticipated comprehensive immigration reform bill from the Senate’s “Gang of 8” will finally be introduced. It is a big, complex piece of legislation that addresses many different immigration issues. Our legal team is hard at work reading the bill and analyzing its many proposals, and what those mean for LGBT immigrants and their families.

We already know, however, some of the high – and low – points of the bill.

The legislation includes a path to citizenship for many undocumented people. It also includes the DREAM Act, which will allow young, undocumented youth (many of whom are LGBT) a path to citizenship as well. Both of these components will help countless immigrants – including LGBT immigrants – finally emerge from the shadows and have an opportunity to fully participate in the life of our country. The bill also includes repeal of the 1-year filing deadline for individuals seeking asylum in the United States, which is a significant obstacle faced by many LGBT asylum seekers. Immigration Equality supports all of these important measures.

As we anticipated, however, the base bill does not include the Uniting American Families Act. (A “base bill” is the first version of the legislation, before any lawmakers have an opportunity to make amendments, or changes, to the language.)

UAFA’s exclusion renders the bill incomplete. It is not comprehensive and is does not reflect the values or diversity of our country. Senators on the Judiciary Committee must allow a full and open amendment process that provides an opportunity to add UAFA as an amendment during that process.  We need a majority of Committee members to support adding UAFA to the bill. This means the time is NOW to contact Judiciary Committee Senators and demand they vote for UAFA during the amendment process. Continue Reading

54 groups to Obama: Time to act on ENDA order

Photo: Michael Key. Washington Blade.

Repost from the Washington Blade

A coalition of 54 groups is ramping up pressure for President Obama to sign a heavily sought-after executive order barring federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT workers.

In a letter dated Feb. 20, a coalition of LGBT advocacy group and other civil rights organizations — such as those representing the black and Latino community — call on Obama to take administrative action to protecting workers from anti-LGBT workplace bias.

“Over the past 70 years, both Republican and Democratic presidents have used executive orders to ensure that taxpayer money is not wasted on workplace discrimination or harassment based on characteristics such as race, gender, and religion,” the letter states. “These contractor policies exist to this day, and they cover almost one in four jobs throughout the United States. It is now time for an executive order ensuring the same workplace protections for LGBT Americans.” Continue Reading.

Read the Letter: Federal contractor EO POTUS sign-on letter 2-20-13

Obama unveils LGBT-inclusive immigration plan

Repost from The Washington Blade

Before a cheering audience at a Las Vegas high school, President Obama unveiled on Tuesday his much anticipated plan for comprehensive immigration reform, which includes a provision aimed at ensuring bi-national same-sex couples can stay together in the United States.

In a speech before supporters at Del Sol High School, Obama emphasized the need to pass comprehensive legislation to fix problems in the U.S. immigration code, but didn’t explicitly mention the provision in his plan that would enable gay Americans to sponsor foreign same-sex partners for residency in the United States.

“I’m here because most Americans agree that it’s time to fix a system that’s been broken for way too long,” Obama said. “I’m here because business leaders, faith leaders, labor leaders, law enforcement and leaders from both parties are coming together to say now is the time to find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as the land of opportunity. Now is the time to do this so we can strengthen our economy and strengthen our country’s future.”

Obama’s plan has four major parts: 1) enhancing border security; 2) cracking down on companies that hire undocumented workers; 3) holding undocumented immigrants “accountable” before they earn citizenship by, among other things, requiring them to pay back taxes with a penalty and learn English; and 4) streamlining the legal immigration system for families, workers and employers.

The president’s commitment to bi-national same-sex couples is found under the fourth pillar of his plan under the heading, “Keep Families Together.” Continue Reading

Related Content:

White House Fact Sheet: Fixing our Broken Immigration System so Everyone Plays by the Rules

Immigration Equality Praises President’s Proposal in Favor of LGBT-Inclusive Immigration Reform

Statement by NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell

John McCain: LGBT Issues ‘Best Way To Derail’ Immigration Bill

The White House Office of Public Engagement invites you to an LGBT Policy Briefing

The White House Office of Public Engagement invites you to an LGBT Policy Briefing

When: January 18, 2013, 9:00 AM – Noon 

Where: U.S. Department of Commerce
Herbert Clark Hoover Building Auditorium
1401 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC

The White House Office of Public Engagement invites you to a policy briefing and engagement forum focused on issues of importance to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community.  Advocates and community leaders from around the country will hear from senior Obama Administration officials about the accomplishments of the first term as well as opportunities to work together in the months and years ahead.  This event is closed press and off the record.

 Click here to RSVP.  You are welcome to share this invitation with your friends and colleagues.  Seating is first come, first serve.  Enter from 14^th Street NW between Constitution Ave NW and Pennsylvania Ave NW.

Sign up for White House LGBT Updates

For more information about the Obama Administration’s work on LGBT issues, please visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/lgbt

For more information about the White House Office of Public Engagement, please visit http://whitehouse.gov/engage

US Leadership to Advance Equality for LGBT People Abroad

From Whitehouse.gov written by Samantha Power Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights at the National Security Council.

During Human Rights Week, we reaffirm our commitment to upholding human rights and human dignity at home and abroad, and we recognize the need to build a world in which everyone can pursue their dreams free from violence and discrimination.

Last week at the Human Rights First summit, I described how advancing the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people around the world is central to, not separate from, our comprehensive human rights agenda. With LGBT people facing death, violence, persecution, and discrimination around the world, the stakes could not be higher. Seventy-eight countries have laws that criminalize consensual same-sex acts between adults, resulting in unchecked human rights abuses and exploitation by police, security officials and private citizens. In at least 5 countries, the death penalty can be applied for being gay. Even where being LGBT is not a crime, violence by state and non-state actors alike often goes unpunished and LGBT communities live in fear and isolation.

As President Obama has said, “no one should be harmed because of who they are or who they love”. To ensure a comprehensive U.S. response to these threats, one year ago, President Obama issued the first ever Presidential Memorandum to advance the human rights of LGBT persons, requiring all U.S. agencies engaged abroad to “ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons,” and to report annually on their progress. Continue Reading

Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies (GLIFAA) at 20

David Buss, GLIFAA’s founding president

A State Department event on Wednesday captured the remarkable changes in how LGBT citizens are winning acceptance and fair treatment in our country – and how American diplomatic muscle is persuading other countries to follow that same path.

On Wednesday, the State Department celebrated the 20^th anniversary of GLIFAA, an organization representing the interests of LGBT employees of foreign affairs agencies.  As late as the 1970’s, being gay was considered a security risk – reason enough to stop a career.  Even after that practice ended and GLIFAA was formed, the life of gay diplomats was hardly “gay.”  Gay and lesbian employees sometimes found themselves in less desirable jobs; their day-to-day behavior often drew heightened scrutiny; often they found an uncomfortable fit at starched and formal diplomatic events, including American ones; their family members received none of the benefits that straight families enjoyed.

These issues are part of GLIFAA’s history of course:  more to the point, they are history, full stop.   At Wednesday’s event, speakers traced the arc of that history in human terms.  David Buss, GLIFAA’s founding president, spoke of the loneliness he felt as an out-gay employee in the 80s – how indeed he had been forced to come out to his family, in order to keep his job.  Secretary Clinton asked Tom Gallagher, the Department’s first out-gay employee, to stand:  he was the Department’s earliest gay pioneer, having the courage to live his life openly in those difficult 1970’s.  She asked the same of the Council’s own Michael Guest, our country’s first out-gay, Senate-confirmed ambassador, who left his career over the Department’s unequal treatment of gay families and then worked in the Obama Administration’s Transition Team to chart a path to their resolution.

Time-wise, their stories are bookends to a story of remarkable change at the Department – change that should be credited, in full, to the personal leadership of the Secretary and her Counselor, Cheryl Mills.  But the visuals of GLIFAA’s celebration were equally striking, and equally telling.  Merely holding the event in the marble-columned Benjamin Franklin Room – State’s top-floor formal reception room, where vice presidential diplomatic dinners are held and new ambassadors traditionally are sworn in – crystallized just how far GLIFAA has come.   So, of course, did the unprecedented presence of a sitting Secretary of State, surrounded by a bevy of political appointees from a cross-section of foreign affairs agencies and the Office of Personnel Management.

Global Reactions to the U.S. National Election

Global Activists Meeting in Washington DC. Photo: Munya K.

From Uganda:

I stayed all night watching the results come in and at 4am on the election night, I joined hundreds of Ugandan activists, Diplomats, MPs and civil society at the US embassy in Kampala. Minute by minute we watched and when Obama got the required 270 electoral college votes, I simply sat down and enjoyed the celebration . My fellow activist Bishop Christopher Senyonjo (I have never seen him so over-joyed) danced as did many of the guests. It was merry. I could not stand to imagine what Mr. Romney would have done about passing the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, given that there are strong links between The Family, the US funder of the author of the bill Mr. Bahati, and Republicans.

The LGBTI community in Kampala held a music show at the national theatre later in the evening, but police stopped it after two hours. We are used to that. The big picture is that we have an advocate in the White House. Humanity prevailed……and we shall prevail. It may not come during my lifetime, because I can easily expire in this struggle, but one day, we shall be free.

Kikonyogo Kivumbi
Executive Director, Uhspa-Uganda

From Russia:

News of Obama’s victory couldn’t be more timely. Russian LGBT people are facing extreme pressures, with the “propaganda” laws aiming to take away their basic rights and making a stab at their dignity itself. The entire civil society is experiencing an all-out attack by the government, with civil freedoms rapidly diminishing. Despite these grave challenges, the LGBT movement is more vibrant and stronger than ever, with gay people ready to go out on the streets to protest, go to court to defend their rights. If this momentum is kept, anything is achievable, and with Obama’s victory we can hope that the diplomatic missions in Russia will continue taking on a leading role in supporting gay rights.

Coming Out St. Petersburg

From St. Lucia:

Kenita Placide

From Venezuela:

Obama’s victory is also a victory for LGBTI human rights defenders all around the world. The continuous support to our activities will continue, and we will therefore able to further develop our actions in view of getting equal rights in our countries. On the other hand, the example of Obama’s actions with regard to LGBTI rights is an example to be used to force changes where radical and fundamentalists forces still in place, such as it is the case in Venezuela, where no significant improvements had been achieved, and in many cases we may detect a withdraw with regard to previous situations.

Tamara Adrián
DIVERLEX Diversidad e Igualdad a través de la ley

From Nepal:

The US Embassy in Kathmandu had invited us to observe the US presidential election yesterday; there were many Nepali from all walks of lives observing the election. The US embassy also put a mock pooling booth and allowed us to vote with a fake ballot. Many of us voted for Obama.

With Obama’s reelection LGBTI rights will make significant improvements not just in the US but all over the world. Obama is very popular in Nepal and people know him also for being LGBTI friendly. This makes us feel easier as activists to work on LGBTI rights in Nepal and around the world.

Congratulations to you all. Congratulations to all of us.

Sunil Pant
Director, Blue Diamond Society

From Mexico:

We are celebrating the re-election of Obama for another four-year period. It means that we still have an ally to go forward in the international struggle for LGBTI human rights and lot of hope for human rights advances for LGBTI people within the USA.

We know that since his first election we had a lot of expectations, and that it has not been easy for him. But we hope that in these next four years he will be able to build a broad alliance with other governments and advance the protection of LGBTI people. It is a profound democratic project promoting welfare and protecting human rights in which immigrants and LGBTI are clearly included.

We congratulate all American citizens that supported Obama´s agenda of respect for social, cultural and sexual diversity as a key contribution towards a better world!

Gloria Careaga
ILGA Co-Secretary General

From Moldova:

For us, the victory of Barack Obama is a victory of equal rights for all people, not only in the United States but all over the world including the small countries like Moldova. USA is a very influential country and this effect is not aggressive but pro-development. The government of Barack Obama has raised debate of LGBT issues to a new level in the world and we are confident that in the next four years it will be able to do more. U.S. President’s clear position on the rights of LGBT people became clear position of US Embassies in our countries. With their help and support, we will be able to further develop of democracy principles and the importance of each person, regardless of his/her sexual orientation and gender identity.

Anastasia Donilova
Director of Gender DOC-M

From Spain:

In Spain the LGBT movement has received with happiness news about President Obama´s re-election. November 6 was a great day for LGBT people in Spain because our Constitutional Court confirmed that the law that permitted marriage for same sex couples since 2005 is completely constitutional. The right-wing party Partido Popular (now in the Government) that were against the law, yesterday accepted the High Court decision and declared that they will maintain the law without any change. And after that, we learned early morning that President Obama, who has supported LGBT equality, will have four years more. The US election is important for us because Fundación Triángulo is concerned not just about Spanish domestic issues but also for the global fight for equality everywhere.  And we know that, with Obama, the USA will be a great ally against discrimination for LGBT people all over the world. Congratulations to all North-American people.

Miguel Ángel Sánchez Rodríguez.
Fundación Triángulo, for Social Equality of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Trans.
SPAIN

From Canada:

We congratulate our American friends on an impressive election night yesterday. The election results saw many important achievements for LGBT rights in the United States. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) becomes the first openly gay member of the US Senate, while Maine and Maryland have approved same-sex marriage.  Though votes continue to be counted in Washington State, marriage equality remains in the lead. Overall, a great night for LGBT rights!

Helen Kennedy
Executive Director, Egale Canada

Will LGBT Issues Feature in the Upcoming Presidential Debate?

Presidential debates rarely shed new light on what a presidential candidate really believes. Set-piece statements and rehearsed position points are the order of the night – and the format of the debates rarely allows for reflection or back-and-forth discussion.

The October 3 debate – first in this season’s set of debates – is slated to focus on domestic policies. The Council for Global Equality believes that if the United States wishes to claim leadership in the struggle for human rights abroad, our country must pay more attention to LGBT inequalities here at home.  We hope, and urge, that LGBT issues will be included in the mix – and that they not be limited to backward-looking topics such as whether repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was right for our country.  (It was, let’s move on.)

We’d like to hear the candidates address, at a deeper level, why a country that professes a belief in equal rights, justice and the pursuit of happiness can fail to assure equality for all citizens, including those of us who happen to be LGBT. Some questions worth considering:

• Why should an employer be allowed to fire an employee who is gay or lesbian – or not to hire him/her – for that reason? How is that lack of protection consistent with any understanding of “fair” and “equal”?

• How do candidates understand the separation of church and state – not simply with respect to the rights of religious denominations, but with respect to the government’s rights and responsibilities to ensure equal rights for citizens from different religious faiths or, indeed, those who belong to no faith tradition?

• In that regard, why should government contracts (representing taxpayer funds) be given to organizations – whether religious or secular – that refuse to respect civil principles of fairness and equality for all employees, regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity?

• Why isn’t U.S. citizenship conferred on in vitro fertilized children that are conceived by gay and lesbian U.S. citizen couples abroad?

• And why shouldn’t immigration policy be amended to accommodate the families and partners of gay and lesbian citizens – in the same manner that families and partners of straight citizens are allowed to reunite with their loved ones?

There are many more LGBT policy questions to address, of course. But we hope the organizers of the October 3 domestic policy debate will help us arrive at a better understanding of to what degree the two candidates have internalized American values of fairness and equality and how, in consequence, they would propose to move our country beyond basic LGBT fairness issues that should have been resolved in the last century.

What to Expect From Romney

The Council for Global Equality has urged elected representatives and their staff from both major political parties to stand against LGBT human rights abuse and support LGBT-fair policies around the world.  With the Republican Party now poised to nominate its presidential candidate, we address that appeal to Governor Romney.

Over the past four years, President Obama and his Administration have offered unprecedented support for LGBT human rights abroad:

• The President has spoken out forcefully against anti-gay legislation pending in Uganda; his Administration has registered U.S. concerns about anti-LGBT discrimination and actions in countries ranging from Senegal, Cameroon, and Malawi to Lithuania, Honduras and Iraq.
• The State Department’s annual human rights reports now give equal attention to the difficulties faced by LGBT people in every corner of the world.
• New funding streams have been opened to support LGBT civil society organizations in troubled areas of the world.
• The plight of LGBT refugees is being addressed.
• Transgender Americans now can amend passport gender markers with greater dignity, while passport and birth report forms to be filed by gay and lesbian parents have been made more inclusive.
• Secretary Clinton has spoken directly before an important human rights body about the need for the international community to address the issue of LGBT fairness more squarely.
• And President Obama has directed all foreign affairs agencies to ensure that LGBT populations are integrated, where appropriate, into our foreign assistance programs and policies.

Through these actions, the Obama Administration has reaffirmed that no minority, in any country, is immune from international standards of human rights protections, and that America will stand for fairness for all people, including LGBT populations, as part of its foreign policy.  In doing so, it has drawn from America’s principles of equality, fairness, and justice – principles that are part of our national conscience and discourse.

We’ve heard little from Governor Romney about human rights – or, indeed, about how he would approach the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people within his prospective human rights policy.  We hope he will speak to these issues in the remaining course of his campaign, and that he will show leadership in ensuring that defending LGBT human and civil rights is a point of national unity, not one of political division.