Happy IDAHOBIT!

Happy IDAHOBIT! For this year’s International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia, and Transphobia, CGE is honored to share this powerful message from Bishop Joseph Tolton. Bishop Tolton is the President and Founder of Interconnected Justice and the Bishop of East Africa for The Fellowship of Affirming Ministries (TFAM). For IDAHOBIT, Bishop Tolton shares his thoughts about the resilient Cosmopolitan Affirming Church in Kenya, which continues to thrive in the face of spiritual violence and a draconian anti-LGBTQI+ bill currently under consideration.

The War in Gaza Impacts All of Us and Democracy Too

By Julie Dorf, Co-Chair of the Council for Global Equality

• This essay was originally published earlier today in the Washington Blade.
• Content Advisory: this is much longer than CGE’s usual posts. It shares my personal experience and perspective and does not represent an organizational statement. Clearly, it addresses Israel/Palestine, so if you can’t handle that, please don’t read!

(January 11, 2024) As a leader in the LGBTQI+ movement and Co-chair of the U.S.-based foreign policy organization the Council for Global Equality (CGE), I am calling on my colleagues in the progressive foreign policy community to urgently discuss alternative policy solutions to our government’s support of the deadly war in Gaza and collectively begin demanding solutions that respect the dignity, rights, and security for all. 

The Council for Global Equality (CGE) works at the intersection of international human rights, U.S. foreign policy, and LGBTQI+ communities. We primarily focus on influencing the U.S. government’s policies, programs, and foreign assistance to do more good in the world, recognizing that our democracy typically only does the right thing when its citizens demand it – whether through elections or ongoing civic engagement by organizations such as ours. We also recognize that, deservedly or not, the United States wields outsized power in the world; as responsible citizens of this mighty country, it is therefore incumbent on us to actively engage and try to direct its power towards good. Our organizational principles include key tenets such as “freedoms abroad and freedoms at home are linked,” “democracy can only be rooted in secular, inclusive values,” “equal treatment is at the heart of human rights,” and “one population’s rights cannot transcend those of another.” The full statement of principles is on our website.

When Hamas launched its terrifying attacks in southern Israel on October 7, followed by Israel’s revengeful response in Gaza, I thought at first that this was not a CGE issue. As a progressive Jew, I was mostly consumed by my own relationship with the ongoing occupation, and I feared for my friends in the region. I was horrified and heartsick, glued to Al Jazeera and other news sources. But I was not at all surprised by the attack, except perhaps that it had taken this long for a major uprising by Palestinians. I reached out to activists, friends, and family in Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Egypt. I felt no contradiction being equally upset by the loss of lives on all sides and holding multiple truths at once. Yes, Hamas is a terrorist organization that brutally murdered my people. Yes, Israel has been occupying, persecuting, and actively undermining a Palestinian state for its entire existence. And yes, the government of the United States and its Jewish community have both been enabling this horrible injustice for as long as I can remember. This crisis was just more of the same but on a much, much more painful scale.

My Position on Palestine and Israel

I grew up in a staunchly Zionist environment, visited the region multiple times (Israel and the West Bank and Gaza), and evolved through my human rights career into a proud Jewish anti-Zionist. I believe in the land of Israel being a vital, safe, and sacred homeland for Jews and Muslims, as well as for Christians, Druze, Armenians, Samaritans, and others.

I do not, however, believe in a Jewish supremacist state, which is the way that Israel’s current policies have been constructed, believing that only by having a majority of Jews in the country of Israel can it be a secure Jewish “homeland.” I believe it can and must be a secure homeland for different religions simultaneously. Indeed, if you’ve ever visited Jerusalem, you know it already is a homeland for Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Armenians (albeit not safe). Yes, Netanyahu is perhaps the most far-right authoritarian leader we’ve seen in Israel. But long-time policies from urban development, road construction, and water to the separation wall and vast numbers of political prisoners, and other Israeli government policies have been constructed to maintain the supreme rights of Jews over Palestinians. These policies that are intended to maintain inequality by ethnicity are simply inherently incompatible with a genuine democracy. At this moment in the world, when democracy needs to be actively defended in so many countries, an exception clause for Israel is both indefensible and counterproductive.

From left: Julie Dorf, the-now Association for Civil Rights in Israel Executive Director Noa Sattath, and then-Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance Executive Director Hagai El-Ad protest at a checkpoint outside Bethlehem, West Bank, during Jerusalem WorldPride in 2006. Dorf is the Co-Chair of the Council for Global Equality. (Photo courtesy of Julie Dorf)

My political positions on Israel and Palestine have stirred up great pain and conflict in my family and community. But I have been committed to talking to my own people – in this case, American Jews – about these issues because that is where I can have the most influence to make change, however small that may be. Many progressive Jews–and particularly younger generations–share my beliefs but are afraid of being ostracized from their Jewish communities or families or being labeled a “self-hating Jew.” I know that I am a proud Jew.

Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism

I am also no stranger to antisemitism—even working in the LGBTQI+ global movement, I have experienced my share of antisemitism. It mostly takes the form of microaggressions, such as comments about “your banker friends in New York” or “I won’t succumb to your Jewish guilt moves.” Then there was the moment when a presenter at a queer conference on closing civic space in Poland used a political cartoon from a local newspaper that had a picture of an Orthodox Jew with a huge nose, wearing a star of David that said “NGO” on it – but didn’t recognize that NGO was overlaid on a profoundly antisemitic image. Or the time when someone posted a conspiracy theory full of lies that “co-religionist George Soros” was somehow connected West Bank settlement building on a large global queer listserv, and the moderator of the list told me that my concerns were unfounded and that “the post was not antisemitic.” And I’ll definitely never forget when an activist in Malaysia who had never met a Jew before asked to feel my head for my horns. At least they asked for consent!

Today’s genuine rise in antisemitism around the world is more overt and scary. I’m used to armed security guards at the entrances to Jewish institutions such as our schools, museums, and synagogues to guard against the occasional violent act of antisemites. But this increased level of hate speech, online antisemitism, Nazis in public, and murder threats are understandably terrifying my community. This is precisely why the distinction between this very real rise in antisemitic violence and anti-Zionist expression is critical to distinguish.

It is dangerous for Jews and others to conflate antisemitism with anti-Zionism because that conflation misdirects attention from genuine antisemitic violent threats and increases polarization in a year when our unity to protect democracy is more important than ever. Further, it is terrible for the freedom of thought and speech, undermining legitimate calls for justice for Palestinians and silencing people from expressing their true thoughts and reactions. All these things are harming U.S. foreign policy and making U.S. citizens less safe.

We can agree to disagree about the connotations of “from the river to the sea” or the word “intifada,” – but it is not inherently antisemitic to wish for equality in that location or to desire a one-state solution to the conflict between the state of Israel and the stateless citizens of Palestine or to wish to organize peaceful resistance to oppression (such as BDS). This is legitimate political discourse, essential to finding a peaceful solution to this ongoing conflict, whether that be a one-state, two-state, confederated, or some other solution we haven’t yet imagined.

A Free Palestine poster on 17th Street in Dupont Circle on Oct. 23, 2023. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Further complicating matters, progressives tend to minimize antisemitism because of Ashkenazi white skin privilege and class privilege, whether real or imagined. Yet Eastern European Jews weren’t considered “white” for many decades, Sephardic Jews are still not considered “white,” and there is increasing visibility of Jews of color. Regardless of the color of our skin, we’ve not been part of any dominant culture for most of our existence as a people – until the creation of the Israeli state. But in the current leftist paradigm of “settler colonialism” as it applies to the state of Israel (which is, in fact, what the early founders of Israel called themselves), often the role of historical and current antisemitism is either dismissed or ignored. This is problematic and limits solidarity. It adds to the lopsided empathy that occurs in both directions and limits civil discourse and healing.

There is no doubt that antisemitism over time, and particularly the Holocaust, played a critical role in the creation of the State of Israel, as well as in the historical trauma and epigenetic fears that live inside so many of us Jews. That trauma was further inflamed by Hamas’s attack on October 7, just as the trauma of the Nakba was reignited for Gazans when Israel’s counter-attacks began, and 90% of Gazans were forced to leave their homes, regularly going without food. It might seem obvious that this sense of collective victimhood does not give license to victimize others, but it certainly creates a major blind spot in Jewish identity. It is overdue for Jews around the world—and especially in Israel—to update our story and live up to our stated values as a people committed to “Tikkun Olam,” or to repair the world. As painful as it is, we must take a hard look at the missteps in the history of Israel and rectify them urgently. We must face the current crisis and rise in antisemitism with the clarity that anti-Zionism is not synonymous with antisemitism. We must also be able to sit with the discomfort or sense of threat from anti-Zionist arguments or even chants, or genuine discourse about a different role for the U.S. vis-à-vis Israel, rather than reflexively labeling all of that antisemitic.

Legitimacy in Global Movements

So, when activists in the Middle East began asking queer groups to show up in solidarity with Palestine and, in particular, to join the calls for a ceasefire, I had no problem as a co-chair of CGE to craft a statement on behalf of our organization. It was not only consistent with our stated principles, but it was also a question of legitimacy for us in our global movement. What so many Americans do not quite understand is that much of the world considers Israel a pariah state; as such, the “special relationship” the United States maintains with a country considered akin to apartheid South Africa is very hard to explain or defend. Yet here in the United States, we get a totally different perspective, highly influenced by the commercial media, by mainstream Jewish community institutions (many of which are quite out of step with their own constituents, particularly younger people), and also by the strong forces of the intensely Zionist Christian right (Did you know that Christians United for Israel has more members than AIPAC?). And perhaps, as Peter Beinart posits, as Americans, we identify unconsciously with Israelis because we, too, do not wish to rectify our past treatment of Native Americans in our own founding of our country. This creates a grossly asymmetrical empathy for the “Israeli side” (which, by the way, is hardly monolithic) for many in the United States.

Yet, for many of us in the fields of international human rights, global development, or foreign policy, we engage regularly with colleagues outside of the United States who have a more balanced concern for the Palestinians. Indeed, we cannot do our work very effectively without such solidarity and trusted relationships. Consequently, it is very difficult to sustain an organizational position that justifies the levels of U.S. aid to Israel (over $3B annually), particularly the extra $14.5B in military aid for their war on Gaza, some of it circumventing required Congressional notifications, which everyone knows by now has overwhelmingly killed civilians and children and over 20,000 people. Then to see that with the U.S. government’s enormous investment, the Israeli military and intelligence could be so arrogantly incompetent, caught without any plan or reasonable response to the October 7^th Hamas attacks, makes that incredibly large investment even more questionable. And yet, most D.C. organizations still simply shy away from this issue.

Pinkwashing and impact on LGBTQI+ Movement

For the global LGBTQI+ movement, “pinkwashing” has further enraged many in queer communities across the globe. Pinkwashing is the promotion by the Israeli government (or any other government) of its pro-LGBTQI+ policies to intentionally distract from its human rights abuses against Palestinians (or other horrific rights abuses). In truth, all the rights that have been disingenuously touted by the Israeli government to show a contrast to surrounding Arab states in the region were hard-fought and won by the country’s LGBTQI+ community itself through the courts, not simply handed to the community by the State of Israel. This has been a key part of the intentional campaign by the Israeli government to maintain an image that the country is more similar to Western democracies and, therefore, more deserving of their support.

But in many ways, it has backfired when it comes to LGBTQI+ communities and certainly alienated Israeli LGBTQI+ civil society from the global movement, and in particular from other LGBTQI+ organizations in the region. It is considered so taboo to be connected to Israel that no other Middle East or North Africa (MENA) representatives would show up to a queer MENA event if Israeli civil society were even invited. (And, yes, there are LGBTQI+ groups large and small in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Tunisia, Morocco, etc.) Israel’s pinkwashing also helped spawn stronger queer support for Palestinians and for the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement. A clear example of this pinkwashing continues now during the war, when the State of Israel’s official X (formerly Twitter) account showed an IDF soldier unfurling a rainbow flag in front of a tank in Gaza and another one, claiming to be “in the name of love,” in front of a destroyed village. For many of us, this was beyond offensive, it was stomach-churning. 

Yoav Atzmoni, an IDF soldier, holds a Pride flag while inside the Gaza Strip in November 2023. (Photo courtesy of the Israeli government’s X account)

For all of these reasons, CGE issued our statement calling for a ceasefire in late October. Most of our organizational members were very pleased with its release, except for the ADL, which chose to end its membership in CGE over our differences on this issue. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, both long-standing CGE members, have strongly criticized this war, documenting war crimes and other human rights violations, both by the Israeli state against Palestinian civilians and by Hamas against Israeli citizens. But other than those large human rights organizations, the most vocal members of the foreign policy community in Washington have been the large humanitarian assistance providers, which have passionately argued for a ceasefire. The visible resistance by Jewish Voice for Peace and other progressive Jewish organizations, together with Palestinian rights organizations, have been the primary other civil society entities articulating a different vision for U.S. policy on Israel and Palestine. Between the street protests, potentially losing the next generation’s vote, and the upset from federal employees themselves, this does seem to be getting the Biden-Harris Administration’s attention, forcing very small shifts toward using its leverage to reign in Israel’s military violence.

Where is the U.S. Foreign Policy Community?

So, where is the rest of the Washington foreign policy community? Clearly, others must have similar concerns for their credibility with partners around the world during this crisis and feel uneasy every day as the news appears. How can we not do better than this to hold our government accountable to our values of equality and justice? Where are the media watchdog organizations, and why are they not challenging such asymmetrical coverage of the war? I understand that people are scared to “take a side,” to offend someone, to lose big donors, and to lose legitimacy in the eyes of our U.S. government allies. God forbid we get canceled by saying the wrong thing or making a mistake.

But we must do better than that; we must have the courage to advocate for a more balanced U.S. policy on Israel and Palestine and to call on the Biden Administration to be a more honest broker in the conflict. If foreign policymakers believe that the United States needs to be Israel’s best friend, to be a trusted nation they will listen to, then we certainly have paid our dues by now. We must leverage decades of expensive investments more strategically and effectively.

It is time for the progressive foreign policy community in the United States, together with principled Jewish organizations, Palestinian leaders, and others sincerely invested in peace to come together to articulate a better way forward for U.S. foreign policy. We must demand conditions on U.S. aid, not just on ending illegal settlement-building in the West Bank, but on actually dismantling settlements if the U.S.-stated policy goal of helping to create a Palestinian state is sincere. We must condition military aid appropriately to avoid its use in war crimes. We must demand and help secure the release of Palestinian leaders in Israeli prisons who could become the more legitimate, moderate leaders of the next iteration of the Palestinian Authority. This would undermine the Hamas movement far more effectively than the current military campaign is doing by offering better leadership options. We must demand the release of the Israeli hostages in Gaza and the Palestinian political prisoners in Israel. And we must end the immense blank check support of billions of taxpayer dollars to Israel by requiring a genuine restart of peace negotiations. These are just some of the policies that we should be advocating for – the point is that we need to have those debates as a matter of urgency within our own foreign policy communities in Washington.

As an LGBTQI+ U.S. foreign policy organization, we should be a part of those discussions, not just because queer Palestinians and queer Israelis are impacted, and not just because it’s urgently critical for the safety of all Palestinians and Israelis, but because, indeed, we are all impacted. Americans will be safer. Jews will be safer. Democracy might even be safer. 

U.S. Sanctions Ugandan Prison Official for LGBTQI+ Abuses

December 8, 2023 – The Treasury Department today announced an international package of human rights sanctions in recognition of the 75^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Human Rights Day on December 10.  In a groundbreaking move, one of the specific sanctions designations included Johnson Byabashaija, the Commissioner General of the Uganda Prisons Service (UPS), for the abuse of LGBTQI+ prisoners under his supervision.

In designating Byabashaija, Treasury notes, “Prisoners have reported being tortured and beaten by UPS staff and by fellow prisoners at the direction of UPS staff. Members of vulnerable groups, including government critics and members of Uganda’s LGBTQI+ community, have been beaten and held without access to legal counsel; for example, in a 2020 case, the UPS denied a group of LGBTQI+ persons access to their lawyers and members of the group reportedly endured physical abuse, including a forced anal examination and scalding.”

The Council for Global Equality welcomes this announcement. Our coalition has long urged the Biden Administration to announce targeted sanctions under the authority of the Global Magnitsky Act for Ugandan officials who are complicit in the persecution of LGBTQI+ persons, including under the country’s draconian new Anti-Homosexuality Act. To our knowledge, this is only Treasury’s second named sanctions designation of foreign officials for LGBTQI+-specific human rights violations, following the 2017 designations of Chechnya’s dictator and director of prisons for the torture of LGBTQI+ prisoners there. Based on today’s sanctions announcement, any property owned by Byabashaija in the United States is subject to seizure, and he and his family will be denied visas to the United States.

Today’s announcement also has three additional features that are important. To begin, it is the first U.S. government sanctions designation that recognizes the use of forced anal exams as a serious human rights violation. The practice – widely discredited as both forensically useless and a form of torture — is used in Uganda and elsewhere to gather bogus “evidence” to prosecute people for criminal violations of anti-homosexuality laws. As such, this sets an important precedent in recognizing forced anal exams as human rights violations that are sanctionable under U.S. law.

Second, the designation was issued against Byabashaija for his “command responsibility” for human rights violations, including torture, committed in Ugandan prisons. The designation states that “Byabashaija is being designated for being a foreign person who is or has been a leader or official of an entity, including any government entity, that has engaged in, or whose members have engaged in, serious human rights abuse relating to the leader’s or official’s tenure.” This theory of command responsibility for the abuse of LGBTQI+ persons in prison, including for forced anal exams, should put prison officials and other government leaders across Uganda and in many other countries on notice. We trust that this will be just the first of many additional sanction designations for similar practices committed in Uganda and beyond.

Third, the announcement today “notes recent attempts by the Uganda Prisons Service to implement human rights-related measures, but these measures fall short. Should Byabashaija implement effective measures to eliminate torture and impunity, increase independent human rights monitoring, ban forced anal examinations and other forms of abuse used to target LGBTQI+ persons and others, ensure protections for vulnerable persons and groups, and improve overall prison conditions, the Department of the Treasury will consider those to be changes of behavior that would potentially result in his removal from the SDN List.” The inclusion of that additional prescriptive language sends a strong statement, setting out our sanctions regime as another U.S. foreign policy tool being leveraged to end the practice of forced anal exams. 

Today’s sanctions announcement follows a broader visa ban announced by the State Department earlier this week for officials who are involved in the repression of the LGBTQI+ community. Because those visa bans are being implemented under a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act and not the Global Magnitsky Act, the State Department cannot name the specific targets, although many parliamentarians in Uganda reportedly assume that they are on that visa ban list as well. It also follows the recent decision to terminate Uganda’s preferential trade status in the United States because of its repression of the LGBTQI+ community.

As Ugandan advocates launch their constitutional challenge against the Anti-Homosexuality Act in court this month, and as we celebrate International Human Rights Day this weekend, we hope this sanctions designation sends an important message that LGBTQI+ rights are human rights — in Uganda, in the United States and everywhere else where LGBTQI+ people are being scapegoated and persecuted by officials in violation of the most basic principles adopted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 75 years ago.

Trade Relations and Human Rights in Central Asia

This week, Assistant Secretary of State Don Lu is leading a U.S. delegation to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to discuss security partnerships, economic relations, energy policy, and human rights with the leaders of those countries. This visit follows up on the first-ever “C5+1” summit this past September in New York, when President Biden met with the leaders of the five Central Asian republics on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly.

Back in September, Biden noted the C5+1 countries’ “shared commitment to sovereignty, independence, [and] territorial integrity.” To that end, Biden spotlighted increased U.S. security funding and closer counterterrorism cooperation, a new critical minerals dialogue to ensure the security of the U.S. high-tech industry, and new mechanisms to facilitate U.S. private sector engagement with Central Asia.

The White House readout of the C5+1 meeting with the Central Asian leaders — including Presidents Qasym-Zhomart Toqaev of Kazakhstan and Shavkat Mirziyoev of Uzbekistan — also noted that Biden raised the need to support civil society, women’s empowerment, and disability rights with his counterparts.

It is clear that the United States government and its Central Asian counterparts are in deep, sustained dialogue, with both sides believing that closer ties are mutually beneficial. Given the region’s geostrategic importance at the crossroads of Russia, China, and Afghanistan, Washington is trying hard to woo Central Asia from Moscow’s sphere of influence. In turn, Central Asia wants access to global markets and trade institutions, which requires closer ties with the West. To that end, Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Todd Young (R-IN) have responded to lobbying from the region by introducing legislation to repeal Jackson-Vanik trade restrictions for Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan and grant those nations permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status.

We appreciate that President Biden, Secretary Lu, and others have referred to the importance of promoting human rights and civil society in Central Asia – including media freedom, women and girls’ empowerment, and people-to-people ties. At the same time, the abysmal state of human rights and the utter lack of free civil society under all five authoritarian regimes in the region must not be ignored. For perspective, Freedom House, in its 2023 Global Freedom Scores, gave Kazakhstan 23 out of 100 possible points, Uzbekistan 12/100, and Tajikistan 7/100.*

For LGBTQI+ Central Asians, the situation is all the more dire. Just this summer, Kyrgyzstan adopted the roadmap written in Russia that links anti-LGBTQI+ politics and restricting civil society when it passed legislation criminalizing the dissemination of LGBTQI+-affirming information aimed at minors. This development parallels the introduction of proposed laws dramatically limiting freedom of speech and association more broadly.

Uzbekistan’s record on LGBTQI+ human rights is particularly poor. While roughly 65 countries continue to criminalize consensual same-sex relations between adults, Uzbekistan is one of a handful of these countries that actively prosecutes its inhabitants under such a law. Gay and bisexual men and transgender women face up to three years in prison under Article 120. Just this week, as the U.S. delegation visited Tashkent, Uzbekistani authorities acknowledged, as part of the U.N. Universal Periodic Review process, that in 2023, at least 27 male-identified persons have been prosecuted under Article 120.

Uzbekistani police continue to use forced anal exams — widely discredited as both forensically useless and a form of torture — to gather “evidence” to prosecute people under Article 120. Those convicted and imprisoned for engaging in same-sex relations then face being subjected to conversion therapy practices to treat the “disorder of homosexuality … to eliminate repeat crimes and offenses.” Additionally, a 2022 ECOM report documented how healthcare authorities shared individuals’ private medical information about HIV testing and treatment with law enforcement, putting LGBTQI+ Uzbekistanis at further risk for conviction under Article 120.

As part of the UPR process, five Equal Rights Coalitions members — Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Montenegro, and Spain — implored Uzbekistan to decriminalize consensual same-sex relations between adults. Likewise, civil society stakeholders echoed the call to repeal Article 120 and issued numerous other recommendations to promote the human rights of LGBTQI+ people in Uzbekistan, including anti-discrimination legislation; an end to forced anal exams; protection of privacy, especially regarding HIV status and treatment; thorough investigation of anti-LGBTQI+ violence and support for survivors of such violence; the decriminalization of HIV transmission; and an end to anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric from political and religious leaders. To date, Uzbekistan’s government has rebuffed all these recommendations.

While Kazakhstan repealed Soviet-era sodomy laws in the 1990s as part of sweeping post-independence legal reforms, the human rights situation for LGBTQI+ people there is not meaningfully better than in its southern neighbor. Indeed, Feminita, Kazakhstan’s leading feminist and LGBTQI+ organization, has been repeatedly denied registration to organize openly. In 2021, Feminita organized a private discussion in the city of Shymkent, only for their meeting to be broken up by unidentified men who physically assaulted the Feminita activists. In turn, the police responding to the situation interrogated the activists at length, detaining them for eight hours and threatening to charge them with “insulting a government representative” before forcibly driving them back to Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, “for their own safety.”

As the U.S. State Department itself reported earlier this year, there are no legal protections from anti-LGBTQI+ discrimination in the country, and acts of violence, harassment, and extortion based on sexual orientation or gender identity, though somewhat common, were rarely investigated by the authorities. As in Uzbekistan, LGBTQI+ Kazakhstanis seldom turned to the authorities to report violence against them because they feared hostility, ridicule, and further violence, and because they did not trust law enforcement to safeguard their personal information, thus putting them at risk for losing employment and housing.

ECOM’s recent research corroborated this assessment, documenting several dozen cases of harassment and violence in Kazakhstan. Such cases included parents insulting and attempting to institutionalize their LGBTQI+ adult children; entrapment and blackmail by gangs luring LGBTQI+ persons looking for dates; disclosure of HIV status and discrimination against HIV advocates; and police indifference and open hostility to the survivors of anti-LGBTQI+ assaults and discrimination.

Unsurprisingly, we are skeptical, to say the least, of the commitment to democracy and human rights on the part of the governments of Central Asia. As the momentum for closer trade relations between the United States and Central Asia builds, the U.S. government should use this moment to press human rights concerns, to ask for more than broad promises, even as it offers incentives such as the repeal of Jackson-Vanik restrictions and the promise of PNTR status.

We understand that Jackson-Vanik is the product of another era, a tool originally designed to press Moscow to end its discriminatory limits on emigration by Soviet Jews and other minority groups. Moreover, we support the use of trade or other commercial incentives to promote human rights. But if Jackson-Vanik is indeed lifted, the Biden Administration needs to commit to the robust use of more appropriate human rights tools to address serious human rights violations in the region, including the targeted persecution of LGBTQI+ individuals. This should include Global Magnitsky sanctions against named individuals who target LGBTQI+ persons for arrest and prosecution, including those who order or perform forced anal exams on suspects in clear violation of medical ethics and human rights norms against torture. The Central Asian governments must not get a free pass on human rights on the road to free trade.

* For context, Russia earned 16/100, China 9, Iran 12, and Saudi Arabia 8, while Sweden and Norway scored 100, Canada 98, the United Kingdom 93, and the United States 83.

Ubuntu for LGBTQI+ Africans

In recent years, several African nations have enacted legislation to expand the criminalization of homosexuality. These laws pose a grave threat to the lives and freedoms of LGBTQI+ individuals across the continent. These laws not only contravene fundamental human rights principles but also erode democratic values and the rule of law, perpetuating stigma and discrimination against marginalized communities. Notable cases of such anti-LGBTQI+ legislation include Uganda, Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria, with far-reaching consequences for both LGBTQI+ individuals and the overall socio-political landscape of these nations.

Following the passage of one of the world’s most punitive anti-LGBTQI+ laws in Uganda, Kenyan Member of Parliament George Kaluma commended Uganda’s efforts, ominously signaling Kenya’s intent to embark on a similar path. Despite the existence of colonial-era penal codes already criminalizing homosexuality — codes that remain prevalent in post-colonial societies, especially among Commonwealth members — lawmakers in numerous African countries are unwavering in their pursuit of extending the criminalization of LGBTQI+ activities. This endeavor seeks to suppress any advancements made by the LGBTQI+ community and forestall the recognition of rights based on sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.

For many LGBTQI+ individuals in these countries, who already endure hostile environments due to religious intolerance, disinformation about their identities, threats of violence from non-state actors, and state-sanctioned discriminatory legislation, the escalation of criminalization compounds an already precarious situation. In Uganda, the infamous Anti-Homosexuality Act was enacted in 2014, imposing life imprisonment for same-sex acts. Although subsequently overturned by the constitutional court on procedural grounds, the damage had been done. LGBTQI+ individuals were subjected to harassment, violence, and discrimination, with many fleeing the country in fear. Even after the law’s repeal, the government continued its crackdown on LGBTQI+ rights, leading to the arrest and intimidation of activists. Tragically, Uganda’s president signed an even more oppressive anti-LGBTQI+ law this year, exacerbating the plight of community members and prompting the still-unfolding mass exodus of LGBTQI+ individuals facing an uncertain future.

Regrettably, Uganda’s situation has had a ripple effect on neighboring East African nations. Despite the harsh conditions reported in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya, it continues to shelter many LGBTQI+ individuals fleeing Uganda, hoping for a better life through resettlement by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). However, Kenyan lawmakers are currently pushing for even more severe anti-LGBTQI+ legislation. Kenya has an extensive history of anti-LGBTQI+ laws, with the penal code prescribing penalties of up to 14 years in prison for same-sex activity. In 2019, the country’s high court upheld this law, citing cultural and religious beliefs. LGBTQI+ individuals in Kenya face daily discrimination and violence, with many living in secrecy. Kenyan lawmakers seeking to expand criminalization and enact new anti-LGBTQI+ legislation aim to emulate Uganda’s repression, further marginalizing LGBTQI+ refugees.

Ghana has also witnessed a surge in anti-LGBTQI+ sentiment, culminating in a new bill that criminalizes same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ advocacy; as of this writing, this bill has passed the first of three required readings. This legislation has garnered widespread condemnation from human rights groups and activists who assert that it flagrantly violates basic human rights and undermines Ghana’s democratic and legal foundations. Nevertheless, many proponents of this draconian law have received significant support in a country where LGBTQI+ individuals are socially isolated and often scapegoated for political gain. Ghana’s predicament is not isolated, as Africa grapples with a continent-wide trend of expanding criminalization spearheaded by both local policymakers and well-funded lobbies from the Global North.

Similarly, Nigerian lawmakers have successfully enacted the anti-same-sex marriage prohibition act (SSMPA), another one of the harshest anti-LGBTQI+ laws on the continent, imposing penalties of up to 14 years in prison for same-sex activities. Like Ghana, Uganda, and Kenya, Nigeria’s colonial-era penal code already criminalized same-sex marriage and other activities deemed “against the order of nature.” LGBTQI+ individuals in Nigeria face daily discrimination and violence, often living in fear or exile. However, since the implementation of SSMPA, violence and state-sanctioned arrests continue to escalate, leaving many LGBTQI+ people living in constant fear, hindering public health efforts to provide them with essential information, treatment, and care.

The ramifications of Nigeria’s situation have had adverse effects on neighboring countries where LGBTQI+ individuals already face criminalization. Reports of violence against LGBTQ+ people are on the rise in West Africa, with some incidents documented on social media to incite fear within the community. Cameroon has also witnessed a recent surge in violence against the LGBTQI+ community, rendering many transgender individuals in particular unable to seek refuge in Nigeria.

At a fundamental level, these laws not only contravene basic human rights principles but also subvert democracy and the rule of law, perpetuating stigma and discrimination against an already marginalized community. They fragment local communities, encourage vigilantism, leading to mob violence and injustice, and run counter to the principles of inclusive development necessary for fostering thriving and prosperous societies. Furthermore, these laws have a chilling effect on civil society and the media, which often face intimidation and harassment when speaking out against them.

The efforts to expand criminalization — and, indeed, the perpetuation of existing colonial-era penal codes throughout much of Africa — run counter to the essence of Ubuntu, the concept often championed by Nelson Mandela. At its core, Ubuntu signifies reciprocity, the common good, peaceful relations, the primacy of human dignity, and the sanctity of human life, along with tolerance, and mutual respect.

Last month, on August 8, the World Bank announced a suspension of new public financing for Uganda until the effectiveness of measures implemented in response to Uganda’s new Anti-Homosexuality Act has been evaluated. While existing projects and funding will continue, this measure signifies a temporary halt on new projects pending a satisfactory outcome. Critics, including the Ugandan government, have accused the Bank of imperialism, ignoring the Bank’s anti-discrimination rules adopted after its Safeguards review, encompassed within the Environmental & Social Framework for IPF Operations, particularly those pertaining to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI). The Bank’s stance is unequivocal: discriminatory laws and policies are at odds with its core values and impede efforts to enhance the lives of ordinary Ugandans.

The success of international development initiatives hinges on the inclusion of all, irrespective of race, gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity. This holds true not just for Uganda but for every nation dedicated to improving the well-being of its populace. Thus, these countries must urgently repeal their anti-homosexuality laws and refrain from further endeavors to expand criminalization to ensure the continued success of their public health programs and overall development.

The U.S. government has signaled its intent to respond in kind. Following Uganda’s enactment of the AHA, President Biden swiftly indicated a review of Uganda’s eligibility for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), along with potential sanctions and entry restrictions to the United States. Simultaneously, the Council for Global Equality (CGE) urged the Biden administration to halt funding for the homophobic government and other entities, impose individual sanctions on those responsible for the draconian law in Uganda, and provide direct support to endangered members of the Ugandan LGBTQI+ community. Similar appeals have been made by various domestic and international organizations, aligning with local Ugandan groups’ demands.

Furthermore, it is fallacious to argue that anti-LGBTQI+ laws are seldom enforced and therefore pose minimal risks and dangers. The laws are being actively enforced — as thoroughly documented by Ugandan activists. Moreover, the moral panic, arbitrary arrests, extrajudicial violence, widespread fear, and chaos ensuing after the enactment of new anti-LGBTQI+ laws bear testament to their immediate adverse impact and the hostile environment they foster, a deliberate outcome sought by the proponents of such laws.

Additionally, the assertion that African countries face complex challenges like poverty, thus relegating LGBTQI+ issues as low priorities, is equally misguided. While it is true that Africa confronts multifaceted challenges, governments must avoid exacerbating the vulnerabilities of those most affected by these issues. According to the United Nations Joint Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), inequalities not only harm individuals but also hinder progress against AIDS, reducing the efficacy of HIV investments and jeopardizing millions of lives.

The phenomenon of “brain drain” resulting from these inequalities is particularly significant. Many LGBTQI+ youth are uprooting their lives, leaving their home countries in search of safety, acceptance, and opportunities to thrive as their authentic selves. Some have no other choice but to flee and seek refugee protection abroad if they hope to survive to adulthood. The specific economic and developmental ramifications of this brain drain on African nations remain uncertain due to the absence of comprehensive data. Nevertheless, some estimates suggest that Africa incurs approximately $2.0 billion in annual losses through brain drain in the health sector alone.

As more African youths depart the continent in droves for various reasons, including persecution based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, this trend undermines Africa’s development efforts and is unsustainable. As Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank, aptly notes, “the future of Africa’s youth does not lie in migration to Europe; it should not be at the bottom of the Mediterranean; it lies in a prosperous Africa.” To achieve developmental goals despite the challenges, Africa must harness the potential of all its citizens and create a secure, inclusive society that welcomes everyone, including vulnerable groups like LGBTQI+ individuals.

To genuinely uphold democracy and the rule of law, African governments must repeal these harmful and discriminatory laws. They must also take concrete actions to protect the rights of all individuals, irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender identity. This entails addressing discrimination and violence against LGBTQI+ individuals, promoting education and awareness about LGBTQI+ issues, and ensuring the freedom of civil society and the media to advocate against discrimination while championing equality and human rights. Collaboration with international development partners is crucial to ensuring that no one is left behind, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity and expression.

The proliferation of anti-LGBTQI+ laws in Africa constitutes a perilous trend that imperils the lives and freedoms of countless individuals, placing the continent at a disadvantage. These laws contravene fundamental human rights principles, while also undermining democracy and the rule of law. It is imperative that African governments take decisive action to repeal these harmful and discriminatory laws while actively promoting equality and human rights for all.

Global Equality Today (September 2023)

Happy Autumn! (Almost)

True, neither the calendar nor the temperatures in D.C. quite reflect that fall is upon us. But we’re already diving into what will certainly be a very busy season here in Washington. CGE and its 35 member organizations are hard at work engaging our partners in the Administration and on Capitol Hill to ensure that U.S. foreign policy consistently and comprehensively promotes LGBTQI+ human rights around the world.

There are plenty of challenges in front of us, from the possibility of a government shutdown, the PEPFAR reauthorization stalemate, and the distractions of the 2024 election cycle to a flood of viciously anti-LGBTQI+ legislative efforts, not only here in the United States but in dozens of other countries as well.

But we are not approaching our mission from a defensive posture, no matter how well-organized the movement to roll back the human rights of LGBTQI+ people — and democracy and civil society at large — might be. Instead, with sixteen months to go in this first Biden Administration, we are focused on institutionalizing our victories and expanding our pro-human rights agenda:

• Alongside HRC, we are working with our Hill allies calling for the President’s Budget request to include $40 million for the State Department’s Global Equality Fund (GEF) and $30 million for USAID’s Inclusive Development Hub’s Protection of LGBTQI+ Persons in the FY2025 State and Foreign Operations appropriations bills. We are also partnering with numerous allies in the HIV and SRHR (sexual and reproductive health and rights) movements to pass a clean PEPFAR reauthorization, even in the face of unprecedented attacks from the anti-abortion movement.

• CGE — in collaboration with Rainbow Railroad, ORAM, Immigration Equality, and IRAP, all CGE members — is working with the State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration to ensure that the Biden Administration’s direct referral and private sponsorship mechanisms for refugees are both fully LGBTQI+-inclusive and fully operational. This includes promoting Rainbow Railroad’s referrals to  the new Welcome Corps program that will allow local groups to sponsor LGBTQI+ refugees to bring them to safety in the United States. (You can read more in our World Refugee Day blog.)

• We are excited by USAID’s release of its revised and expanded LGBTQI+ Inclusive Development Policy, and we are looking forward to collaborating with USAID’s Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator, Jay Gilliam, and his team to make sure that LGBTQI+ concerns are truly incorporated throughout the Agency’s work. To that end, we’ve added meetings with USAID’s regional and thematic bureaus to our annual meetings with State’s regional bureaus. And we are supporting the development of a new accountability mechanism at USAID to ensure that any violations of this groundbreaking new policy — or any other USAID policies ­— are reported and addressed at the local level.  

• We are working hard with Ugandan activists on the ground and with a global solidarity coalition organizing to overturn the horrific Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA) assented to by President Museveni in May. The law has a genocidal intent and is already being implemented to disastrous effect. We are simultaneously working with regional colleagues to prevent the passage of similar anti-LGBTQI+ bills in other African countries, including Ghana and Kenya. Likewise, we are monitoring the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, where anti-LGBTQI+ legislation is pending and attacks on the LGBTQI+ communities are escalating, notably in Lebanon and Iraq.

• As part of our work fighting the AHA in Uganda, CGE met with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai to call for the suspension of Uganda from AGOA, the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which provides preferential trade benefits for qualifying countries. The AHA — the most draconian anti-LGBTQI+ law in the world — clearly contravenes the human rights requirements of the program, as well as the goals and ideals that animate the AGOA trade framework. CGE also has submitted public comments on Uganda, Kenya, and Ghana — in the latter two cases, with the goal of building pressure to scrap proposed anti-LGBTQI+ laws there — and will continue to work with our partners in the Administration and on the Hill to use U.S. trade policy as a tool to promote human rights.

CGE Co-Chairs Julie Dorf and Mark Bromley with U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, center.

• We will continue to work with U.S., European, and Central Asian partners to push Uzbekistan for full decriminalization of homosexuality and the immediate end to the pervasive human rights violations committed against Uzbekistan’s LGBTQI+ community by state and non-state actors. This spring and summer, CGE and its partners have been meeting regularly with Congressional partners to promote this priority and to oppose rewarding Tashkent with normal trade relations without improving its human rights record. As Senators Murphy and Young introduce legislation to repeal Jackson-Vanik trade restrictions on Uzbekistan and its neighbors, we call on Congress and the Administration to ensure that human rights standards — including the decriminalization of homosexuality — are part of the trade normalization process.

Looking over the last few months, our work has included…

• CGE released an updated and expanded edition of Accessing U.S. Embassies: A Guide for LGBTQI+ Human Rights Defenders, our resource for helping international partners understand and access U.S. embassies and missions and build and maintain productive working relationships with U.S. diplomatic and development staff in around the world. This guide, released in English in June, will soon be available in Spanish, French, and Arabic as well.

• In May, CGE Co-Chair Mark Bromley attended the inaugural meeting of the P7 (for “Pride7”) that brought together LGBTQI+ advocates from the world’s leading industrial democracies to lobby the G7 alliance to promote LGBTQI+ human rights. The P7 meeting, ahead of the full G7 summit in Hiroshima, helped win support for passage of Japan’s first-ever LGBTQI+ rights legislation (as incomplete as the law may be) as well as lay the groundwork for the P7 becoming an officially recognized civil society engagement group attached to the G7.

CGE Co-Chair Mark Bromley joins other advocates at the inaugural meeting of the P7 in Tokyo

• At a June reception, CGE honored former Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) with our Global Equality Award shortly after he left Congress to lead the Rhode Island Foundation. We had the opportunity to talk with Rep. Cicilline about his leadership with the Congressional Equality Caucus and the Foreign Affairs Committee, the progress we’ve made during his dozen years in Congress, and the opportunities we see and the challenges we’re facing. Additionally, Ambassador Ursu Viorel of Moldova spoke powerfully about being the first openly LGBTQI+ Ambassador from a former Soviet republic and his country’s fundamental commitment to democracy and human rights — even as Russia wages war next door in Ukraine.

Top: former Rep. David Cicilline accepts the Global Equality Award

Bottom: Amb. Ursu Viorel of Moldova speaks to the reception

• In May, we spoke with Alexander Voronov, Executive Director of Coming Out, an NGO that provides legal, psychological, and other direct services to Russia’s LGBTQI+ community. Alex spoke about Coming Out’s continuing work, even in the face of the worsening crackdown on dissent in Putin’s Russia following the invasion of Ukraine — a crackdown that forced him to leave the country and function from exile.

• For IDAHOBIT, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Interphobia, and Transphobia, we welcomed the U.S. government’s rollout of its Interagency Action Plan dedicated to ending so-called “conversion therapy” (CTP) practices around the world. With this plan, the U.S. government has committed itself to the numerous partnerships necessary to stop these abusive practices. This includes working with LGBTQI+ community groups around the world; with like-minded allies and other partner governments; and with faith leaders, educators, professional associations, and other civil society networks. The U.S. government also plans to work to end CTPs at various multilateral fora, including the development banks and international institutions to which the United States is a party, to ensure that no financial or programmatic support, direct or otherwise, goes towards CTPs.

• For Pride in June — knowing how easy it is to focus on the backlash and the battles we’re fighting — we published a list of 23 recent victories in the movement for LGBTQI+ justice and human rights. We also reiterated how Pride marches are both expressions of fundamental rights to democratic participation and tools for promoting inclusivity, visibility, and acceptance. CGE staff also attended the annual State Department and USAID Pride receptions, meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Administrator Samantha Power, respectively.

Co-Chair Julie Dorf and CGE member leaders meet with Secretary of State Blinken, left

• Additionally, at the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, CGE promotes accountability and investments that support LGBTQI+-inclusive development. CGE staff helped organize several World Bank meetings over the summer that ultimately led to the freezing of new investments in Uganda following the adoption of the AHA.

23 Victories to Celebrate for Pride 2023

As Pride Month comes to a close, we thought we’d take a moment to look back at some of the victories we’ve seen in the movement for global LGBTQI+ human rights over the past year:

Decriminalization

1. Five more countries have struck down discriminatory colonial-era laws that criminalized homosexuality, including three Caribbean countries — Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, and St. Kitts and Nevis  — plus Singapore and the Cook Islands.

2. After last year’s historic ruling CEDAW ruling that Sri Lanka breached the rights of pioneering lesbian activist Rosanna Flamer-Caldera, Colombo has taken key steps towards decriminalizing homosexuality in the South Asian island country.

3. To the surprise of many, Pope Francis spoke out against laws criminalizing homosexuality.

Marriage Equality & Family Recognition

4. In December, President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act after Congress passed the law enshrining the rights to same-sex marriage equality and interracial marriage into law.

5. Just last week, Estonia became the first former Soviet republic to introduce marriage equality. This comes after victories over the past year in Mexico, Cuba, Slovenia, Switzerland,and Andorra extending the equal right to marriage to same-sex couples.

6. Several Asian countries took important steps towards marriage equality this past year —  whether through elections or court rulings — including Japan, South Korea, Thailand, and just as we went to press, Nepal.

7. Other victories for LGBTQI+ families included Taiwan’s legislature approving adoption rights for same-sex parents; Bolivia’s highest court recognizing civil unions; Namibia’s Supreme Court recognizing the rights same-sex couples married abroad; and Nepal’s Supreme Court likewise recognizing the foreign spouse of a Nepali citizen married overseas.

Transgender Rights & Legal Gender Recognition

8. In February, Spain passed a landmark legal gender recognition law allowing transgender people to change their gender marker on official documents based solely on their self-identification. In April, Vietnam took major steps in the same direction.

9. Earlier this month, U.S. federal judges struck down Arkansas’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors and Tennessee’s ban on drag shows on core constitutional grounds. And just yesterday, federal judges similarly blocked portions of bans on gender-affirming care for minors from going into effect in Kentucky and Tennessee.

Ending Involuntary and Coercive Medical and Psychological Anti-LGBTQI+ Practices

10. Greece and Kenya took major steps to protect intersex children from medically unnecessary “sex normalization” surgeries.

11. Spain, Iceland, and Cyprus joined the list of countries of countries that ban so-called “conversion therapy” practices — a list that also includes Canada, France, Malta, and (for minors only) Germany, Greece, and New Zealand.

12. Following President Biden’s Pride Month Executive Order last year, the State Department recently rolled out the U.S. government’s action plan to globally combat these so-called “conversion therapy” practices.

13. Vietnam officially adopted the positions that same-sex attraction and transgender status are not mental health disorders, bringing the nation in line with global health and human rights standards.

Rights and Resistance

14. In February, Kenya’s high court ruled in favor of the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, ending its decade-long battle for official recognition. And just this month, Eswatini’s Supreme Court similarly ruled that denying LGBTQI+ organizations the right to register is discriminatory and unconstitutional. 

15. In recognition of her extraordinary advocacy for LGBTQI+ rights in war-torn Ukraine, TIME named Olena Shevchenko, leader of the Insight NGO, as one of its Women of the Year.

16. Activists such as Aleksandr Voronov have continued to promote social, legal, and health services for LGBTQI+ Russians, and a free civil society more generally, despite being forced to leave their homeland.

17. Tens of thousands of people marched in the Warsaw Pride parade a week ago in defiance of the right-wing government. This comes after yet another court ruled in favor of activists protesting the so-called “LGBT-free zones” declared by many Polish cities and towns.

Multilateral Cooperation to Promote LGBTQI+ Human Rights

18. In advance of May’s G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japanese LGBTQI+ activists hosted their international counterparts in the first-ever meeting of the “Pride 7,” or P7, to promote both domestic LGBTQI+ rights and coordination by the largest alliance of democratic industrial economies to promote LGBTQI+ human rights globally. This led to the passage of Japan’s first LGBTQI+ rights law.

19. The list of countries with ambassador-level officials promoting global LGBTQI+ human rights has grown to five: Argentina, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States. (Brazil and Germany also have high-level political appointees promoting internal LGBTQI+ rights.)

20. 50,000 people marched across the iconic Sydney Harbor Bridge as part of World Pride ’23 celebrations, a landmark event promoting LGBTQI+ human rights across Asia and the Pacific. And mark your calendars for World Pride ’25 in Washington, D.C.!

21. At World Pride, Australia announced its increased contribution to the Global Equality Fund. The Global Equality Fund, with the support of nearly twenty countries plus numerous private sector partners, has now distributed more than $100 million to promote LGBTQI+ civil society and protect LGBTQI+ human rights defenders in its ten years of operating. Earlier this spring, Spain became the 18th member of GEF, and just this week, New Zealand became #19.

22. USAID launched the Rainbow Fund, an initiative through which U.S. missions overseas integrate LGBTQI+ considerations into a broad range of sectors, including economic empowerment, education, health services, food security, and anti-corruption programs. USAID also launched the Alliance for Global Equality, a public-private partnership to promote LGBTQI+ community-based groups, build networks for LGBTQI+ workplace and social inclusion, and support leadership development in service of strengthening democracy. The State Department launched the Global LGBTQI+ Inclusive Democracy and Empowerment (GLIDE) initiative to support LGBTQI+ participation in democratic institutions.

23. Victor Madrigal-Borloz is just now completing his highly successful final term as the United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, promoting LGBTQI+ human rights all over the world and institutionalizing SOGIESC work within U.N. institutions. The LGBTI Core Group, an alliance of U.N. members dedicated to advancing LGBTQI+ human rights through the United Nations, welcomed six new members: Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Finland, Honduras, Ireland, and Timor Leste.

Yes, we know that some of these steps are partial victories, whether we’re looking at the limits of the U.S. Respect for Marriage Act, the watered-down compromise bill passed by the Japanese Diet, the ban on marriage equality written into Singapore’s repeal of Section 377A, or Pope Francis’s continued reference to homosexuality as “sin.” And none of these steps forward mitigate the horrors of the vicious anti-LGBTQI+ laws that have been passed recently in U.S. states and around the world, the transphobic hysteria whipped up by cynical politicians, the war still raging in Ukraine, or the violence endured and the fears experienced by our communities in too many parts of the world.

We know all that; we, and many of you, work day in and day out on those issues, and we never forget that. We keep up our advocacy to make U.S. foreign policy more LGBTQI+-inclusive, to strengthen LGBTQI+ civil society around the world, and to show that democracy and human rights for all really mean for all. Rights are hard-fought by our communities and by fearless advocates in all countries. Justice is achieved step by step, small victory after small victory.

As we wind down June, as we keep our eye on bending the arc of history towards justice, it’s important to take a moment to celebrate our victories and remember what we have indeed accomplished. After all, the movement for LGBTQI+ human rights is one that continues all year round, and that’s something to be proud of.

Revoke Uganda’s AGOA Benefits Now

June 22, 2023 – The Council for Global Equality met this month with Ambassador Katherine Tai, the U.S. Trade Representative, to call for the suspension of Uganda from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which provides duty-free trade access to U.S. markets for qualifying African countries. The appeal is based on the severe and still-escalating persecution of the country’s LGBTQI+ community.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed into law in May the most draconian piece of legislation targeting LGBTQI+ individuals anywhere in the world, a law that requires reporting of suspected LGBTQI+ persons and creates the legal foundations for mass atrocities. The new law significantly increases already harsh criminal penalties to life in prison or death, and it now even criminalizes those who advocate for the rights of LGBTQI+ persons with 20 years in prison and even those who rent housing or local accommodations to them with 7 years in prison. Under the law, corporations now must report suspected LGBTQI+ employees and customers to the authorities for criminal investigation. This new legal framework is genocidal in its intent, and it clearly contravenes the ideals that animate the AGOA trade framework.

Initially enacted in 2000 to support economic growth and development in Africa, AGOA qualifying countries must demonstrate progress in developing market-based economic policies, securing the rule of law, combating corruption, and protecting human rights. Countries that qualify automatically receive preferential trade access to U.S. markets. But the qualifications are intended to be strict. President Biden terminated preferential benefits in December 2021 for Ethiopia and Mali on human rights grounds, and several other countries have previously been terminated on rule of law grounds. Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Eritrea also remain suspended over human rights concerns.

The Council welcomes President Biden’s statement after the Ugandan law was signed that the Administration will consider the impact of the law in its review of Uganda’s AGOA eligibility. Senator Ron Wyden, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, has also called on President Biden “to immediately suspend Uganda’s AGOA benefits, and work with our allies to remove similar benefits until Uganda repeals its cruel anti-LGBTQI+ law and improves its record on human rights, corruption and rule of law.” In April, Senator Wyden also wrote to Ambassador Tai and Secretary Antony Blinken with a similar request.

The ban on duty-free imports from Uganda would likely have the most impact in the coffee sector. Coffee bean sales represent the country’s second-largest source of foreign exchange income. It will also send a clear signal to investors and international markets: the message that Uganda is not open for business. Indeed, to emphasize that point, Secretary Blinken has directed the State Department to update U.S. travel and investment warnings for American citizens and U.S. businesses in the context of the new law.

Now is the time for the Biden Administration to stand firmly for human rights and the LGBTQI+ community in Uganda by terminating all of the country’s benefits under AGOA.

World Refugee Day: Hope Away From Home

Refugees and immigrants looking for a new life. Column of migrants near the state borders. Fence and barbed wire. Surveillance, supervised. Abandon their lands for a better future. 3d render. Silhouette

Today, June 20, marks World Refugee Day when we celebrate the resilience and courage of those people forced to flee their home due to persecution, conflict, climate change, and other catastrophic crises.

While both the U.S. and global mechanisms of refuge, migration, and asylum are badly broken for all in flight, LGBTQI+ refugees escaping homophobia and transphobia along with these other threats face especially grave dangers — not only in their home countries but from some transit countries, from fellow refugees, and from international refugee systems often unable and sometimes unwilling to address the particular risks facing LGBTQI+ refugees.

Globally, there are more than 108 million forcibly displaced persons, according to the UNHCR, the U.N. Refugee Agency. That’s up more than 250% in the last ten years. Put another way, if all those refugees made up a single country, that country would rank 13^th in population in the world, coming in just after Mexico, Japan, and the Philippines.

We don’t have reliable figures for how many LGBTQI+ refugees there are, as U.S. and international refugee agencies do not have systems in place to consistently track this data. In some cases, that speaks to officials not taking seriously the specific dangers facing LGBTQI+ refugees; in other cases, well-intentioned, legitimate concerns about the safety facing LGBTQI+ refugees become the grounds for not taking any action at all.

But we do know, for example, that one organization alone, Rainbow Railroad, received nearly 10,000 inquiries in 2022 regarding possible emergency resettlement and related services for LGBTQI+ refugees. Since the beginning of 2023, Rainbow Railroad has received yet another 4100+ such inquiries.

We know that hundreds of LGBTQI+ individuals in the Kakuma refugee camp in northwestern Kenya live in fear of being attacked or even killed, with many of them having survived physical and sexual violence, according to a report last month from Amnesty International and the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC) of Kenya.

As Irungu Houghton, Amnesty International Kenya’s Executive Director, explained, “Despite a constitution that protects life and dignity for all, LGBTI asylum seekers suffer discrimination as well as homophobic and transphobic attitudes from government officials, the police and other service providers. This is often reflected in delays to the processing of their asylum claims, harassment, violent homophobic attacks, threats, and intimidation, and extremely limited opportunities for local integration or third-country resettlement.”

Speaking to the Washington Blade last week, Kieynan Gant described how “We are often forced to hide our true selves and live in isolation, unable to express ourselves or form meaningful relationships. Some have even been forced into marriages with people of the opposite sex against their will. … Our efforts [to raise awareness of these issues and demand better treatment for LGBTQI+ refugees] have been met with resistance and hostility from some of the other refugees in the camp who view our sexuality as a threat to their cultural and religious values.”

In recent years, some of the LGBTQI+ refugees in Kenya originally fled from Uganda. The recent passage of Uganda’s horrific Anti-Homosexuality Act has generated a sharp surge in LGBTQI+ refugees fleeing their country, with Rainbow Railroad receiving nearly 500 requests for help from Ugandans even before President Museveni signed the bill into law late last month.

The queer refugee crisis is hardly limited to East Africa. We continue to see a steady stream of LGBTQI+ people fleeing Afghanistan, Ukraine, Syria, the Caribbean, and other regions torn by war, extremist regimes, and pervasive homophobia and transphobia. LGBTQI+ Ukrainians fleeing the Russian war have encountered discrimination and harassment upon arriving in Poland and other neighboring countries, with same-sex couples and transgender refugees facing especially heightened risk for hostile treatment.

Likewise, Rainbow Railroad, Amnesty International, and other CGE members receive regular requests for emergency resettlement from LGBTQI+ Afghans sheltering in Pakistan, where their experiences illustrate the homophobia and transphobia that so many queer refugees face in transit countries.

In today’s World Refugee Day statement from the White House, President Biden reiterated his Administration’s promise to rebuild the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and to welcome 125,000 refugees next year. So far, however, the United States has only admitted just under 32,000 refugees this year, a pace well under the White House’s ambitious goals.

We call on Washington to follow in Ottawa’s lead and establish a direct referral program comparable to the landmark partnership just announced between Rainbow Railroad and the Canadian government. The United States needs to enable organizations like Rainbow Railroad that have full competency in LGBTQI+ refugee issues to refer such at-risk individuals for resettlement here.

We further applaud the U.S. government’s rollout of the Welcome Corps private sponsorship program, and we strongly encourage the various government agencies involved in resettlement work to ensure that at-risk LGBTQI+ refugees are indeed referred to approved private sponsorship organizations such as Rainbow Railroad.

This year’s theme for World Refugee Day is “Hope Away From Home: A World Where Refugees Are Always Included.” This must, of course, include all refugees, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. And we do see hope amidst this challenging work, as in the story of Ahmed, a bisexual refugee in Kenya. Ahmed, a bisexual refugee, has been working with ORAM — like Rainbow Railroad and Amnesty International, ORAM is a CGE member organization working to support LGBTQI+ refugees. After fleeing death threats in his native country and then experiencing discrimination in Jordan, his first transit country, Ahmed is now taking part in ORAM’s economic empowerment program in Kenya. With seed funding from ORAM, Ahmed launched a small business charging mobile devices, allowing him to get back on his feet and to support other LGBTQI+ refugees.

While U.S. and international refugee systems need comprehensive, LGBTQI+-inclusive reforms and funding, we do want to take a moment to celebrate Ahmed’s resilience and that of all queer refugees who have found safety and security, even as we work together to make sure that hope away from home is a reality, not just a dream, for so many more.

Priorities for the 118th Congress

The 118^th Congress is off and … well, “running” is not quite the right verb.

The Council for Global Equality understands — as do our member organizations, our partners on the Hill and in the Administration, and in the movement for LGBTQI+ human rights — that the 118^th Congress is going to be a challenging one, especially given the deals that Speaker McCarthy had to cut within his own party in order to win the gavel and move forward. The far-right renegades in the Republican Party are clearly no friends of the LGBTQI+ community, nor of promoting human rights, civil society, and democracy writ large.

We’re going to hear more from the homophobic, transphobic, and anti-gender voices in the House of Representatives in the 118th. Champions need to be ready for malicious amendments, investigations, and other purported oversight. In the last Congress, two bills were introduced to prohibit federal funding of drag shows, and we should anticipate more such attacks against drag shows; programs that include the most marginalized members of the LGBTQI+ community, including sex workers; and transgender persons more generally.

All that said, we are most definitely neither going to sit on the sidelines nor operate solely from a defensive posture for the next two years. So, what can we accomplish and what do we have our eyes on, for better and for worse?

Appropriations

Money, money, money. Notwithstanding the debt-ceiling issue, the government will need to be funded. We’ll continue to request a minimum of $40 million for the Global Equality Fund at the State Department and $30 million for the Protection of LGBTQI+ Persons at USAID. LGBTQI+ civil society organizations face significant gaps in resourcing and investments, and this funding would provide additional support to the State Department and USAID to achieve the goals set out in President Biden’s Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Persons Around the World. 

In reality, however, given the polarized House and the split with the Democratically controlled Senate and White House, we’re likely to see continuing resolutions that maintain our December 2022 Omnibus funding of $25 million for the Global Equality Fund at the State Department and $25 million for the Protection of LGBTQI+ funding at USAID. But champions will have to stay vigilant to stave off targeted attacks on these funds, which themselves remain insufficient. We especially need to be prepared for attacks that seek to zero-out these funding lines altogether.

Other Congressional Actions

Members of Congress can use their Committee roles to utilize committee hearings, including annual budget hearings, confirmation hearings, and private meetings with government and non-government officials to raise global LGBTQI+ issues, especially in problem countries. Anytime our Congressional champions of LGBTQI+ human rights travel internationally, they should meet with government officials and civil society representatives to promote a fully SOGIESC-inclusive human rights and development agenda. 

Uzbekistan is one such problem country, and we call on our allies in Congress to: 

• Include LGBTQI+ human rights protections in all reintroduced legislation and resolutions relating to Uzbekistan, including Reaffirming United States-Uzbekistan Relations and the Uzbekistan Normalized Trade Act.

There will be many other such problem countries — especially ones where security relations are critical to U.S. foreign policy objectives more broadly, including Egypt, Turkey, Indonesia, and Uganda — that are seeking large financial and military assistance in this Congress. They, too, should receive heightened scrutiny regarding their human rights records from lawmakers.

In addition, we urge the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to hold a hearing on LGBTQI+ human rights challenges before the full Committee, as well as within appropriate subcommittees, to explore the deteriorating human rights landscape impacting LGBTQI+ persons globally. The House Foreign Affairs Committee held the first such hearing in June 2021 with a dynamic combination of government and civil society witnesses. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has yet to follow suit — and the time is right for such a long-overdue similar hearing in the Senate.

Legislation

PEPFAR turns 20 this year and needs to be reauthorized. This program holds sweeping implications for global LGBTQI+ human rights. No U.S. program provides more health services to LGBTQI+ people worldwide, and we remain committed to the program’s goals, even as we strive to decriminalize sexual orientation and gender identity and to end other criminalizations that drive the epidemic. We urge the clean reauthorization of PEPFAR as an urgent priority.

Co-sponsor and promote these forthcoming global human rights bills. We realize that they are unlikely to pass the House in this current political context, but we hope that one or more of these bills will receive a markup in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and that key sections of these bills will make their way into other must-pass legislation in this Congress.  

• Greater Leadership Overseas for the Benefit of Equality (GLOBE) Act: Led by Senators Markey, Shaheen, and Merkley in the Senate and by Representative Titus in the House of Representatives, this comprehensive bill provides a roadmap and the necessary tools for U.S. leadership to advance the human rights of LGBTQI+ communities around the world, including combating criminalization of LGBTQI+ status, expression, or conduct. 
• Global Respect Act: Led by Senator Shaheen and Representative Cicilline, this bipartisan bill imposes visa-blocking sanctions on foreign individuals responsible for, or complicit in, violating the human rights of individuals due to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics.
• International Human Rights Defense Act: Led by Senator Markey and Representatives Garcia and Jacobs, this bill protects the human rights of LGBTQI+ individuals by codifying the position of Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons at the State Department; requires the Department to develop a global strategy to respond to criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI+ persons internationally; and codifies reporting on the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons in the State Department Country reports.
• Global Health, Empowerment and Rights (HER) Act: Led by Senator Shaheen and Representative Lee, this bipartisan bill would permanently end the Global Gag Rule, an intermittent presidential policy that had a disproportionate negative impact on the health and rights of already marginalized LGBTQI+ communities. 

As we embark on the 118th Congress, we see a rise in extremist policies that seek to deny the fundamental human rights of LGBTQI+ persons in all corners of the globe, including many states here in our own country. As the landscape deteriorates, it is imperative that Congress continues to lead on the world stage by funding effective coalitions to align our human rights diplomacy and challenge homophobic and transphobic human rights abusers. Now more than ever, we look to champions in Congress to amplify efforts by the Biden-Harris Administration to reclaim our global stature in support of human rights for all marginalized communities.