President of the United States, Joe Biden, has quickly launched a campaign to support LGBTIQ people abroad, putting their rights higher on the US foreign policy agenda than ever before, AFP reports.
In his first foreign policy speech on Thursday, Joe Biden announced that he was ordering all US government agencies active abroad to promote the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer people and to come up with plans within 180 days. “All human beings should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear no matter who they are or whom they love,” Biden said.
In a memorandum titled, The Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Persons Around the World which was released to the public Thursday evening, American agencies operating abroad are directed “to ensure that United States diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons.”
“The United States must reaffirm its support for the promotion and protection of LGBTQI rights around the world and re-engage as a leader on these issues after four years of harmful and discriminatory policies,” Markey, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. “This legislation will make it clear that the United States is committed to protecting the human rights of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
“Around the globe, including here at home, brave lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) activists are fighting for equal protection under the law, freedom from violence, and recognition of their fundamental human rights,” the memorandum reads. “The United States belongs at the forefront of this struggle — speaking out and standing strong for our most dearly held values. It shall be the policy of the United States to pursue an end to violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics, and to lead by the power of our example in the cause of advancing the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons around the world.” The memorandum added that the United States would also combat discriminatory laws overseas and work to build international coalitions against homophobia and transphobia.
“[It] institutionalizes a firm commitment to promoting LGBTQI rights everywhere,” Graeme Reid, director of Human Rights Watch’s LGBTQ rights program told NBC News.
