Global Equality Today
January 2018
GLOBAL LGBT DEVELOPMENTS
Instagram Pulls Account of Chechnya Leader Who Sanctions LGBT Persecution
Instagram has pulled the account of Ramazon Kadyrov, the brutal dictator of Chechnya, following his inclusion on the latest Magnitsky sanctions list (see below). Kadyrov actively used his Instagram account as a platform from which to threaten adversaries and intimidate the Chechen public. (Read more here.) We applaud Instagram’s action, which affirms the value of Magnitsky and Global Magnitsky sanctions, and of active Congressional engagement to respond to human rights abuse.
Groundbreaking Ruling on LGBT Equality from Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Earlier this month, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that governments in this hemisphere must provide easily accessible administrative procedures for transgender people to change their names and gender markers on official documents. The opinion also declares that same-sex couples must be afforded the same rights and protections as heterosexual couples, including full access to marriage. The decision creates strong legal precedent, and both prongs of the decision are expected to have significant impact on legal developments and marriage equality across the Americas. (Read a summary here and bipartisan Congressional statement here.)
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Stepping Down, New LGBT Expert Takes UN Post
The UN’s chief human rights official announced that he is stepping down when his term expires this summer. A strong champion for LGBT equality, the United States must insist that the next High Commissioner for Human Rights is equally committed to LGBT equality as a human right. Also at the UN, Victor Madrigal assumed the position of UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, an important new post that has come under repeated attack by hostile governments.
CONGRESSIONAL ACTION
Supporting Continued LGBT Engagement in State Department Funding and Authorization Bills
We welcome Senator Baldwin’s strong language in the State Department Appropriation Bill and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s support for the Global Equality Fund in its State Department Authorization Bill (Sec. 2114 (c)), both of which provide ongoing authorities to advance LGBT equality as part and parcel of U.S. human rights policy. We urge Congressional allies in the House to support these important provisions.
Severe Persecution Continues in Countries Singled Out by Congress for Concern in 2017
Despite strongly worded bipartisan resolutions in 2017 condemning LGBT-targeted persecution in Chechnya (see House and Senate versions here), as well as bipartisan letters focused on LGBT abuse in Azerbaijan (House and Senate), Egypt (House), Indonesia (House) and Turkey (House), the year begins with strengthened concern over the rights of LGBT citizens in those countries. We urge Congress to seek briefings from the State Department on what the Administration has done to follow-up on the concerns expressed by Congress in each of those countries.
Urging Clearer Administration Commitment to Human Rights Leadership
In December 2017, Senators McCain and Cardin sent a Human Rights Day letter to President Trump, expressing concern over the Trump Administration’s failure to assert U.S. commitment to human rights at home and abroad. We appreciate and applaud this expression of bipartisan support for continued strong U.S. engagement in elevating human rights principles as a pillar of U.S. foreign policy.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH ACTION
Magnitsky Sanctions Target LGBT Abusers in Chechnya, Gambia
As required under the Russia Magnitsky Act, the Trump Administration in December released the latest list of foreigners subject to asset and visa sanctions in the United States for abuses committed in Russia. This year’s list includes two men widely viewed as responsible for the roundup, torture and killings of as many as 300 LGBT men and women in Chechnya: Kremlin-backed dictator Ramazon Kadyrov and his colleague Ayub Kataev, who runs Chechnya’s prisons. (See our blog here.)
Also in December, the Trump Administration released its first-ever list of individuals sanctioned under the 2016 Global Magnitsky Law. The list included Yahya Jammeh, the former dictator of The Gambia who has been implicated in a wide range of human rights abuses, including targeted persecution of LGBT citizens.
New Opportunities for U.S. Sanctions in Response to LGBT Persecution Abroad
President Trump also released an Executive Order in December that harmonized standards from the two Magnitsky laws and, in so doing, significantly expanded the opportunity for members of Congress to seek U.S. sanctions in human rights cases. The Executive Order invites future designations for “…any foreign person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Attorney General, to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have directly or indirectly engaged in, serious human rights abuse.” This legal threshold is significantly easier to establish than stricter interpretations followed thus far. We encourage Congressional offices to broaden accordingly the scope of their recommended designations for human rights abusers under this new Executive Order, including those who persecute their LGBT citizens with impunity.
Upcoming Nomination Hearings
The Council takes seriously the oversight responsibilities of Congress, including with respect to Senate confirmation of Administration nominees. We urge that the following foreign affairs agency nominees be questioned on their commitment to global LGBT protections:
-- Sam Brownback, nominee for Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, on the Importance of speaking to minority religious and LGBT-focused persecution in that role.
-- Marie Royce, nominee for Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, on the need to ensure LGBT inclusion in ECA’s exchange and leadership development programs.
-- Kevin Moley, nominee for Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, on the need for U.S. leadership in affirming the role of the United Nations and other multilateral institutions in ensuring respect for, and inclusion of, LGBT people everywhere.
We were pleased to join our member organizations for a Congressional lobby day in October to support the following important bills, each of which advances global equality. We urge your ongoing support for these bills in the new year:
-- Global Respect Act (S.1172, HR.2491)
-- Dream Act (S.1615, HR. 3440)
-- Global HER Act (S.210, HR.671)
-- Trans Service Act (S.1820, HR. 4041)
-- LOVE Act (S.1420)
India’s Supreme Court is re-hearing a case challenging the sodomy provisions contained in Section 377 of the Indian Criminal Code. LGBT advocates are cautiously optimistic in view of a recent Supreme Court decision concerning privacy rights. The case has a complicated history, with significant ramifications for the country as well as the region.
Last fall, the Philippines House of Representatives unanimously passed House Bill 4982 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. The Bill continues to languish in the Senate, however. Senate champions and LGBT advocates would welcome international support for the Bill’s forward movement – particularly on grounds that equality in the workplace is good for business and trade.
In mid-February, Kenya’s Constitutional Court will hear arguments aimed at decriminalizing same-sex relations. The case could have ramifications across Africa and in other Commonwealth nations.
In March, lawyers and activists will challenge Nigeria’s “Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act,” focusing narrowly on the constitutionality of the law’s restrictions on freedom of assembly. In so doing, they hope to incrementally address inequality towards LGBT people in the country.
In a January ruling (noted above), the Inter-American Court of Human Rights has required that Costa Rica offer full marriage equality to gay and lesbian citizens and that transgender individuals be allowed to amend their legal documentation based on their own intrinsic sense of gender. The case is seen as carrying significant ramifications for other regional countries that have signed the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights.
A gender identity Bill passed the Chamber of Deputies in Chile in January, and activists hope it will be affirmed by the Senate and signed by President Bachelet before she leaves office in March.
