Human Rights Watch: Anti-gay laws promote vlence, discrimatn St. Vcent

Contents:

• WHAT WOULD A DONALD TMP PRINCY MEAN FOR GAY RIGHTS?
• HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: ANTI-GAY LAWS PROMOTE VLENCE, DISCRIMATN ST. VCENT

WHAT WOULD A DONALD TMP PRINCY MEAN FOR GAY RIGHTS?

BERLIN — The Tmp admistratn is lnchg a global mpaign to end the crimalizatn of homosexualy dozens of natns where 's still illegal to be gay, U. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, the hight-profile openly gay person the Tmp admistratn, is leadg the effort, which kicks off Tuday eveng Berl. Embassy is flyg LGBT activists om across Europe for a strategy dner to plan to ph for crimalizatn plac that still outlaw homosexualy — mostly ncentrated the Middle East, Ai and the Caribbean.

Although the crimalizatn strategy is still beg hashed out, officials say ’s likely to clu workg wh global anizatns like the Uned Natns, the European Unn and the Organizatn for Secury and Cooperatn Europe, as well as other untri whose laws already allow for gay rights. Narrowly foced on crimalizatn, rather than broar LGBT issu like same-sex marriage, the mpaign was nceived partly rponse to the recent reported executn by hangg of a young gay man Iran, the Tmp admistratn’s top geopolil foe. “This is not the first time the Iranian regime has put a gay man to ath wh the ual outrageo claims of prostutn, kidnappg, or even pedophilia.

“Barbaric public executns are all too mon a untry where nsensual homosexual relatnships are crimalized and punishable by floggg and ath. ”Yet by g gay rights as a cudgel agast Iran, the Tmp admistratn risks exposg close U.

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: ANTI-GAY LAWS PROMOTE VLENCE, DISCRIMATN ST. VCENT

Ti: the Arab Sdi Arabia, whose monarchy Tmp has stnchly fend the face of human rights allegatns, homosexualy n be punishable by ath, acrdg to a 2017 worldwi report om the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn (ILGA).

The report intified 72 natns that still crimalize homosexualy, cludg eight where ’s punishable by list clus the Uned Arab Emirat, Pakistan and Afghanistan — all U. In Egypt, whose lear Tmp has effively praised, homosexual relatns aren’t technilly illegal but other moraly laws are ed aggrsively to target LGBT U.

But any mpaign to crimalize homosexualy would ostensibly also have to ll out Oman, where prison sentenc n be hand out for beg ph to end laws that outlaw homosexualy abroad also stands ntrast to the Tmp admistratn’s mixed rerd on gay rights at a ndidate, Tmp was ambiguo about his posn on many gay rights issu, but notably beme the first Republin nomee to mentn LGBT rights his acceptance speech at the Republin Natnal Conventn. His nventn also featured another first: PayPal founr Peter Thiel beme the first gay person to acknowledge his sexualy a speech to the GOP nventn, clarg he was “proud to be gay.

But sce he took office, his admistratn has sled back some workplace protectns for gay people and has argued urt that a feral anti-discrimatn law don’t protect gay employe. Planng for the mpaign to crimalize homosexualy started before the U. Dpe the dozens of untri that still outlaw homosexualy, LGBT rights have proliferated recent years many parts of the world.

But he said “reasonable people” mt keep speakg out about laws other plac, cludg Iran and Chechnya, the Rsian regn where thori have cracked down vlently on gay people recent years.