US State Department issues amazing LGBT video

By Paul Canning

The US State Department has followed up on Hillary Clinton's historic speech to the United Nations in Geneva with this video - one which could have been produced by an LGBT organisation and actually has the same style as those produced by many working for international LGBT rights.

The video uses some of the most reported excerpts from the hour long speech she gave on the same day that the White House issued a memorandum ordering all agencies and departments to support LGBT rights internationally.

US must not abandon Iraqi refugees

Image via Wikipedia

Source: Human Rights First
By Ruthie Epstein,Researcher and Advocate, Refugee Protection Program

11 December, two major items regarding the U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq made the news, and together they created a profound cognitive dissonance.

First, the White House announced that President Obama will deliver a major speech about the end of the war at Fort Bragg next Wednesday. The Wall Street Journal reported that, according to the announcement:

“The president will speak about the enormous sacrifices and achievements of the brave Americans who served in the Iraq War, and he will speak about the extraordinary milestone of bringing the war in Iraq to an end.”

Second, the Pentagon gave what will likely be its final formal press briefing from Baghdad. The most striking comments from Deputy Commanding General, U.S. Forces-Iraq, Lt. Gen. Frank G. Helmick:

Are the Iraqi security forces ready?… Since 2010, the Iraqis have been in the lead in operations for the internal defense of their country. There are challenges: external security threats, Iranian-backed militias, al-Qaida, other violent extremist organizations; that the Iraqis must continue to put constant pressure on those groups. Lingering ethnic tensions; Sunni-Shia, Arab-Kurd relations aren’t what they need to be, and the Iraqis continue to work on that as well. And the government still is not completely formed.  As you know, the elections occurred in March of 2010, and we still do not have a permanent minister of defense or a minister of the interior.  The prime minister is heading up both of those organizations.  We do have an acting minister of defense. And then there are some — still some security gaps that exist: their air sovereignty, their air defense capability, the ability to protect the two oil platforms, and then the ability to do combined arms operations for an external defense, synchronizing their infantry with their armor, with their artillery, with their engineers. They’re not quite there with that capability.

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Contradiction in how Obama admin treating LGBT refugees

By Paul Canning

In his 'international LGBT rights Tuesday' policy announcement President Obama pledged support for LGBT refugees and asylum seekers. In a memorandum , he directed agencies, including Homeland Security, to "protect vulnerable LGBT refugees and asylum seekers".

The State Department laid out work it is doing on plans on supporting LGBT refugees, in conjunction with UNHCR and NGOs, and even pledged to directly help with relocation if activists are under dire threat.

In the US, a recent announcement on how immigration cases will be prioritised for decision to focus on those involving criminals has draw LGBT criticism because it does not offer explicit protection for lesbian and gay bi-national couples. However the new policy has drawn little attention for its impact on LGBT asylum seekers, those the President said Tuesday that his administration will protect.

Asylum lawyer Jason Dzubow points out that the new shifting of priorities on decision making has put asylum seekers at the bottom of the pile and describes the impact as "devastating".

The Executive Office for Immigration Review (“EOIR”, the Immigration Courts) is re-arranging its dockets to expedite priority cases in a pilot program running in Baltimore and Denver. Dzubow has already seen the impact in one case, of an Eritrean almost certain to receive sanctuary, re-scheduled from this December to May 2014.

According to EOIR, the goal of the Pilot Program is “to ensure that [limited] resources are focused on the Administration’s highest immigration enforcement priorities.” 

"Unfortunately, in this case, the Administration’s “enforcement priorities” (i.e., removal of aliens) comes at the expense of our country’s humanitarian obligations," says Dzubow.

"Delaying asylum hearings for 2+ years is devastating to many asylum seekers."

The stress of delayed decisions is well-documented around the world. Homeland Security could adopt a policy, Dzubow says, of starting the 'Asylum Clock' if decisions are delayed, which would at least allow asylum seekers to work. It should also offer at least some space in the courts for decision making for asylum seekers within a reasonable time frame for those like his Eritrean client.

The Obama administration has also been accused of doing nothing to protect detained LGBT asylum seekers in the US, from either maltreatment by those running detention centers or sexual violence, even rape. Here, 'protection' from such threats can often mean being held for long periods in solitary confinement - recognised as a form of torture.

There are also ongoing concerns about how LGBT asylum cases are treated in the immigration courts, with vastly differing approaches in different court systems across the US with many cases showing either a too high 'bar' for asylum seekers to reach or even homophobic treatment.

Said Physicians for Human Rights (PHR):

"This memorandum is a step in the right direction. But we urge the Obama administration to take a close look at the treatment of LGBT immigrants and asylum seekers in the US and work to reform our nation’s broken asylum and immigration detention systems, especially for the most vulnerable. We cannot expect to credibly protect the human rights of LGBT persons abroad when we cannot do so at home."

Dzubow says that "it might be futile to argue that we should not be prioritizing removals over protecting people fleeing persecution." However given Obama's pledge on LGBT asylum seekers the administration appears to have set up a clear conflict of priorities with how these refugees are actually treated by them.

Related articles

• Obama admin to 'leverage' foreign aid for LGBT Rights (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• Report: Asylum and 'credible fear' issues in US immigration policy (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• Why is Arizona shacking, isolating gay, raped immigration detainees? (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• Obama Offers Asylum to Overseas Gays (usnews.com)

Obama admin to 'leverage' foreign aid for LGBT Rights

Image via Wikipedia

By Paul Canning

In a major foreign policy announcement, timed for the anniversary of adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the White House has issued a memorandum (copy below) ordering all government agencies to promote LGBT rights internationally.

The memorandum directs agencies to:

• Combat the criminalization of LGBT status or conduct abroad.
• Protect vulnerable LGBT refugees and asylum seekers.
• Leverage foreign assistance to protect human rights and advance nondiscrimination.
• Ensure swift and meaningful U.S. responses to human rights abuses of LGBT persons abroad.
• Engage International Organizations in the fight against LGBT discrimination.

The use of aid ('foreign assistance') as a factor in promoting LGBT rights has recently come into focus with a major media storm in many countries following reports of the UK government withholding aid to countries criminalizing homosexuality.

The UK has clarified that it is not reducing but will consider redirecting aid from government budgets to other routes. It has also clarified that aid policy has four 'pillars', one of which is human rights and that includes LGBT rights.

Exactly how the UK will apply its policy remains unclear, however it is known to have used 'aid conditionality' in attempts to pressure Uganda to withdraw its 'Kill gays' bill and criminalisation of lesbianism in Malawi was a minor factor in a recent aid redirection, alongside a serious backsliding on human rights in that country.

The Obama memorandum also does not clarify how it will 'leverage' aid.

The White House said:

The Administration’s dedication to LGBT rights does not stop at our borders, as the President made clear at the United Nations in September of this year when he said: “no country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere.”

Following an interagency process coordinated by the National Security Staff, this memorandum directs the first-ever U.S. government strategy dedicated to combating human rights abuses against LGBT persons abroad. Today’s memorandum applies to the Departments of State, the Treasury, Defense, Justice, Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Export-Import Bank, the United States Trade Representative, and such other agencies as the President may designate.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke on the policy in Geneva, today, 6 December. She announced a new 'Global Equality Fund', which will be a 'public-private' partnership and to which the State Department is contributing $3m. Amongst the work of this fund, it will:

Provide emergency assistance to NGOs and human rights defenders facing governmental or societal threats, and increase organizational capacity to respond to security concerns.

It specifically mentions support for Sierra Leonean activists, who have recently reported coming under attack following a media appearance. It also mentions that "where necessary" the Fund will support relocation of key activists.

In a briefing [PDF], the State Department laid out its ongoing work on LGBT asylum seekers and refugees. It said:

The Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) is working to improve the security of LGBT refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants by implementing a comprehensive LGBT refugee protection strategy developed in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Health and Human Services, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and NGOs.

Progress includes additional funding to UNHCR in places such as Turkey to help with resettlement of LGBT refugees, training for staff working on refugee protection, and the expansion of  NGO guidelines to ensure partners know that LGBT refugees and asylum seekers are a priority population of concern.

PRM is also funding new programs in this area, including research to develop best practices for serving LGBT refugees in urban areas and a pilot initiative in Costa Rica on the needs of LGBT migrants.

Presidential Memorandum -- International Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual,...

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LGBT families not mention in new Obama immigration policy

Image by xtopher1974 via Flickr

Source: Washington Blade

By Chris Johnson

The omission of bi-national same-sex couples from recent guidance from the Obama administration is troubling advocates who fear the omission may mean LGBT families won’t be covered under new immigration policy.

The Department of Homeland Security issued guidance on Thursday to attorneys with U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement detailing which undocumented immigrants could be deemed a low priority and taken out of the deportation pipeline.

The guidance is the result of the announcement from the Obama administration in August that it will conduct a case-by-case review of about 300,000 undocumented immigrants facing possible deportation. Those who have been convicted of crimes or pose a security risk will be a higher priority for deportation, while those who are deemed lower priority will be taken out of the pipeline.

Administration officials have said they’ll weigh a person’s ties and contributions to the community and family relationships in considering which immigrants are low priority, and these criteria would be inclusive of LGBT families.

According to the New York Times, the process for determining which immigrants could be taken out of the deportation pipeline began on Thursday.

But in the guidance spelling out the details for this review, no mention of immigrants who are in same-sex relationships with U.S. citizens is enumerated among the categories of people who are listed as those who could be considered low priority.

Categories that are identified as low priority include immigrants who had enlisted in the armed forces or those who came to the United States under the age of 16 and are pursuing a college degree. Such immigrants would be eligible for citizenship under passage of the DREAM Act.

Other categories deemed low priority are those who older than age 65 and have lived in the country for more than 10 years and those who have been the victim of domestic violence.

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Update: Denial of US asylum to gay Saudi diplomat

Image via Wikipedia

By Paul Canning

Last week I reported on how a gay Saudi diplomat had been denied US asylum. It was claimed that this was for political reasons.

Jason Dzubow who writes for The Asylumist and is an immigration attorney who specializes in political asylum, immigration court and appeals points out that the initial decision of the case is correct in law.

The story, as reported first on Arab news website Rasheed’s World, quotes a Saudi dissident living in Washington DC, Ali al-Ahmed. He is is the founder and director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs (formerly the Saudi Institute), an independent think tank in Washington, DC. He has testified before Congress on several occasions on the issue of civil rights and religious freedom in the Middle East.

al-Ahmed said:

“This was a political decision by the Obama administration, who are afraid of upsetting the Saudis.”

He told the news website that the diplomat, Ali Ahmed Asseri:

“Had been an inspector to make sure that judicial punishments, such as lashings, were carried out within the law—not more, not less.”

And reported that the Asylum Office member who interviewed Asseri “then accused him of participating in a form of torture.”

Dzubow points out that people who persecute others are barred by statute from obtaining asylum.

“There is nothing political about this, and it has nothing to do with the Obama Administration somehow trying to appease the Saudis,” he writes.

Dzubow says that, despite this background, Asseri is possibly eligible for ‘Withholding of Removal‘. This is relief ‘to prevent removal to a country where the alien has a clear probability to suffer persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.’ Ironically, he is “certainly eligible for relief under the UN Convention Against Torture” because of  Saudi Arabia’s treatment of gay people, Dzubow says.

As al-Ahmed reports, Asseri has appealed the refusal of asylum and will thus get his day in court — where Dzubow says, as a high-profile gay man, he probably has a good chance of gaining US sanctuary.

Ali Ahmed Asseri was the first secretary of the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles. It was reported last year that he told US officials that his diplomatic passport was not renewed after Saudi officials discovered him going to gay bars and that he was close friends with a Jewish woman. He had also posted a critical note on a Saudi website, it was reported, and threatened to make public embarrassing information on members of the Saudi royal family living in the US.

Last year Ally Bolour, his lawyer, told NBC that other Saudis had been granted asylum by the US on grounds of sexual orientation, but Asseri’s case was unusual because of his diplomatic status. Another gay Saudi asylum case was approved quickly in Dallas in September this year.

Related articles

• Report: political reasons block US asylum for gay Saudi (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• In Australia, gay Saudi wins review of asylum claim (madikazemi.blogspot.com)

Report: political reasons block US asylum for gay Saudi

Image via Wikipedia

By Paul Canning

Important update

A gay Saudi diplomat has been denied US asylum in what observes believe is a political move.

Arab news website Rasheed's World quotes a Saudi dissident living in Washington DC Ali al-Ahmed:

“This was a political decision by the Obama administration, who are afraid of upsetting the Saudis. His initial interview with [the Department for Homeland Security (DHS)] was very positive, but then they came back and grilled him for two days after they found out that he had worked in the public prosecutor’s office in Saudi Arabia."

"He had been an inspector to make sure that judicial punishments, such as lashings, were carried out within the law—not more, not less. They then accused him of participating in a form of torture,” explained Ahmed.

Ali Ahmed Asseri,was the first secretary of the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles. It was reported last year that he told US officials that his diplomatic passport was not renewed after Saudi officials discovered him going to gay bars and that he was close friends with a Jewish woman. He had also posted a critical note on a Saudi website, it was reported, and threatened to make public embarrassing information on members of the Saudi royal family living in the US.

Last year Ally Bolour, his lawyer, told NBC that other Saudis had been granted asylum by the US on grounds of sexual orientation, but Asseri's case was unusual because of his diplomatic status. Another gay Saudi asylum case was approved quickly in Dallas in September this year.

"It's very difficult to comment on an asylum case without knowing the specific facts, but Saudi Arabia is certainly a very dangerous place for gay men and we hope that the US government would not remove any LGBT person to a country that routinely violates LGBT people's human rights," said Victoria Neilson, legal director of Immigration Equality, a national organization fighting for equality under US immigration law for LGBT individuals.

Only last month, according to a news brief published by the Emirates website 24 / 7, twenty gay men were arrested in Saudi Arabia during a wedding celebration, and over 200 other "wanted persons were also seized".

The news comes at the same time that the White House has announced that a new federal working group tasked with a system-wide review of pending deportations will include an LGBT liaison, DHS executive secretary Philip A. McNamara. However the report says that this will be solely to oversee cases involving same-sex binational couples. They are denied equal citizen sponsorship rights under the Defense of Marriage Act.

The liaison will reportedly not cover asylum cases, and there has also been disquiet over the treatment of other deportation cases not involving couples, particularly those of young LGBT who might qualify under a DREAM Act. The movement in support of that has many young LGBT in its leadership.

As well there are significant issues with the mistreatment of LGBT in detention. At the end of last month Heartland Alliance's National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC) filed more complaints with DHS of inhuman, degrading and in some cases life-threatening treatment of LGBT detainees.

NIJC's LGBT Immigrant Rights Initiative said:

"Having a member of the working group who understands the dynamics of LGBT families is definitely a positive first step, but it is only the first step. The process for review of all 300,000 cases has not yet begun and in the meantime, individuals continue to be separated from their families on a daily basis. We hope the working group will develop a fair and transparent system that facilitates the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in favor of both same-sex binational couples and LGBT individuals facing persecution in their home countries."

Ali al-Ahmed said that the gay Saudi asylum seeker Asseri is planning to appeal the decision, and that this process could extend for several years.

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Related articles

• Video: LGBT immigrants 'come out' at US Netroots Nation conference (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• Has Obama administration moved to stop break up of bi-national same-sex families? (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
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USAID ‘strongly encourages’ contractors to prohibit LGBT job bias

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Source: Washington Blade

New policy implemented by the U.S. Agency for International Development “strongly encourages” businesses contracting with the organization to have non-discrimination policies in place for their LGBT workers.

The new policy, spelled out in an executive message dated Oct. 11, encourages companies contracting with USAID to go beyond mandatory non-discrimination protections — including protections based on race, religion and gender — and put in place additional policies to prohibit job bias against LGBT employees and other workers.

According to the memo, the agency is making the change to “encourage all USAID contractors and recipients, including those performing solely overseas, to apply comprehensive nondiscrimination policies that include sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, marital status, parental status, political affiliation, and any other conduct that does not affect performance.”

The memo notes that the change isn’t mandatory, so contractors aren’t bound to have the policies to continue working with USAID. Still, the policy is likely the first from any U.S. agency encouraging federal contractors to have non-discrimination policies for LGBT workers.

LGBT advocates said the memo is an important step in addressing workplace discrimination, but noted the change doesn’t have a lot of teeth.

Nan Hunter, a lesbian law professor at Georgetown University who first posted the new policy on her blog, called the change a “breakthrough,” but noted it can’t be enforced.

“Technically it isn’t enforceable in the sense that a contractor who fails to adopt these policies could be cited as out of compliance,” Hunter said. “However, it sends a strong signal that such policies are favored, and creates an incentive for any private company that contracts with USAID to conform its policies to this guidance.”

Tico Almeida, president of Freedom to Work, said USAID “deserves credit” for observing that taxpayers “should not have to subsidize anti-LGBT discrimination and harassment,” but also noted the change isn’t binding.

“If a USAID contractor fires a qualified employee just because she is lesbian or because he is transgender, those employees will still not be allowed to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Labor seeking enforcement of the workplace protections encouraged under this new symbolic policy,” Almeida said.

Mark Bromley, chair of the Council for Global Equality, said the new policy is a step in the right direction and could encourage other agencies to follow USAID’s lead.

“I’ve heard that new language in USAID contracts and grants will encourage the agency’s program implementers to follow USAID’s existing policies by extending nondiscrimination provisions to include sexual orientation and gender identity,” Bromley said. “I think USAID deserves a lot of credit for their leadership and hope others will follow.”

Asked to comment on the USAID policy, Shin Inouye, a White House spokesperson, said, “We welcome it.”

LGBT advocates have been pushing President Obama to issue an executive order prohibiting all federal contractors — not just those doing business with USAID — to have non-discrimination policies in place based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Such a policy change would be binding and enforced by the Department of Labor. The Obama administration hasn’t said one way or the other if it will issue the order.

Almeida said the executive order is the best way for the Obama administration to ensure federal contractors have non-discrimination policies for LGBT workers in place and called on the president to issue the order before 2013.

“In order for LGBT workers to have the same workplace protections as all other Americans, President Obama needs to sign an ENDA executive order covering government contractors for all federal agencies,” Almeida said. “Freedom to Work respectfully urges the President to do so during his first term.”

~~~

According to the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (DAC/OECD), the United States remains the largest donor of "official development assistance" at $23.53 billion in 2006. DAC/OECD reports that the next largest donor was the United Kingdom ($12.46b).

Relative to its economy, the U.S. is the second lowest provider, among the DAC countries, with a 0.17% of GNI in aid. Only Greece provides a lower percentage of GNI in the form of aid.

Related articles

• An Executive Order Banning Employment Discrimination (towleroad.com)

Video: Watch PBS' hour long investigation of Obama's immigration policy

Source: PBS

FRONTLINE and the Investigative Reporting Workshop explore the secretive world of immigration detention and examine the Obama administration's controversial get-tough immigration policy.

Watch Lost in Detention on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Related articles

• Report: Jails no place for U.S. immigration detainees (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• Video: Immigration detention = fastest growing incarceration in US (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• ICE deports record number of immigrants in year (seattletimes.nwsource.com)

Gay Africans react to Obama's UN comments

By Paul Canning

Gay African activists have reacted positively to President Obama's inclusion of LGBT human rights in his annual address to the United Nations General Assembly - a first for an American President.

Obama said:

"No country should deny people their rights, the freedom of speech and freedom of religion, but also no country should deny people their rights because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere."

According to Mark Bromley of The Council for Global Equality, a coalition of organisations working to promote human rights and LGBT equality in the United States and overseas, the inclusion of LGBT human rights is very significant as it reflects the Obama administration’s foreign policy priorities and "there is always intense competition to get issues included in the speech. It’s definitely considered prized placement."

Bromley noted that President George Bush had refused to join a UN statement calling on countries to decriminalise homosexual relations.

"President Obama, in contrast, stood before that same institution to pledge U.S. support for LGBT rights globally," he said.

The United States has, under Obama, led efforts for LGBT at The United Nations and in other international bodies. Obama personally spoke out against Uganda's 'Kill gays' Anti-Homosexuality bill - comments which drew significant attention in Africa. The Archbishop of the Church of Uganda, His Grace Henry Luke Orombi, said:

“It is distressing that Barack Obama a fellow African would promote racial civil rights as morally equivalent to immoral civil behaviour. We are Africans and know the difference between moral behaviour and responsibility as opposed to civil rights being compared to homosexuality. Will Barack Obama represent our interests in this matter?”

In January Obama said he was "deeply saddened" by the murder of Ugandan gay rights activist David Kato.

In June Obama called the passage of the first LGBT human rights resolution at the United Nations "a significant milestone in the long struggle for equality, and the beginning of a universal recognition that LGBT persons are endowed with the same inalienable rights - and entitled to the same protections - as all human beings."

He said that the United States "stands proudly with those nations that are standing up to intolerance, discrimination, and homophobia."

"LGBT persons are entitled to equal treatment, equal protection, and the dignity that comes with being full members of our diverse societies. As the United Nations begins to codify and enshrine the promise of equality for LGBT persons, the world becomes a safer, more respectful, and more humane place for all people." 

Ugandan lesbian activist Jacqueline Kasha Nabagesera yesterday told the Global Summit Against Discrimination and Persecution, held to coincide with the UN General Assembly, that "not every war is fought with guns" and that "statements and resolutions from the US help. We need American support against the LGBT hate bill in Uganda." (Video of her speech below, she says Ugandan diplomats told her she should be arrested for treason).

African gay leaders we spoke to saw Obama's latest comments as extremely important for their struggle in a continent where the LGBT movement is growing but faces stiff and organised resistance.

Ali Sudan, President of the underground LGBT group Freedom Sudan, said that the comments "gave me hope".

"LGBT individuals suffer or are killed everyday by the hand of their countrymen especially here in Africa and the Middle East," he said. "We need to stand together and keep fighting to gain our rightful rights as humans. I hope his message will inspire many other people to stand with us in this fight."

Stéphane Koche of Cameroon's Association Camerounaise pour la défense de l'homosexualité (ADEFHO) described Obama's UN comments as "very inspiring for the world, including Africans."

"It means a lot. It highlights common values, common hopes, common aspirations and it's very simple to understand."

Braam Hanekom, coordinator of South Africa's PASSOP (People Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty), also found the comments "inspiring". He said:

"Despite the immense political challenges we believe he is facing, President Obama was unafraid to address the rights of the LGBTI community. He used a powerful platform and addressed many of our leaders."

"His inclusion should be seen as a clear message and we hope that pressure will be increased on all countries that have failed to protect and/or who have even actively demonized the LGBTI community."

"We should warn him that many of our African leaders are, what I call "chameleons", they tend to "care" for the LGBTI community where it is popular and it benefits them, while in their countries and communities (even in AU meetings), they tend to be homophobic (where and when it benefits them politically). We hope that he will show them that the USA will not support leaders who have failed to recognize the rights of the LGBTI community."

"The USA should also start challenging those who fail to make their position clear, as well as hold accountable those who "claim" to respect LGBTI rights. It is also important to state clearly that many Africans are part of our local LGBTI communities and thus there is no substance to nonsensical claims from certain "right-wing populist" leaders that "it is Un-African", instead it is "Un-African" to disown our brothers and sisters for who they love or what they believe."

David Kuria, a Kenyan gay leader and politician, "read the statement with delight."

"When a President such as Obama with African roots talks in favour of gay rights, at the very least it shows that not everyone is homophobic and that in fact African leaders are in a class of thinning minority."

Kuria said that there are now some African politicians who are prepared to stand up for LGBT "albeit not too loudly." He suggested that they may be "emboldened to be more vocal" if US embassies follow up the comments with "tangible action".

"We are trying as activists," Kuria said, "to build a narrative that shows LGBTI rights as the next cycle of or frontier of Human Rights development in Africa. First we had decolonization, then  women's rights and now the last frontier is LGBTI rights."

"The same arguments, including religious, against LGBTI rights had been used against women's rights so it's not a hard narrative to generate. President Obama's words falls quite in place in this story because his predecessors had prophetically spoken in similar terms of the previous cycle of rights."

Some commentators were more critical. Writing on death + taxes, US gay activist Andrew Belonsky said:

"The real test, however, will be whether the Obama Administration actually works said rights into their policy, especially in Arab nations undergoing Democratic transformations."

"The States have failed to normalize homosexuality in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. If Obama wants to be seen as a man of his word, he and the State Department will make clear that new governments like those in Egypt and Tunisia in need of American support and money have no choice but to accept and celebrate their LGBT citizens. If they don’t, they will be failing the democratic dreams that fueled their uprisings in the first place."

Video of Obama's speech

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Report: Sexual minorities victims in US counter-terrorism

Source: World Pulse

By Marietta Karadimova

The U.S. government must take steps to stop women and sexual minorities around the world from becoming invisible victims of its counter-terrorism policies, according to the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at NYU School of Law. The 163 page report — A Decade Lost: Locating Gender in U.S. Counter-Terrorism — is the first account of how U.S. counter terrorism efforts have undermined the rights of women and sexual minorities. These policies have also failed to protect women and sexual minorities from terrorism, despite the Obama Administration’s position that women’s inequality threatens national security.

“Far from making good on its promise to the world’s women, the U.S. government has bartered away women’s rights for short-term security gains,” said Jayne Huckerby, CHRGJ’s Research Director.

“From anti-terror cuts in aid to Somalia, to negotiating with the Taliban in Afghanistan, it is women and sexual minorities who suffer first.”

Based on several years of research, including extensive interviews with U.S. and foreign government officials and regional consultations in the United States, Asia, Africa and the Middle East and North Africa, A Decade Lost uncovers how the six pillars of U.S. counter-terrorism — development, defense, anti-terrorism financing, intelligence, border security, and strategic communications — include and impact women and sexual minorities. Comprehensive in its scope, A Decade Lost presents numerous examples of where the U.S. government’s failure to consider gender undermines both security and equality objectives.

Among its key findings, A Decade Lost finds that development assistance that channels money into making young men less prone to extremism is leaving women and girls behind; that anti-terrorist finance laws stop critical resources from reaching women and LGBTI organizations; that immigration bars are re-victimizing victims of trafficking, terrorism and anti-gay violence in Iraq; and that the securitization of the government’s relationship with Muslim communities in the United States — which is only set to rise with the imminent release of a new U.S. policy on community engagement and preventing extremism — is making women in those communities unsafe.

For the first time, A Decade Lost also looks at U.S. efforts to stop the pull of violent ideologies, such as in overseas “de-radicalization” programs and its strategic communication campaign in the United States and abroad.

“The U.S. government is working at cross purposes in its counter-terrorism strategy,” said Ms. Huckerby.

“On the one hand, it says that ensuring women’s equality is a matter of national security, while on the other it de-prioritizes development assistance for women and girls and cuts off funding to women’s rights organizations that are on the front lines against violent extremism in their communities. When the U.S. squeezes women between terror and counter-terror, no-one is safer.”

The Report also exposes serious collateral impacts of actions — such as targeted killings, deportation, and detention — that target men, some of which, have now persisted for nearly a decade.

“When families and communities in the United States are torn apart by detention and deportation, women are left to pick up the pieces, living in fear that if they report crimes, the government will deport them or family members,” said Lama Fakih, CHRGJ’s Gender, Human Rights, and Counter-Terrorism Fellow. “New efforts to engage Muslims do not deal with these concerns, but rather continue to locate the problem of terrorism in Muslim communities with scant regard for the consequences.”

Among the report’s recommendations, CHRGJ calls on the Obama Administration to make public its first ever policy on the role of development in countering violent extremism and release its new policy on engaging with communities in the United States to prevent extremism.

A Decade Lost: Locating Gender in U.S. Counter-Terrorism

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Why is Obama refusing to protect detained asylum seekers, migrants from rape?

Source: National Immigrant Justice Centre

Sexual violence is pervasive in America’s prisons and jails. Congress took an important step to prevent sexual abuse in prison when it passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), which set a “zero-tolerance standard” for prison rape and created guidelines to hold correctional facilities accountable for protecting inmates. But the Obama administration refuses to apply these protections to the 400,000 immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers it detains every year, even though a 2010 report by Human Rights Watch uncovered numerous allegations of sexual abuse in immigration detention facilities.

This exemption is flawed and dangerous and It is time for the Obama administration to apply PREA’s common-sense standards to all immigration detention facilities. This policy brief examines the need for PREA protection in immigration detention facilities and the important impact this measure would have.

Take Action: Protect the human rights of detained immigrants

Tell US Attorney General Eric Holder to uphold his committment to universal protection for all people in American prisons and jails. Ask him to implement the PREA regulations and include immigration detention facilities as mandated by Congress and international law.

• Send an email to Holder at www.immigrantjustice.org/action/prea or call (202) 353-1555.

Policy Brief PREA

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Has Obama administration moved to stop break up of bi-national same-sex families?

Source: Washington Blade

By Chris Johnson

The Obama administration unveiled on Thursday 18 August new immigration policy that could enable many undocumented immigrants facing deportation to stay within the United States — a move that could enable bi-national same-sex couples at the risk of separation to stay together within the country.

Under the new guidance, immigration authorities within the Obama administration will conduct a case-by-case review of the approximately 300,000 undocumented immigrants facing possible deportation to determine which cases are high priority and low priority. Those who have been convicted of crimes or pose a security risk will be a higher priority for deportation, while those who are deemed lower priority will be taken out of the pipeline.

Administration officials will weigh a person’s ties and contributions to the community and family relationships. During an on background conference call with media outlets on Thursday, a senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said these criteria are inclusive of LGBT families and same-sex couples.

“The prosecutorial discretion memo provides for the use of discretion for people with strong community ties, with community contributions and with family relationships,” the official said. “We consider LGBT families to be families in this context.”

Under current immigration code, straight Americans can sponsor their spouses for residency in the United States through the green card application process if their spouses are foreign nationals. The same rights aren’t available to gay Americans because same-sex marriage isn’t legal in many places in the country and because the Defense of Marriage Act prohibits federal recognition of these unions.

Consequently, foreign nationals who are in committed relationships with gay Americans may have to leave the United States or face deportation — which could mean separation from their partner — if these foreign nationals are discovered to be undocumented or upon expiration of their temporary visas. The new policy guidance offers another opportunity for the Obama administration to cancel the deportation of these foreign nationals, enabling them to remain in the country with their partners.

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Obama administration denies immigration benefits to a married gay couple from San Francisco

By Matthew Kolken

UPDATE: Chris Geidner reports that this case is more complicated than has been reported:

"The couple has not lost its battle, as the administrative decision is just that – an agency decision – and can be appealed to a point where an adversarial process could allow discretion more easily to be employed. And, though the article states that the Obama administration ''ordered the expulsion of a man who is the primary caregiver to his AIDS-afflicted spouse,'' there was no removal order issued in the case and, therefore, no immediate threat of deportation."

HT: Rick Rosendall

~~~

The San Francisco Chronicle has reported that the Obama administration is enforcing the Defense of Marriage Act by denying immigration benefits to a same sex couple married seven years ago in Massachusetts.

Bradford Wells is the U.S. citizen spouse, and his husband, Anthony John Makk, is a citizen of Australia. Mr. Wells filed a Form I-130 Immigration Petition for Alien Relative, which was denied by the administration on July 26. Mr. Wells has AIDS, and relies on his husband as his primary caregiver.

The Chronicle has further reported that Mr. Makk has been ordered removed from the United States, and is required to depart by August 25. I am not sure that this information is accurate, however, because it is unclear whether immigration court proceedings had already been instituted prior to the denial of the I-130. If I am able to get more information to clarify this point I will post an update.

So what does this tell us? It has become abundantly clear that this President and his administration are in fact adhering to the mandate of the Defense of Marriage Act, despite the fact that they have said otherwise.

More "Change" you can believe in.

• Click here to read the full report.

Matthew L. Kolken, Esq. is a trial lawyer with experience in all aspects of United States Immigration Law – including Immigration Courts throughout the United States, and appellate practice before the Board of Immigration Appeals, the U.S. District Courts, and U.S. Courts of Appeals.

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Could the 'Kill Gays' bill author be blocked from entering the US?

Image via Wikipedia

Source: Washington Blade

By Chris Johnson

President Obama issued a proclamation on Thursday that could prohibit those engaging in LGBT persecution overseas from entering the United States.

The proclamation bars entry of immigrant and non-immigrant aliens who organize or participate in war crimes or serious violations of human rights — which could include those seeking to pass legislation in Uganda that would institute the death penalty for homosexual acts.

“The United States’ enduring commitment to respect for human rights and humanitarian law requires that its Government be able to ensure that the United States does not become a safe haven for serious violators of human rights and humanitarian law and those who engage in other related abuses,” Obama states.

Specific language in the proclamation explicitly states that those who persecute people based on their “sexual orientation and gender identity” are among the categories of those who won’t be able to enter the United States. Additionally, the proclamation prevents not only those who perpetuated human rights abuses overseas from entering the United States, but also those who have “attempted or conspired to do so.”

“The proclamation also bans admission to the United States for those who are complicit in organizing these abuses — not just those who carry them out,” a White House fact sheet states. “As such, it allows the United States to act before planned abuses and atrocities metastasize into actual ones.”

The proclamation gives the secretary of state, or the secretary’s designee, the authority to identify people who won’t be able to enter the United States based on this new guidance. However, other language in the proclamation states that such an individual could enter the country if the secretary of state determines that the “entry of such person would be in the interests of the United States.”

Mark Bromley, chair of the Council for Global Equality, said the order gives the Obama administration “an important tool to use in dissuading extremist actions that are prejudicial to basic human rights, and in encouraging the development of inclusive laws and societies.”

“The Council praises this move, which could in principle be used to justify the exclusion of hate-promoting politicians like Ugandan parliamentarian David Bahati, who introduced a ‘kill the gays bill’ in a previous legislative session in Uganda and may do so again,” Bromley said. “That bill, of course, would have carried dire consequences for LGBT individuals in Uganda.”

Bahati was previously invited to attend the National Prayer Breakfast in February 2010, but was later disinvited by organizers and didn’t make an appearance after he introduced his draconian anti-gay bill.

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International pressure on anti-gay laws in Africa must not stop

The Musevenis and Obamas

Source: The Guardian

By Paul Canning

When the Ugandan government announced that the anti-homosexuality bill was on hold, those pushing it immediately blamed international pressure on President Yoweri Museveni. Pastor Martin Ssempa said that the bill was "being deliberately killed largely by the undemocratic threats of western nations".

He has a point. A campaign delivered half a million signatures to Museveni, various governments lobbied, the Germans said they'd cut aid, and now the US Congress has amended financial legislation (with bipartisan support) that would cut aid to countries deemed to be persecuting gay people. Introducing the legislation, congressman Barney Frank highlighted Uganda and noted that "the US has a fairly influential voice in the development area".

Timothy Geithner, the US treasury secretary, has now said in a letter to Frank that his Treasury department "will continue to instruct the US executive directors at each of the MDBs [multilateral development banks] to seek to channel MDB resources away from those countries whose governments engage in a pattern of gross violations of human rights".

Pressure is also mounting from Europe. The European parliament passed a resolution in December "reminding" Africa that "the EU is responsible for more than half of development aid and remains Africa's most important trading partner" and that "in all actions conducted under the terms of various partnerships" that sexual orientation is a protected category of non-discrimination.

How financial pressure will play out remains to be seen. This month massive US funding for improving Malawi's power supply network went through despite that country criminalising lesbians.

Someone blinked regarding Malawi but there is undoubtedly more pressure on governments who repress gay people than ever before. Germany didn't blink and did cut Malawi aid.

Like Uganda, moves in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to criminalise gay people have also stalled – again diplomats have raised their concerns. But now there's a backlash.

In Uganda, Ssempa presented a two-million-signature petition to parliament on 7 April demanding that the anti-gay bill be passed (and damn the consequences). In Cameroon there is a huge fuss over European Union funding for a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) advocacy group.

Read more »

Video: binational same-sex couples torn apart in USA

Source: alloutorg



Because they are gay, Josh can't sponsor Henry's visa to stay in the US even though they are legally married in the state of Connecticut. No one deserves to be taken away from the ones they love. On May 6th, Henry faces deportation to Venezuela. If we don't act, their family may be torn apart. The head of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano has the power to stop the deportations, but it will take a massive public outcry to force her to stand up for Josh and Henry - and the 36,000 other families who face a similar fate. Sign the petition to keep Josh and Henry together: http://www.allout.org/tornapart

Source: MSNBC



Judy Rickard took an early retirement and a reduced pension so she could be assured of more time with her partner, a British citizen whose stays in the U.S. are limited to six months.

Read more »

In US, White House wants you to shut up about binational same-sex couples

Image by Nevele Otseog via Flickr

By Prerna Lal

The Obama Administration is reportedly calling on Congressional members to stop making calls on behalf of stopping the deportations of certain immigrants from the country. It’s a gag order as a response to increasing pressure from several immigrant advocacy groups calling on Obama to stop the deportations, be it for undocumented students, parents of U.S. citizens or same-sex bi-national couples.

Han Nichols reporting for Bloomberg News:

Several members of Congress who were scheduled to attend a March 31 news conference on the issue said administration officials contacted them to voice concern about their participation.

Until U.S. immigration law is overhauled, the lawmakers say, Obama should use his executive power to protect families facing deportation or separation because at least one parent is an illegal immigrant.

“The staffers that are attached to us, the liaisons, they transmitted some concern,” said Representative Mike Honda of California, a former chairman of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, referring to the White House legislative affairs office. “They would have loved us not to have gone to the press conference.”

Representative Mike Honda has been a leader for immigration reform and an outspoken voice in Congress.

Openly pointing out the hypocrisy of the Obama Administration on this matter is another step forward in the right direction.

The administration argues that it doesn’t have the legal authority to exempt certain immigrant categories from the law.

“With respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order, that’s just not the case,” Obama said at a March 28 town hall sponsored by the Univision television network. “There are laws on the books that Congress has passed.”

Now, if only mainstream media did its research, they could report that President Obama is not being totally forthcoming about his executive powers.

Read more »

In US, breakthrough for binational same-sex couples?

Image via Wikipedia

Source: Stop The Deportations

As was reported 25 March by Newsweek/ The Daily Beast, two United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) District Offices have confirmed that alien relative petitions and green card applications filed by married same-sex couples will not be denied. Instead, final decisions on these applications will be held in abeyance, i.e. put on hold.  This historic first seems to be directly linked to the Obama administration's change of position on DOMA announced on February 23.

The DOMA Project welcomes the new and exciting potential this presents for married gay and lesbian couples to obtain legal status and prevent deportations of the foreign partner. However, in this new and rapidly changing legal environment, we urge attorneys and binational couples to proceed with an abundance of caution.

The significance of the "abeyance" policy is two-fold: first, it means that petitions and applications that normally would have been denied because of DOMA, will now remain in "pending" status, and second, this status will give protection and benefits to the applicant for an indefinite period. The "abeyance" policy, it is presumed, will put these cases on hold while the ultimate fate of DOMA is determined by a decision of the Supreme Court or through repeal by Congress.

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The sudden rise of a pro-gay foreign policy in the United States

Image by Nrbelex via Flickr

Source: Huffington Post 

By Javier Corrales

The Obama administration is often criticized for betraying gay rights. Despite having helped repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, critics still charge that the White House continually reneges on its pledge to work hard to end marriage bans and gay bashing. Yet, on another unnoticed front, the administration has actually gone far beyond anything ever promised. The administration is taking steps to establish the first pro-gay foreign policy in the history of the United States.

So far, this foreign policy effort is off to a good start. But unless a more systematic approach is taken, the administration's baby steps will remain just that: a decent impulse with little reach.

Arguably, the administration's first steps have been laudable. In January, President Obama issued a public condemnation of the killing of gay activist David Kato in Uganda and of five members of the LGBT community in Honduras. In reality, Obama is merely treading behind the footsteps of Hillary Clinton, whom the The Advocate, a magazine covering LGBT news recently described as the "fiercest advocate" of gay rights in the administration. In fact, Clinton was the first first lady to march in a gay pride parade eleven years ago. Today, she intends to become the first secretary of state to make the State Department pro-gay.

Clinton's mission is simple: eliminate "violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity" anywhere in the world. She declared this in a speech in June 2010, in which she also called on U.S. ambassadors and foreign governments to join this battle. She even designated staff to work on ways to advance LGBT rights, created funds to help victims of hate crimes abroad, and even came up with a new slogan -- "Human rights are gay rights, and gay rights are human rights," an adaptation of a similar slogan she once used on behalf of woman's rights.

Read more »