Security Council urged to focus on B , interse rights mbassador inda homas- reenfield chaired onday meeting

By MICHAEL K. LAVERS | mlavers@washblade.com

UNITED NATIONS — U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda homas- reenfield on onday chaired a meeting at the nited ations that focused on the integration of B and interse rights into the . . Security Council s work. he .S. ission to the . . co-sponsored the meeting along with lbania, Bra il, Cyprus, the C ech epublic, rance, reece, apan, alta, Swit erland, the . . and the B I Core roup, a group of . . countries that have pledged to support B and interse rights.

homas- reenfield announced four specific steps the .S. will take to better integrate B I concerns into the . . Security Council s daily work.

• A regular review of the situation of LGBTQ and interse people in con ict zones on the ec rity o ncil’s agenda that incl des reg larly soliciting information from LGBTQI+ human rights defenders.

• nco raging the . . ecretariat and other . . ofcials to integrate B concerns and perspecti es in their reg lar reports to the ec rity o ncil.

• A commitment “to raising abuses and violations of the human rights of LGBTQI+ people in our national statements in the ec rity o ncil.

• A promise to propose, “when appropriate, lang age in ec rity o ncil prod cts responding to the situation of LGBTQI+ individuals.” ictor adrigal-Borlo , the independent . . e pert on B and interse issues, provided a briefing on B and interse rights around the world. y mandate is based on one single fact Diversity and se ual orientation and gender identity is a universal feature of humanity, he said. or too long, it has been made invisible in national level contributions to peace and security, including policies and programs and in the political and programmatic action of the nited ations. ar a Susana eralta of Colombia Diversa an B and interse advocacy group in Colombia that participated in talks between the country s government and the evolutionary rmed orces of Colombia that led to an B -inclusive peace agreement then- resident uan anuel Santos and then- C Commander odrigo imochenko ondo o signed in and fghan B rgani ation Director rtemis kbary also took part in the meeting. eralta said Colombia s peace agreement has created a standard by which other countries can use, but noted the country s Special ustice for eace has yet to prosecute anyone who committed human rights abuses based on se ual orientation or gender identity during the war. kbary noted the persecution of B and interse people in fghanistan has increased since the aliban regained control of the country in . kbary also said B and interse fghans cannot ee to Iran and other neighboring countries because of criminali ation laws. he whole world is watching as the rights of B people are systematically violated in fghanistan, said kbary. B people on the ground in fghanistan need and deserve protection. epresentatives of . . delegations from rance, Bra il, lbania, apan, Ecuador, Swit erland, the . ., alta, Colombia, South frica, Ireland, ermany, the etherlands and the European nion spoke in favor of the integration of B and interse rights into the Security Council s work. person s actual or perceived se ual orientation, gender identity or gender e pression or se characteristics often increases the risk of of becoming the target in con ict and crisis situations, said uis uilherme arga Cintra of Bra il. mbassador arlito unes, who is imor- este s permanent . . representative, read a statement in support of the Security Council discussions about B and interse issues. epresentatives from China, ussia and hana who spoke said the Security Council is not the appropriate place to discuss them. he meeting took place less than months after ussia launched its war against kraine. ussian airstrike on arch , , killed Elvira Schemur, a -year-old law school student who volunteered for harkiv ride and yiv ride, while she was volunteering inside the krainian city of harkiv s regional administration building. ctivists with whom the Washington Blade has spoken said B and interse people who lived in ussia-controlled areas of the country did not go outside and tried to hide their se ual orientation or gender identity because they were afraid of ussian soldiers. he Security Council s first-ever B -specific meeting, which focused on the Islamic State s persecution of B Syrians and Ira is, took place in . hen- .S. mbassador to the . . Samantha ower, who is now director of the .S. gency for International Development, and then-International ay and esbian uman ights Commission E ecutive Director essica Stern, who is now the special .S. envoy for the promotion of B and interse rights, are among those who participated. he Security Council in une formally condemned the ulse nightclub in rlando, la. he . . uman ights Council a few months later appointed itit untarbhorn as the first independent . . e pert on B and interse issues. adrigal-Borlo succeeded untarbhorn in . hen- .S. mbassador to the . . elly night Craft and then- .S. mbassador to ermany ichard renell in during a . . eneral ssembly meeting hosted an event that focused on efforts to decriminali e consensual same-se se ual relations around the world. resident oe Biden in signed a memo that committed the .S. to promoting B and interse rights abroad as part of the Biden- arris administration s overall foreign policy. hen-State Department spokesperson ed rice later told the Washington Blade the decriminali ation of consensual same-se se ual relations is one of the White ouse s five priorities as it relates to the promotion of B and interse rights overseas. he .S., the . ., rance, China and ussia are the Security Council s five permanent members. lbania, Brail, Ecuador, abon, hana, apan, alta, o ambi ue, Swit erland and the nited rab Emirates are the non-permanent members. hana and the nited rab Emirates are two of the doens of countries in which consensual same-se se ual relations remain criminali ed.

We are proud of these commitments, said homas- reenfield during onday s meeting. hey are ust the beginning.

British mbassador to the . . eneral ssembly ichard Crocker made a similar point.

We know the con icts have disproportionate impact on marginali ed communities Women and girls, persons with disabilities, members of ethnic and religious minority groups, he said. It is only right the Security Council is discussing this issue today.

Se ual orientation is an individual choice of every individual, said the ussian representative.

Stern, along with .S. eps. David Cicilline D- .I. and itchie orres D- . . , attended the meeting alongside utight International E ecutive Director aria S din, among others.