LGBT activists from around the world came to Washington, D.C. this week to take part in events surrounding the World Bank’s annual meeting to advocate for more LGBT-inclusive policies at the Bank, writes Jeremy Kadden on the HRC Blog. They hail from places as far-flung as Uganda, India, Venezuela, Kyrgyzstan, China, and The Philippines, and are united in delivering one message. While the Bank has taken some positive steps and has increased its focus on LGBT communities in recent years, the advocates argue that the Bank’s draft safeguard policies are still not sufficient for protecting the human rights of LGBT people affected by Bank projects. They also want the Bank to hire more staff that have a specifically LGBT focus in their work.
HRC has been working for over a year with the Bank Information Center (BIC) and other allies to push these objectives at the Bank. The visiting LGBT activists echoed those messages, meeting with a number of Bank officials to make the case, and, along with HRC and BIC, went up to Capitol Hill to meet with key U.S. lawmakers who oversee the work of the World Bank.
Chief among these lawmakers was Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who has long been a champion of U.S. engagement in the Bank. She authored legislation over a quarter-century ago that requires the U.S. government only support new Bank projects if the communities affected by them have at least 120 days to understand the projects and voice concerns about them. She has been actively engaged in Bank issues since then, ensuring that her legislation is fully implemented by U.S. officials overseeing the Bank’s work.
The group also met with Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI), the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade, which oversees the Bank; Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), the co-chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission; and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), the lead sponsor of the International Human Rights Defense Act, which would enshrine LGBT human rights as a component of U.S. human rights work abroad.
“I was very pleased to see the positive attitude among a number of the Representatives,” said Tamara Adrian, a lawyer and LGBTI activist from Venezuela who joined the meetings. “We had a great exchange with them regarding their role in promoting better safeguards for LGBTI people, one of the most vulnerable groups all around the world. Prejudice against them leads to exclusion, segregation and denial of equal rights, which is why I am so happy to see this level of engagement in the U.S. Congress.”
The Bank is expected to release an updated draft of their safeguard policies this summer. LGBT and other human rights activists will continue to urge the Bank to include stronger provisions that will protect vulnerable and disadvantaged groups in Bank projects.
