President Joe Biden Signs Memorandum Protecting LGBT Rights Globally

President Joe Biden has issued a presidential memorandum aimed at expanding protection of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer and intersex (LGBTQI) people worldwide, including potentially through the use of financial sanctions.

“All human beings should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear no matter who they are or whom they love,” said the memorandum, building on a 2011 directive issued when Biden was serving as vice president.

“The United States belongs at the forefront of this struggle – speaking out and standing strong for our most dearly held values,” the memorandum said.

While a presidential memorandum is largely symbolic, Biden campaigned on a pledge to pass LGBTQ rights legislation known as the Equality Act in the first 100 days of his administration and to make LGBTQ rights a top priority.

The memo directs U.S. agencies working abroad to work harder to combat the criminalization by foreign governments of LGBTQ status or conduct, and directs the State Department to include anti-LGBTQ violence, discrimination and laws in its annual human rights report.

It calls for increased efforts to ensure that LGBTQ asylum seekers have equal access to protection, expanded training for U.S. federal personnel, and potential increased use of priority referrals to expedite resettlement of vulnerable people.

And it instructs agencies to consider appropriate responses, including the full range of diplomatic tools, and potentially financial sanctions and visa restrictions, when foreign governments restrict the rights of LGBTQ people.

Biden announced the push during a forceful speech at the State Department, vowing to rebuild U.S. credibility worldwide.

“To further repair our moral leadership, I’m also issuing a presidential memo to agencies to reinvigorate our leadership on the LGBTQI issues and do it internationally,” he said. “When we defend equal rights of the people the world over, of women, and girls, of LGBTQ individuals, indigenous communities and people with disabilities, the people of every ethnic background and religion, we also ensure that those rights are protected for our own children here in America.”

“America cannot afford to be absent any longer on the world stage,” he added. “We’ll ensure diplomacy and foreign assistance are working to promote the rights of those individuals, included by combating criminalization and protecting LGBTQ refugees and asylum-seekers.”

Biden’s campaign pledge included protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination, ensuring fair treatment in the justice system and advancing LGBTQ rights globally.

Biden has already issued an executive order that extends existing federal nondiscrimination protections to LGBTQ people.

In 2011, former President Barack Obama signed a presidential memorandum that promoted LGBT rights abroad. A special envoy was created in the State Department in 2015 to fulfill the president’s goal. President Donald Trump left the position unfilled.

During his Senate confirmation hearing, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that he would create an ambassador-level position to promote LGBT rights abroad.