US State Dept. Releases #SpiritDay Video, Neglects to Do Actual Work of Supporting LGBT People

Secretary Tillerson Took Months to Address the Anti-LGBT Concentration Camps in Chechnya

In honor of Spirit Day the U.S. Dept. of State is denouncing violence and discrimination of LGBTQI people worldwide. It could not be more hypocritical. Spirit Day, organized and promoted by GLAAD, is an annual event created to raise awareness of the bullying experienced by LGBTQI youth and teens, and to honor those who succumbed to bullying-related suicide. The goal is to help support LGBTQI youth and teens.

After explaining Spirit Day in a press briefing Thursday, State Dept. Spokesperson Heather Nauert told reporters, “Around the world LGBTI individuals face increasing physical attacks, arbitrary arrests, just because of who they are or who they love. Our global policy is to oppose violence and discrimination targeting LGBTI persons, including from governments and non-state actors.”

And while that sounds great, it is extraordinarily hypocritical. 

Back in June, as NCRM reported, it was revealed that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had not bothered to denounce, condemn, or even address the kidnapping, torture, beating, and murder of more than 100 gay people in Chechnya, which is part of the Russian Federation. It took the Secretary of State until some time this past summer – the State Dept. won’t say when – to send a letter to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressing U.S. concern over the concentration camp prisons that are being used to torture and murder LGBT people. (In fairness, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley issued a statement condemning the atrocities in April.)

On Wednesday the Human Rights Campaign was forced to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request demanding the State Dept. hand over the letter supposedly sent to Lavrov by Tillerson. 

“The very fact that we are required to compel the State Department to release this letter speaks volumes about the Trump-Pence administration’s lack of leadership on this life-or-death situation in Chechnya,” Ty Cobb, Director of HRC Global, said in a statement.

“It took months for Secretary Tillerson to write a letter on the atrocities in Chechnya, and we still don’t know if he addressed human rights issues forcefully or not because he won’t allow anyone to see the letter,” Cobb continued. “It’s far past time that President Trump and Secretary Tillerson publicly condemn the ongoing attacks against the LGBTQ community in Chechnya. Given the growing violence and arrests of LGBTQ people around the world, the United States must not back away from leading on LGBTQ human rights.”

This is on top of the U.S. State Dept. United Nations vote earlier this month that opposed a resolution that condemned the death penalty for blasphemy, adultery and same-sex relations. While the resolution was broad, the U.S. should have voted to support it, and Ambassador Nikki Haley, and spokesperson Nauert both gave false statements when forced to defend the vote.

There are many career foreign service officers and others in the Dept. of State, including the members of GLIFAA, who, it is clear, have tremendous respect for the LGBT community and have, under previous administrations, done great work in support of LGBT people. But under Secretary of State Tillerson, it’s clear LGBT people, on Spirit Day or on any other, in the U.S. and around the world, are second class citizens.

That goes for Trump and his administration’s agencies.

The Trump administration’s Dept. of Justice and the Dept. of Education especially have consistently worked against LGBT people. If the U.S. were a foreign country the State Dept.’s “global policy,” to oppose discrimination targeting LGBTI persons would need to be invoked.

It’s unclear that Secretary Tillerson was even made aware of State’s honoring Spirit Day, but regardless, paying lip service is one thing. Doing the actual work, and in a timely manner, to “oppose violence and discrimination targeting LGBTI persons, including from governments and non-state actors,” requires effort. The Secretary hopefully will decide to prioritize LGBT people.

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