Support for LGBT Iraqi Refugees

Rep. Tammy Baldwin

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

Source: Office of Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin - February 4

GILLIBRAND, BALDWIN TO SEC. CLINTON: SAVE LGBT REFUGEES


LGBT Individuals Tortured and Killed in Iraq in 2009


No Proper Investigations, No Arrests for Crimes Against LGBT Individuals in Iraq


Take Action to Enforce Human Rights Laws to Protect Members of the LGBT Community in Countries Where Their Rights Are Abused.

Washington, D.C. – With hundreds of LGBT individuals being beaten, persecuted and even killed in Iraq, Iran and other countries, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), joined by 11 of their Senate colleagues and 31 of their House colleagues, today wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urging her to work with U.S. Ambassadors, the United Nations and NGOs across the globe to enforce human rights laws that protect LGBT individuals in the countries where they are under threat. Where safe conditions are not possible, the U.S. and the UN must work with refugee and human rights groups to expedite refugees’ flight to safety.

According to Human Rights Watch, there is no official number of deaths since the killing of LGBT individuals began in Iraq, but the U.N. has provided rough estimates range in the hundreds in 2009 alone. Not one murder of an LGBT individual in Iraq has led to an arrest, according to Human Rights Watch.

“It is time for us in Congress to take a strong stand against all hate crimes and persecution – wherever they occur,” Senator Gillibrand said. “People in this world should not have to suffer or fear for their lives because of who they are or what they believe in. It is wrong and it must end. If Iraq, Iran and other countries are not providing the legal protections that members of their LGBT communities are entitled to, it is our duty to join with our partners in the international community, enforce the human rights laws that protect us all, and free LGBT individuals from persecution. While the ultimate goal is safe conditions in these countries, until that happens, the U.S., UN and the international community must ensure that LGBT refugees can reach safety in countries where they won’t face persecution”

“The lives of LGBT individuals in Iran and Iraq, as well as those LGBT refugees who have fled persecution, are in grave danger,” said Congresswoman Baldwin, Co-Chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus. “I know Secretary of State Clinton shares our concerns for human rights and I hope she will use the full force of her office to respond to the plight of Iraqi and Iranian LGBT refugees and urge the UNHRC to do the same,” Congresswoman Baldwin said.

“Senator Gillibrand’s letter highlights the difficulty that foreign lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) refugees face when their home countries, and their countries of first asylum, permit or condone discrimination and brutal attacks based on sexual orientation or gender identity,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “Secretary Clinton has said that LGBT rights are human rights and we agree. We look forward to working with the State Department and Senator Gillibrand to ensure that U.S. foreign policy strongly supports protecting the human rights of LGBT individuals abroad.”

“Today, these Members of Congress have presented a comprehensive set of recommendations that will help ensure the protection of individuals who flee persecution based on their sexual orientation or gender identity only to face further persecution and violence in the countries they have fled to in search of safe refuge,” said Human Rights First’s Eleanor Acer. “We praise their leadership on this issue, and urge the administration to implement these measures including a fast-track resettlement process for individuals facing serious protection risks.”

Gideon Aronoff, President & CEO of HIAS said, ““Refugees who have fled persecution on the basis of their sexuality are among the most vulnerable in the world, as persecution often follows them across borders from one country to the next. Additionally, in some parts of the world the LGBT population is at special risk because of strong cultural mores that reject and demonize all but traditional male/female relationships. For some, resettlement to the U. S. or another free country is the only life-saving solution, but neither the U.S. Refugee Program nor the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is adequately prepared to give LGBT refugees the access to safety which they so desperately need. The Congressional letter organized by Sen. Gillibrand to Secretary Clinton suggests sensible and concrete steps to save the lives of LGBT refugees, and we urge the Department of State to give these suggestions expeditious consideration.”

The letter is signed by:

1. Kirsten E. Gillibran, United States Senator
2. Patrick J. Leahy, United States Senator
3. Daniel K. Akaka, United States Senator
4. Jeff Bingaman, United States Senator
5. Sherrod Brown, United States Senator
6. Robert P. Casey Jr., United States Senator
7. Russell D. Feingold, United States Senator
8. Frank R. Lautenberg, United States Senator
9. Joseph L. Lieberma, United States Senator
10. Jeff Merkley, United States Senator
11. Charles E. Schumer, United States Senator
12. Ron Wyden, United States Senator
13. Tammy Baldwin, United States Representative
14. Jared Polis, United States Representative
15. Barney Frank, United States Representative
16. Jan Schakowsky, United States Representative
17. Jerrold Nadler, United States Representative
18. Michael M. Honda, United States Representative
19. Lois Capps, United States Representative
20. James P. Moran, United States Representative
21. Zoe Lofgren, United States Representative
22. David Wu, United States Representative
23. Edolphus Towns, United States Representative
24. Carolyn Maloney, United States Representative
25. Alcee Hastings, United States Representative
26. John Conyers, United States Representative
27. Luis Gutierrez, United States Representative
28. Bill Delahunt, United States Representative
29. Eliot Engel, United States Representative
30. Raúl M. Grijalva, United States Representative
31. Chellie Pingree, United States Representative
32. Joseph Crowley, United States Representative
33. Gary Ackerman, United States Representative
34. Anthony Weiner, United States Representative
35. Maurice Hinchey, United States Representative
36. Steven Rothman, United States Representative
37. James P. McGovern, United States Representative
38. Lynn Woolsey, United States Representative
39. Paul Tonko, United States Representative
40. Mike Quigley, United States Representative
41. Steve Israel, United States Representative
42. Howard Berman, United States Representative
43. Henry Waxman, United States Representative
44. Brad Sherman, United States Representative

Senator Gillibrand and Congresswoman Baldwin’s letter to Secretary Clinton is below:

LGBT Refugees Letter to Clinton 2-4-10