US Agency Proposes New LGBTQ Advancements In Foreign Nations

• The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) released new guidelines and recommendations for addressing and promoting LGBTQ programs in foreign nations.
• Some of these programs include appointing LGBTQ “focal point” leaders and aiming to support youth during their “self-identification.”
• “USAID plays a crucial role in agenda setting, promulgating norms and precedents, and encouraging multi-sectoral investments that support LGBTQI+ inclusive development globally,” the framework reads.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) recommended new LGBTQ advancements and programs for its 100+ locations across the globe, according to a new policy framework released Wednesday.

The USAID aims to promote pro-LGBTQ policies and increase the presence of LGBTQ “programming” via its mission locations throughout the world, which include Africa, South America and the Middle East, according to the 2023 “LGBTQI+ Inclusive Development Policy.” These programs include appointing LGBTQ “focal point” leaders, integrating LGBTQ “inclusion” into crisis response and working with foreign local LGBTQ groups to influence and drive policy.

The USAID views pro-LGBTQ advancements as “cause for cautious optimism” and claims that measures are needed to keep foreign nations from “backsliding,” according to the framework.

“USAID plays a crucial role in agenda setting, promulgating norms and precedents, and encouraging multi-sectoral investments that support LGBTQI+ inclusive development globally,” the framework reads. “While recent momentum in some countries toward repealing and reforming laws that criminalize same-sex conduct—including many anti-LGBTQI+ laws inherited from colonial powers—is cause for cautious optimism, some countries have experienced significant backsliding.”

“Globally, serious gaps in fundamental legal protections for LGBTQI+ individuals remain,” it continues.