Washington, DC - The United States was proud to host the third Annual Conference to Advance the Human Rights of and Promote Inclusive Development for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Persons (LGBTI) held in Washington from November 12-14.
The conference was the largest such gathering to date, bringing together senior leaders from government, civil society and the private sector to discuss and strategize on how to most effectively protect the human rights of LGBTI persons and promote their inclusion in development programs. Thirty governments were represented from all regions as well as representatives from nine multilateral agencies, including the United Nations and World Bank. Key outcomes of the conference include:
- Joint Communique: Over 25 governments and multilateral bodies formally affirmed their commitment to increase cooperation to advance the human rights of and promote inclusive development of LGBTI persons through agreeing to support a joint communique issued yesterday. The communique sets out important principles to guide our collective engagement and notes the signatories’ plan to continue to hold regular discussions on an annual basis to strengthen cooperation and coordination.
- Chile Joins the Global Equality Fund: Chile became the first Latin American government to support the Global Equality Fund. Chile joins a group of nine like-minded governments, two corporations, three private foundations and Out Leadership who are all dedicated to committing resources to advance the human rights of LGBTI persons through providing support to civil society organizations.
- PEPFAR Launches New Partnership with Global Equality Fund: The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) announced plans to provide funding for the Global Equality Fund to document how stigma and discrimination, including discriminatory laws and policies, impede efforts to address HIV/AIDs, as well as undermine human rights.
- New Initiatives to Support the Human Rights of Transgender and Intersex Persons: Private donors announced efforts to strengthen assistance to transgender and intersex persons through activist-led funding initiatives.
- Increasing Research and Data on LGBTI-related Assistance: Activists, researchers, and a number of governments expressed their intention to further explore how to most effectively share information on efforts, both diplomatic and financial, to further advance the human rights of LGBTI persons.
The United States and other governments greatly look forward to the next conference to be organized by the Netherlands in early 2016 as an opportunity to continue to build the global coalition of stakeholders in support of the human rights of LGBTI persons.
