November 13, 2020

Rep. Castro: LGBTQ Rights Are Human Rights

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Vice Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) and Chairman of its Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, released the following statement on the Council for Global Equality’s public letter:

“LGBTQ rights are human rights, and this principle must be reflected here in the United States and in our foreign policy. As Vice Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I have worked with my colleagues to promote LGBTQ rights worldwide.

“When President Trump’s cruel immigration policies hurt LGBTQ asylum seekers, I fought back. When Secretary Pompeo’s created an illegitimate ‘Commission on Unalienable Rights’ to redefine human rights to exclude LGBTQ and reproductive rights, I led an investigation alongside Representative Jamie Raskin. As Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and a Foreign Affairs Subcommittee chair, I created the Tri-Caucus Diversity Initiative in collaboration with the Equality Caucus to promote more diverse voices of expert witnesses in Congress and worked to increase representation for the LGBTQ peoples in our diplomatic corps.

“I commend the Council for Global Equality, Advocates for Youth, American Jewish World Service, Amnesty International, Human Rights Campaign, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights for your advocacy in pursuit of equality. It’s an honor to work with you and fight alongside you, and if I’m elected Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, I’m committed to a foreign policy that advances equality and promotes the rights of the LGBTQ community.”

Background:   

The Council for Global Equality, together with its leading human rights membership organizations, released a public letter calling on House Democrats to vote for a new Congressional Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee who will restore U.S. human rights commitments and promote the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons globally.

You can view their public letter here.

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