Biden’s Policy to Condition Aid on Protecting LGBTQI Rights Sparks Pushback in Africa

Biden’s Policy to Condition Aid on Protecting LGBTQI Rights Sparks Pushback in Africa
President Joe Biden speaks at the White House on Feb. 5, 2021. Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images
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The Biden administration has renewed a range of priorities from the Obama years, expanding engagement worldwide to include conditioning U.S. foreign aid on protections for gays and lesbians.

On Feb. 2, President Joe Biden announced to African leaders in a virtual summit conference on Zoom that the United States was “promoting” the rights of LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex) individuals. Biden emphasized to the African Union that diplomacy would stress multilateral agreements, shared interests in democracy, health security against COVID-19, and helping nations adapt to climate impacts.
Douglas Burton
Douglas Burton
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Douglas Burton is a former U.S. State Department official who was stationed in Kirkuk, Iraq. He writes news and commentary from Washington, D.C.
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