INTERVIEW — ANTONY BLINKEN, ON LGBTQI RIGHTS Read the full interview here Secretary of State Antony Blinken discusses LGBTQI rights with his Saudi counterpart "invariably, in every conversation," but defended President Joe Biden's planned July visit to the kingdom — which punishes homosexual acts with the death penalty — because "there are a lot of different things" that constitute America's interests in the country. Speaking at the State Department's first-ever briefing for LGBTQI reporters, Blinken told Global Insider that "we have real engagement" with Saudi officials when he raises his LGBTQI-themed complaints. But he said human rights are only one part of America's foreign policy and "everything has to be reflected in what we do." Overall, Blinken painted a picture of a world polarizing on LGBTQI rights, and called 2022 "a deadly serious time" for those communities. Flipping narratives: Whereas Western governments once treated LGBTQI rights as lower-order priorities in foreign policy — if they considered them at all — Blinken is flipping that traditional role, framing attacks on LGBTQI people as a "canary in the coal mine" for broader human rights and democratic freedoms. Context: This pro-LGBTQI administration is engaged in a permanent juggling act. Read how Biden came around to MBS' plan for a new U.S.-Saudi partnership, ultimately deciding the kingdom was too valuable to keep at arm's length. At the same time, the State Department says it has provided financial assistance to around 10,000 LGBTQI human rights defenders via its Global Equality Fund. Autocrats and far-right unite: Blinken and U.S. LGBTQI envoy Jessica Stern warn that autocratic governments are copying anti-LGBTQI legislation from each other, and anti-gender movements are gaining strength — funded by more than $1 billion in American private donations in recent years. " The anti-gender movement is growing in strength. It's well networked, and it's well resourced," Stern told POLITICO. "Bad ideas are copied. And we're seeing copycat legislation and a new crop of criminalizing laws that target LGBTQI activists around the world." First do no harm: They also feel duty-bound to pursue a "first do no harm" approach to attacks on LGBTQI communities, the administration is also vulnerable to criticism that it isn't acting quick enough to defend those under siege. Who's the next Hungary? Russia's Vladimir Putin provides extreme examples of the use of anti-gay ideology — but privately, U.S. diplomats point to Hungary, Poland, Guatemala and Indonesia as examples of less extreme governments promulgating backlash. Blinken remains reluctant to name and shame. "The last thing we want to do is actually make things worse," he told Global Insider, arguing that "we have to do it on a case-by-case basis, because every country has a different situation." The decision on whether to go public with criticism depends on feedback from local activists and an early warning system from American diplomats, Blinken said. Where are the LGBTQI envoys? Blinken prefers to coordinate with allies "coming together can make a big difference: The country in question will take it more seriously," but only three of them — the U.K., Italy and Argentina — provide a direct counterpart for Stern. "When you say a law criminalizes me for who I am, it violates my rights. But if you argue for equal protection under the law, you're attacked as an activist. There's never a way forward," Stern lamented. Homework in State Department backyard: Promising to "make sure that this institution (State Department) actually reflects the full country that we represent," Blinken described Stern's role as being able to "walk into my office and walk into any office 24/7," and "give us that intense focus that we need." It's not all bad news: While one in three countries criminalize homosexuality, there is occasional real progress: "Pride in Lithuania: 17,000 people, that's remarkable!" he noted, speaking of a recent Baltic Pride parade in Vilnius, and highlighting a successful yearslong push to decriminalize homosexuality in Botswana that was supported by the United States. Blinken also pointed to the first-ever U.N. consensus vote to affirm a right for LGBTQI people — the protection of the right to vote — as "one of the least understood but most important work" his teams do, "because norms, standards, rules, get set at these international organizations. The language gets infused in other places." Worried but upbeat: Blinken believes that the backlash experienced by some LGBTQI communities is because of the broad success they have had in speaking out and securing both legal rights and cultural affirmation. "The planet as a whole" he said, "has never been more tolerant by lots of measures. In every corner of darkness, we also find some places of light," he said. BY THE NUMBERS — U.S. MILITARY SUPPORT TO SAUDI ARABIA AND UKRAINE Did you know? U.S. government military assistance flowed to Saudi Arabia at nearly six times the rate to Ukraine during Russia's eight-year occupation of parts of Ukraine. The Government Accountability Office published a report outlining that the Department of Defense administered around $44.6 billion of military support to Saudi Arabia from 2015 through 2021. Much of that amount is in arms sales rather than donations. From 2014 to 2021, the U.S. provided around $2.2 billion in military aid to Ukraine, and in 2022 provided another $5.6 billion, for a total of around $7.8 billion.
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