President Joe Biden on Tuesday called
on nations to defend the rights of LGBT individuals.
In his speech to the U.N. General
Assembly in New York, Biden spoke in support of LGBT rights.
“We all must defend the rights of
LGBTQI individuals so they can live and love openly without fear,”
Biden said.
Biden specifically singled out
crackdowns against LGBT people in Chechnya and Cameroon.
“As we pursue diplomacy across the
board, the United States will champion the democratic values that go
to the very heart of who we are as a nation and a people: freedom,
equality, opportunity and a belief in the universal rights of all
people,” Biden said.
Biden addressed the assembly after
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's turn at the podium. Bolsonaro
once described himself as a “proud homophobe.” In his speech,
Bolsonaro, who has refused the COVID-19 vaccine, said that Brazil has
a president who believes in “family principles.”
The Biden administration has made
promoting LGBT rights abroad a priority.