Gay rights activists in talks with World Bank

Posted by admin Headlines Saturday, April 12th, 2014

In the first conversation of its kind at a World Bank/IMF shareholders meeting, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim Friday met with 15 Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) leaders from developing countries around the world to listen to their experiences and concerns about discrimination in the development process against persons solely because of their sexual orientation.

The activists shared their stories with President Kim, World Bank Group management, delegations, and staff to unveil their proposals for change, and how the needs of LGBT communities in their countries relate to the World Bank Group’s twin goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity for the poorest 40 percent in developing nations.

In his response, the World Bank boss expressed his commitment to review the bank’s policies in light of the issues raised. “I want to thank the gay and lesbian activists from around the world for their courage in speaking up on behalf of others in vulnerable situations in their countries, and for pressing home the point that discrimination against any group is unacceptable -– whether it is religion, race, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Their stories will inform us as we move ahead with revisions to the World Bank Group’s longstanding safeguards, which were designed to protect the interests of individual people in our projects,” he said.

The meeting was held in private to protect the identities of several of the activists who feared reprisals in their home countries. At the event, the activists, who came from 12 countries on four continents, thanked President Kim for meeting with them, and urged him to take further action to ensure that World Bank Group activities do not exclude sexual minorities in the future.

“We are very encouraged to see that the World Bank Group stands ready to listen to the voices of marginalized communities, in particular sexual minorities”, the activists said in a group statement.
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