WASHINGTON, USA – The Organization of American States (OAS) and the Permanent Mission of France will promote the protection of LGBTI persons in the Americas, according to an agreement signed Friday by which France will contribute $110,000.
The Permanent Observer of France to the OAS, Céline Giusti, emphasized that the project “Promoting social inclusion and non-discrimination of LGBTI persons in the Americas” is aligned with the priorities of France’s foreign policy; and also added that the project will strengthen the legal frameworks for the protection of LGBTQI+ communities and increase efforts to decriminalize homosexuality both in the Americas and globally.
For his part, the secretary-general of the OAS, Luis Almagro, stressed that “the signing of this agreement is an important step towards the eradication of discrimination and the construction of a society where every individual, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, can live with dignity, respect and the guarantee of all their rights.”
Likewise, the current chair of the LGBTI Support Group of the OAS and Permanent Representative of Canada to the OAS, Stuart Savage, said that the project “will address the needs of the LGBTQI+ community and its experiences, and will promote our shared vision of equality, human dignity and social inclusion.”
The project, supported by the French Observer Mission to the OAS, will feature a training component for representatives of civil society organizations working in the defense of LGBTQI+ people, as well as an awareness-raising component for civil servants in beneficiary countries. France became a Permanent Observer to the Organization of American States in 1972.