WASHINGTON — Paloma Adams Allen, deputy director of the U.S. Agency for International Development, said in a recent interview with The Washington Blade that USAID’s efforts to advance LGBTQ+ and intersex rights in the Caribbean, Latin America, and around the world emphasized.

Adams-Allen said on October 24 that USAID had “invested” in programs to combat gender-based violence against LGBTQ+ and intersex people in Honduras and Guatemala.

She, along with Vice President Kamala Harris and other US officials, acknowledged that gender identity and sexual orientation-based violence was one of the “root causes” of migration from both countries and from neighboring El Salvador. I was.

“Immigration is a human right,” said Adams-Allen. “People are allowed to migrate, but what we find, particularly with regard to the LGBTQI+ population, is, not surprisingly, that violence against this community is a driving force.”

Adams-Allen said Guatemala’s USAID, through its electoral administration and reform project, is providing “technical assistance to advance LGBTQI+ rights through legal reform initiatives.” Adams-Allen told her Blade that Guatemala’s USAID is supporting efforts to invest “more directly in local organizations as an implementation partner” in election monitoring and other areas.

“We want to strengthen local LGBTQI+ organizations and increase their capacity,” she said.

USAID continues to support the implementation of the Colombian Peace Accord, which specifically includes LGBTQ+ and intersex people, through Youth Resilience Activity, a program that works with vulnerable youth across the country. USAID also supports the United Nations Development Programme. Being LGBTI in the Caribbean Initiatives that seek to promote LGBTQ and intersex rights in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Barbados.

USAID Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam announced last week at the initiative’s second National LGBTI+ Dialogue in the Dominican Republic that USAID will contribute an additional $2 million to economic programs for transgender women. .

Adams-Allen noted that USAID supports the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice’s Multi-Donor LGBTI Global Human Rights Initiative. It supports efforts to decriminalize consensual same-sex sexual relationships and reduce stigma, discrimination and violence against LGBTQ+ and intersex people in countries across the Caribbean. Adams-Allen also drew attention to her Cuénta Nos, initiatives in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. It provides LGBTQ+ and intersex people and other vulnerable groups fleeing natural disasters with information on access to safe housing, health care and other basic services.

“It helps guide us to a safer place,” says Adams-Allen.

Jamaican-born Adams Allen was formerly president and CEO of the Interamerican Foundation. Adams-Allen was USAID Assistant Deputy Director and Senior Advisor to the Latin America and Caribbean Division from 2010 until he was in 2016.

Jamaica is one of the Caribbean countries where consensual same-sex sexual relations are still criminalized.

In 2015, then-President Barack Obama celebrated Jamaica’s prominent LGBTQ+ and intersex rights activist Angeline Jackson-Whitaker at a town hall meeting in the country’s capital, Kingston. Adams-Allen, referring to his trip to Blade, noted that there was “definite backlash, even against him.”

Braid spoke with Adams Allen just days after Fox News reported that USAID had awarded a $20,600 grant to a cultural center in the Ecuadorian city of Cuenca to host a drag show.

Adams-Allen declined to comment specifically on the report, but said that USAID “strongly supports the enrichment of the LGBTQI+ community in Latin America and the Caribbean, with Fox working together.” Adams-Allen added that President Joe Biden’s 2021 memo suggests that the United States should not be concerned with his administration’s overall foreign policy. As part of that, he stressed his commitment to promote LGBTQ and intersex rights abroad. development. “

USAID Co-Hosts 2022 Hispanic Serving Agencies/LatinX Conference in Miami

On October 20, Adams-Allen delivered the keynote address at the 2022 Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs)/LatinX Conference in Miami co-hosted by USAID and Florida International University.

Adams-Allen’s speech in the USAID readout memo emphasizes “the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in USAID recruitment, programming, and partnerships.” Adams-Allen said the conference was his second USAID-organized event, and that it “encouraged Hispanics and Latinos to work with USAID and potentially become his implementing partners for USAID.” to arouse more interest among institutions.”

“I wanted to get down and put a little more energy into the underscores. Now that I’m out of the virtual world, I wanted to do this in person and give this population a quick highlight… Hispanic Americans, Latinos, and Latinos can join USAID if they are particularly interested in an international career, but even if they are not.

“I think students tend to think that we have to be technical experts in global health issues and maternal and child health and emergency response. They don’t necessarily realize they need it,” added Adams-Allen. “This community in particular has a culture that is particularly aligned with USAID, whether it is the experience of living in Latin America in the Caribbean, the families in those regions, or the experience of navigating multiple languages ​​at home and at school. So they are particularly well suited to be considered for a career at USAID because they already have some built-in strengths, and I really think it builds people’s confidence. I wanted to elevate it and I wanted to let them know that if they’re interested, if they’re interested in supporting them, there’s a place for them. was the true purpose of

Adams-Allen noted that LGBTQ+ and intersex people were among those who attended the conference, which was held at Florida International University’s Miami campus.

“LGBTQI+ issues cut across the ethnic groups that we engage with,” she said. People representing the LGBTQI+ community at FIU, as well as participants from institutions providing Hispanic services, were undoubtedly on board, so there was a strong focus on diversity efforts, retention efforts, and inclusion with employees. As part of our commitment to gender and equity, we are constantly thinking about that population, not just watching our programming.”

“Having that voice is very important,” she said. “When we think about programs … whether it is a long-term development program, a short-term project, or a humanitarian response to a humanitarian crisis, It’s important to have people with experience, they really understand that experience, that’s why we need them, we need that population as part of our team. , advocates for equal rights for LGBTQI+ people in Latin America and the Caribbean, with a significant number of programming focused on human and civil rights protection.”