US advocacy groups want Biden to cancel trade deals with Kenya
US advocacy groups want President Biden to cancel trade deals with Kenya over anti-LGBTQ+ legislation
US advocacy groups want President Biden to cancel trade deals with Kenya over anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.
US advocacy organizations have urged the Biden administration to halt negotiations for a bilateral trade agreement with Kenya unless President Ruto vetoes anti-LGBTQ+ legislation.
U.S. civil society organizations wrote to United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai requesting that talks on the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP) between the United States and Kenya be put on hold until Ruto pledges to veto the legislation.
“Pausing the trade talks aligns with the Biden Administration’s position of defending LGBTQI+ rights globally. This move would advance a worker-centered, inclusive trade policy, the letter reads.
“Moreover, stopping trade talks would send a message to countries around the world that the United States does not tolerate the violation of LGBTQI+ rights.”
The letter’s signatories argued that keeping the leverage open does not advance the administration’s stated aims and creates a dangerous precedent for future trade agreements.
The organizations encouraged the Biden administration to give priority consideration to the proposal to veto any law or policy that would subject Kenyans to anti-LGBTQI+ criminal sanctions.
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They further stated that it is in the Kenyan government’s best interest to include roundtable discussions for LGBTQI+ people who have been directly harmed by recent atrocities.
In the same breath, they requested Ambassador Tai to visit a healthcare facility that has faced the possibility of closure or has experienced challenges in service provision due to recent violations of LGBTQI+ rights.
“We urge you to stand up for the rights of LGBTQI+ people and to cease STIP negotiations until the Family Protection Bill is defeated,” the letter concludes.
The Family Protection Act that came to light in April 2023 seeks to criminalize same-sexual acts between consenting adults with a minimum of 10 years in prison while imposing the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality”.
The proposed legislation would also mandate the deportation of LGBTQIA refugees and asylum-seekers from Kenya.
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