Traynham: LGBT rights have gained traction throughout the world,
but these efforts have prompted a backlash in several countries.
On this edition of "Comcast Newsmakers,"
we'll discuss the global state of LGBT equality.
Hello, everyone, and welcome to "Comcast Newsmakers."
I'm Robert Traynham. Joining me is Michael Lavers.
He's the international news editor for the
Michael, welcome to the program.
-Lavers: Good to be with you. -Traynham: Here we are in 2016.
We have made significant progress towards equality
all around the world when it comes to LGBT equality.
However, when you take a look at certain nation states out there,
whether it's in Latin America, perhaps in Africa
and the Middle East, even in Asia,
one would think that we're still back in the 1700s, no?
Lavers: Right. [ Clears throat ] You make a really good point.
While we've seen a lot of progress
in many countries around the world --
Europe, even parts of Latin America, Asia --
expanding marriage rights to same-sex couples, for example,
enacting anti-LGBT discrimination protections,
we see many, many countries around the world that still
not only openly persecute against LGBT people,
but those who live in those countries
often face violence and discrimination
based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.
So while we've seen a lot of progress happen in this country
and in many countries around the world,
there are still many, many countries
that still have a long ways to go
to ensure basic rights for their LGBT citizens.
Traynham: Michael, is it fair to say that this is a very complex issue
because look, there's two sides of the coin.
On one side of the coin, it's about fairness,
it's about equality, it's about human dignity.
That goes without saying.
But the other side of the coin
is that we're dealing with religion, culture, poverty --
just a lot of social issues there
that are just not easy to "fix" and/or to transform
into the 21st century.
Lavers: Yeah, and you raise a really interesting point.
These issues certainly are very complex.
In many of these countries,
you're dealing with very prominent religious folks
who are persecuting LGBT folks or at the very least
creating the atmosphere in which violence and discrimination
can happen with impunity.
You're dealing with a lot of societal ideals,
such as machismo in Latin America.
And, also, poverty really contributes to this, as well.
So you bring all of these factors and many, many more,
including in some cases, like in Uganda,
where folks from the U.S.,
evangelical preachers and so forth,
actually go into these countries and incite -- they do incite --
this sort of treatment of LGBT folks.
So it's really complicated.
You can't just look at it in one country and say
it's indicative of what happens in another country.
There's all of these factors
that come together to contribute.
Traynham: And how do we respond when the president of Uganda
or perhaps the prime minister of a country says,
"With all due respect, these are our internal affairs.
This has nothing to do with the United States.
Please stay out of it.
You do not understand,
or perhaps maybe you're not respecting, our way of life"?
How do you deal with that?
Lavers: That's a very interesting question,
and the United States government is dealing with this issue.
We have an LGBT special envoy, Randy Berry,
who has been to countries such as Uganda.
He's been to many countries in Latin America and Asia, as well,
and his job is to not only meet with advocates on the ground
but meet with these particular governments
and talk about these issues.
And certainly the case of Uganda,
it's a former colonial --
the United Kingdom was their colonial power.
And so any time a Western government comes in and says,
"This is not right," you raise that specter of colonialism.
"Why are you treading on our affairs?"
But at some point, folks have to stand up and say,
"This is unacceptable, and we're gonna hold you accountable."
Now, that accountability piece is certainly a broader question.
That could be cutting aid.
That could be travel bans
against folks who are actually responsible for these abuses.
But that's a very complicated question, as well,
and there's no real easy answer to that.
Traynham: Michael, is there a country out there
that one would think that would be "oppressive"
towards LGBTQ individuals that really isn't?
-Lavers: Cuba comes to mind. -Traynham: Cuba?
Lavers: And I actually was just there a week and a half ago.
Traynham: For the benefit of our viewers at home,
as most people know, that regime --
with respect to Fidel Castro and his brother Raul --
south of Miami 90 miles, and we just normalized relations
with Cuba a couple of months ago.
And so they have fair treatment towards LGBTQ?
Lavers: It depends on who you ask.
At the very least, the issues are being talked about
largely in part because of Mariela Castro,
the daughter of Raul Castro, the president,
promotes these issues on television.
I saw that myself when I was there just two weeks ago.
-Traynham: I'm surprised. -Lavers: It is very surprising,
considering some of the other countries in the region
where anti-LGBT discrimination and violence
is still a very pervasive problem,
but there are independent LGBT rights advocates
who don't agree with Mariela Castro
and especially her father's government who do face
a lot of discrimination and persecution
not for their sexual orientation or gender identity
but for the fact that they publicly challenged
the government.
So on one hand they're making progress,
but the basic human rights situation
is still nowhere near where it should be.
Traynham: Wow. To be continued.
Thank you very much for joining us, Michael.
And thank you for joining us for this edition of "Comcast Newsmakers."
I'm Robert Traynham. Have a great day.
We'll see you next time. Bye-bye.