President Trump has failed to condemn or investigate reports of anti-LGBTQ state violence in Chechnya, Azerbaijan, Egypt, or Indonesia

GLAAD, the world’s largest LGBTQ media advocacy organization, today applauded the United States Senate for unanimously passing a resolution condemning the horrific anti-LGBTQ violence in Chechnya last night. With this resolution, the Senate joins the call to action by politicians and human rights activists across the globe, including British Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and former Vice President of the United States Joe Biden. Missing from this list, over six months after the story of the broke of the horrific persecution, torture, and murder of LGBTQ Chechens, remains President Donald Trump.

“The President must follow the leadership of the United States Senate and demand an immediate end to the arrest and abuse of LGBTQ people in Chechnya,’ said Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD. “Global leaders have condemned this humanitarian crisis and the growing epidemic of anti-LGBTQ violence around the world, and we cannot stand for a White House that watches these human rights abuses in silence.”

During the prolonged silence of President Trump, more cases of state violence towards LGBTQ people have come to light, all met with the same unconscionable inaction. More than 50 gay and transgender people were targeted, detained and abused in Azerbaijan, at least 34 people were arrested in Egypt and 58 in Indonesia following an anti-LGBTQ crackdown by police.

Since the news broke about the anti-LGBTQ attacks and reported concentration camps in Chechnya, GLAAD has led the charge in calling on the Trump Administration to recognize this humanitarian crisis, successfully pressuring Nikki Haley, to recognize the attacks and use the United States’ presence in the United Nations to condemn the attacks.