Following calls from LGBT advocates urging her to speak out, U.S. National Security Adviser Susan Rice condemned on Saturday the president of Gambia’s pledge to slit the throats of gay men in his country as “unconscionable.” “We condemn his comments, and note these threats come amid an alarming deterioration of the broader human rights situation in The Gambia,” Rice said in a statement. “We are deeply concerned about credible reports of torture, suspicious disappearances – including of two American citizens – and arbitrary detention at the government’s hands.”
Susan Rice full statement below:
“Tomorrow, the international community will mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia. This day and every day, the United States stands in solidarity with members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and all those around the world who work to advance the unassailable principle that LGBT rights are human rights.
The recent unconscionable comments by Gambian President Yahya Jammeh underscore why we must continue to seek a world in which no one lives in fear of violence or persecution because of who they are or whom they love. We condemn his comments, and note these threats come amid an alarming deterioration of the broader human rights situation in The Gambia. We are deeply concerned about credible reports of torture, suspicious disappearances – including of two American citizens – and arbitrary detention at the government’s hands.
The United States in late 2014 acted on The Gambia’s crackdown against its LGBT community and wider human rights violations by ending trade preferences, and we are reviewing what additional actions are appropriate to respond to this worsening situation.
We repeat our call for the Gambian government, and all governments, to lead inclusively, repudiate intolerance, and promote respect for the universal rights and fundamental freedoms of all people.” Susan Rice, U.S. National Security Adviser
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We call for travel ban and freezes all Jammeh’s assets and his inner circle . A mere statement from Washington DC will not change Jammeh’s human rights violations but it enbolden him as he is currently using the gay issue as a political tool to save his face from disastrous and dictatorial policies .
Its good to condem every hate speech but it seems the u.s is only concern about the rights of lgbt people. I think they should have made this move long ago as citizens been abused in the Gambia is daily and common knowledge. The lgbt problems is minimal to wat obtains in that with tegard to abuse and hate speechs by none but its head of state.
I am born and raised in the Gambia and swear to God never know such an issue exist there much more to be of that concern to the Gambian people. I think that kind of a discourse is to gain support from our elderly statesmen who grow their younger generation with strong cultural and religious principles.
That issue probably is touristic and not Gambian. We are already accounting for many many innocent human lifes.
Thank you Susan for all you concerns.