Gay rights activists in talks with World Bank 2

In the first conversa­tion of its kind at a World Bank/IMF shareholders meet­ing, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim Friday met with 15 Lesbian Gay Bisex­ual and Transgender (LGBT) leaders from developing countries around the world to lis­ten to their experiences and concerns about dis­crimination in the devel­opment process against persons solely because of their sexual orientation. The activists shared their stories with President Kim, World Bank Group management, delegations, and staff to unveil their proposals for change, and how the needs of LGBT communities in their coun­tries relate to the World Bank Group’s twin goals of ending extreme pov­erty by 2030 and boosting shared prosperity for the poorest 40 percent in de­veloping nations. In his response, the World Bank boss ex­pressed his commitment to review the bank’s policies in light of the issues raised. “I want to thank the gay and lesbian activists from around the world for their courage in speaking up on behalf of others in vul­nerable situations in their countries, and for press­ing home the point that discrimination against any group is unacceptable -– whether it is religion, race, gender identity, or sexual orientation. Their stories will inform us as we move ahead with revisions to the World Bank Group’s longstanding safeguards, which were designed to protect the interests of individual people in our projects,” he said. The meeting was held in private to protect the iden­tities of several of the ac­tivists who feared reprisals in their home countries. At the event, the activists, who came from 12 coun­tries on four continents, thanked President Kim for meeting with them, and urged him to take further action to ensure that World Bank Group activities do not exclude sexual minori­ties in the future. “We are very encour­aged to see that the World Bank Group stands ready to listen to the voices of marginalized communi­ties, in particular sexual minorities”, the activists said in a group statement.