50+ Groups Urge Biden to Pause Trade Talks Until Kenyan President Vetoes Anti-LGBTQ Bill

Dozens of advocacy groups on Monday called on the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden to suspend talks on a bilateral trade deal with Kenya until the African nation's president vetoes draconian anti-LGBTQ+ legislation inspired by Uganda's new "Kill the Gays" law.

Kenya's so-called Family Protection Act would criminalize same-sex sexual acts between consenting adults with a minimum of 10 years in prison while imposing the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality," defined as "engaging in homosexual acts with a minor or disabled person and transmitting a terminal disease through sexual means."

"Pausing the trade talks aligns with the Biden administration's position of defending LGBTQI+ rights globally."

The proposed legislation would also mandate the deportation of LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum-seekers from Kenya.

Kenya's penal code already punishes same-sex acts with up to 14 years behind bars.

In a letter timed to coincide with the launch of the United States-Kenya Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership (STIP), the U.S. civil society groups ask United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai—who is visiting Kenya this week—to "pause STIP negotiations until President [William] Ruto commits to vetoing this bill."

The center-right Ruto has previously said that "Kenya is a republic that worships God. We have no room for gays and the others," and in March he criticized a ruling by the nation's highest court allowing an activist to officially register an LGBTQ+ rights group.

"Pausing the trade talks aligns with the Biden administration's position of defending LGBTQI+ rights globally," the groups' letter continues. "This move would advance a worker-centered, inclusive trade policy."

"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 signers asserted. "Leaving this leverage on the table does not further the administration's expressed priorities and sets a frightening precedent for future trade deals."

The letter's signers are asking Tai to:

• Prioritize in your talking points the request to President Ruto and Cabinet Minister for Trade Moses Kuria that the government commit to rejecting any bill or policy that would enact new anti-LGBTQ+ criminal penalties on Kenyans;
• Include LGBTQ+ individuals who are directly impacted by recent attacks in roundtables; and
• Visit a healthcare facility that has faced the possibility of closure or has experienced challenges in service provision due to recent violations of LGBTQ+ rights.

"We urge you to stand up for the rights of LGBQTI+ people and to cease STIP negotiations until the Family Protection Bill is defeated," the letter concludes.

"We urge you to stand up for the rights of LGBQTI+ people and to cease STIP negotiations until the Family Protection Bill is defeated."

Mohamed Ali, a member of Kenya's National Assembly who supports the Family Protection Act, said he seeks to "kick LGBT people out of Kenya completely," according toReuters.

Ali does not believe gay Africans exist—despite a rich history of LGBTQ+ people on the world's longest-inhabited continent. While Ali says homosexuality is a Western invention forced upon Africans, it was actually European powers that outlawed same-sex relations during colonization.

In May, Yoweri Museveni, president of neighboring Uganda, signed into law a similar bill criminalizing same-sex sexual acts between consenting adults and imposing the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality."

Similar legislation is making its way through the parliaments of Tanzania and South Sudan.