As United States Ambassador To The United Nations, Thomas-Greenfield Has Affirmed Her Support Of Reproductive And LGBTQIA+ Rights Abroad
June 2021: Thomas-Greenfield Met Virtually With United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director Natalia Kanem To Recommit The United States’ Support For The Fund’s Work To Provide Reproductive Healthcare And Humanitarian Aid. “Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield met today with United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Executive Director Natalia Kanem. This meeting marks the first high-level U.S. government engagement with UNFPA since the Obama Administration. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield highlighted the resumption of U.S. funding for UNFPA humanitarian activities, including $2.6 million for the Rohingya refugee crisis, nearly $1.5 million in Afghanistan as part of our commitment to international protection, particularly for Afghan returnees and internally displaced persons, $1.3 million in Sudan for a strengthened and coordinated response to gender-based violence to support internally displaced persons and vulnerable communities, and nearly $1.2 million for Ethiopian refugees in Sudan fleeing the conflict in the Tigray region. Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield also reiterated the Biden Administration’s commitment to provide $30.8 million to support the UNFPA’s core budget, implementing the directive of the January 28 Presidential Memorandum to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights. The two also discussed the need for meaningful actions and accountability in preventing sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment throughout the UN system.” [United States Mission to the United Nations, 6/7/21]
At A June 2021 House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing, Thomas-Greenfield Affirmed Her Support Of UNFPA And Its Mission To Educate Women And Girls Of Their Reproductive Rights. “And I can tell you that the key to supporting women and girls is education. Because we know that if women and girls are educated, they have better understanding of their reproductive rights and how they can improve their own life standing by addressing those issues and UNFPA has been a key supporter in that essential work to addressing some of the issues that women and girls face in terms of their rights. Preventing maternal death and responding to gender-based violence are really important and they are issues that we find particularly critical and we work with UNFPA on, on those issues. But again for me it's education. I've seen it all over the world and I know that when girls are educated, when women are educated, their lives improve.” [C-SPAN, 6/16/21, 1:19:30]
At A June 2021 House Foreign Affairs Committee Hearing, Thomas-Greenfield Affirmed Her Support For The Rights Of LGBTQI Refugees Around The World. “On your last question, I know that UNHCR focuses a tremendous amount of attention on the LGBTQI community and finding resettlement opportunities for them, if they are unable to stay in place and we will continue to work with them on that because that's a priority for us as well, but also at the United Nations, we have been very, very aggressive and proactive on promoting the rights of the LGBTQI community around the world. And we have raised it in the context of the Human Rights Council and we have had open discussions on issues and in New York where we have highlighted this issue. So again, it's an important issue for us and we're a leader on this issue.” [C-SPAN, 6/16/21, 1:51:07]
Thomas-Greenfield Committed To Upholding Reproductive Rights In Her Confirmation Hearing
Thomas-Greenfield Promised To Restore Funding To The UN Population Fund. “[Sen. Jean Shaheen:] If confirmed, you'll oversee the seat that the U.S. mission to the U.N. has on the executive board of UNFPA. As you know, that organization serves as the world's principal multilateral provider of family planning and reproductive health services and the largest global provider of maternal health care in humanitarian emergencies. But despite this, the previous administration used unfounded claims to deny U.S. funding for UNFPA, If you're confirmed, will you commit to working with the Office of Management and Budget to expeditiously release the funding Congress appropriated in December for fiscal year 2021? [Thomas-Greenfield:] Absolutely, Senator.” [Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 1/27/21]
Thomas-Greenfield Committed To Being A Leader On Reproductive Rights. “[Sen. Jean Shaheen:] And as you think about this position, will you also commit to working to restore American leadership in addressing values around empowering women and helping to ensure that women have access to a full range of reproductive health services that they need? [Thomas-Greenfield:] Senator, I can commit to you that I will be a leader on this issue in New York. It's an issue that is personally a priority for me and I'll look forward to working with you to advance our goals in this area.” [Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 1/27/21]
Thomas-Greenfield Criticized Ivanka Trump for Her Pro-Life Hypocrisy
