WASHINGTON, DC—Representative Eliot L. Engel, the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, made the following statement on a discussion by Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) board members today on incorporating awareness on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) communities into development programs at the IDB.  This event is the first of its kind at the IDB.

“As the Inter-American Development Bank works to reduce poverty and spur economic growth throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, marginalized groups must not be left behind.  The IDB has made great strides in its efforts to reach out to Afro-descendants, indigenous groups and women.  Now, I am pleased that the Bank is turning to the LGBT community.  I congratulate the Executive Directors for the United States, Uruguay and Argentina at the IDB on their efforts with Bank management to advance an informal discussion on development issues for LGBT communities in the Western Hemisphere.  LGBT communities can be victims of discrimination and may not have equal access to the same public services – including housing and job training – as the rest of the population.

“As former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said, ‘LGBT rights are human rights.’  I could not agree more, and I encourage other international financial institutions to start thinking about how to incorporate LGBT rights into their development programs.”

The IDB is a multilateral development bank that has been in existence since 1959.  It is the leading source of development finance in Latin America and the Caribbean, having provided about $14 billion to the region last year, and has 48 member countries. 

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