On a day when we celebrate coming out and sharing who we are with our communities, we stand in global solidarity with those in Türkiye and around the world who are still persecuted for doing the same.

That’s why we must take action. Stand with us and sign the petition demanding that Meta and X stop silencing Turkish LGBTIQI+ advocates in Türkiye.

This crackdown has extended into the digital sphere. The Turkish government has ordered the removal and blocking of LGBTQI+ news sites and social media accounts, in violation of freedoms of press and expression. Unfortunately, U.S. companies, Meta and X, have complied.

More than 110 people have been detained or arrested, while those held in pre-trial detention have reported alarming prison conditions, including a lack of access to clean water, hygienic products, and medications.

This National Coming Out Day, we are taking the opportunity to shine a light on the recent crackdown in Türkiye. Since Sep 12, Turkish authorities have launched a sweeping campaign against LGBTQI+ people, human rights defenders, civil society organizations, HIV service providers, and journalists.

Today, on National Coming Out Day, we celebrate the courage and power of those who have come before us, paving the way for so many to be themselves without fear. Yet many, both here in the United States and around the globe, can still carry profound risks.

CGE applauds HRF and several other US-based human rights organizations for filing an amicus brief in a federal lawsuit challenging the ICC sanctions program as an unconstitutional infringement on their First Amendment protections for speech, association, and religious freedom.

These sanctions go against the global commitment to holding alleged violators accountable in a court of law. As Amanda Strayer, Senior Counsel for Accountability at HRF said: “The victims and survivors who have looked to the Court to uphold that promise may now have no means to achieve any justice.”

This is part of a series of sanctions targeting ICC officials associated with investigations relating to Afghanistan and Palestine that implicate U.S. and Israeli officials, which includes the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories & 3 Palestinian human rights organizations.

This week’s action is a disruption to the rule of law, purely motivated by the Trump administration’s goal of seeking retribution against political enemies and the institution within which they work.

That’s why we’re fighting for a U.S. foreign policy that protects the human rights of LGBTQI+ people & ensures that diplomacy & foreign assistance reach the local activists and orgs doing this work every day to advance global equality