Kuwait’s Foreign Ministry and the U.S. Embassy in the country clashed over a pro-LGBT tweet published by the embassy in honor of Pride month, which is celebrated in June in the United States.
The Middle Eastern country, where same-sex relations are criminalized, issued a swift rebuke, summoning the acting U.S. Embassy Charges d’Affaires James Holtsnider and demanding that the embassy not “publish such tweets.”
The tweet from the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait, which was accompanied by a rainbow flag image, said, “‘All human beings should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear no matter who they are or whom they love.'”
Asked for comment, a State Department spokesperson told The Hill that human rights are universal.
“Respect for a person’s human rights should never be limited based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“The United States proudly advances efforts around the globe to protect all individuals, including LGBTQI+ persons, from violence and abuse, criminalization, discrimination, and stigma, and to empower marginalized populations and local civil society, including the LGBTQI+ community,” the statement said.
The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia, where the death penalty is imposed for same-sex sexual activity, also posted a tweet expressing its solidarity with the LGBT community on Wednesday.
This is not the first time a U.S. embassy has clashed with a country’s anti-gay laws. Last year, the U.S. Embassy in the United Arab Emirates flew the rainbow flag on its flagpole and caused controversy in the country, in which same-sex relations are also criminalized.
According to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), 69 U.N. member states continued to criminalize consensual same-sex activity as of 2020.
—Updated at 1:49 p.m.