and abuse in refugee camps and detention facilities. They are frequently targeted for violence, including sexual assault, in refugee camps and in immigration detention. LGBTQI individuals may be segregated against their will for long periods in solitary confinement, in an effort to protect them from such violence, but prolonged solitary confinement itself represents an additional form of abuse that is profoundly damaging to the social and psychological well-being of any individual. (14) The global COVID–19 pandemic has exacerbated inequalities faced by LGBTQI individuals, including access to health care, stigma, and discrimination, undermining LGBTQI rights around the world. (15) In December 2011, President Barack Obama released the Presidential Memorandum—International Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons , which directed all Federal foreign affairs agencies to ensure that their diplomatic, humanitarian, health and foreign assistance programs take into account the needs of marginalized LGBTQI communities and persons. (16) In 2015, the Department of State established the position of Special Envoy for the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) Persons. The position was left vacant during the Trump Administration, but President Biden appointed a new United States Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI+) Persons in 2021. (17) In February 2021, President Joseph Biden issued the Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Persons Around the World, which stated that it shall be the policy of the United States to pursue an end to violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or sex characteristics , and called for United States global leadership in the cause of advancing the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons around the world. (18) In 2020, in Bostock v. Clayton