米、性別「Ｘ」のパスポート初発給　性的少数者を支援

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】米国務省は２７日、性別欄に「Ｘ」と記載されたパスポート（旅券）を初めて発給したと発表した。性別が男女の枠にとらわれない人々にとって画期的な措置となる。（写真は資料写真）
　同省によると、性別に「Ｘ」を選択できる制度はパスポートに加え、海外在住の米国民に発行する出生証明書にも適用され、２０２２年初めまでに広く利用可能となる。
　同省のネッド・プライス報道官は声明で、「今回のパスポート発給に際し、ＬＧＢＴＱＩ＋（性的少数者）の人々を含むすべての人の自由、尊厳、平等の促進に対する国務省の取り組みを改めて約束したい」と言明。性自認をめぐる差別に直面する人々に対する支援を表明した。
　同省はまた、米国籍保持者がパスポートに記載する性別を自ら選択することを許可した。これまでは、出生証明書などの書類と異なる性別を記載するためには医学的な証明が必要とされていた。
　英人権団体「平等と包摂のための雇用者ネットワーク」によると、米国の他にパスポートの性別欄に「Ｘ」や「その他」の選択肢を用意している国は少なくとも１１か国に上る。
　発表前日の２６日は、性分化疾患（ＤＳＤ）への理解を広める「インターセックス啓蒙（けいもう）デー」だった。
　ジョー・バイデン大統領は、性的少数者の権利を守ることを政権の最優先事項にすると約束していた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/10/28-12:21）

The United States on Wednesday announced its first passport with X for gender, a landmark step for people outside the binary male or female categories.
The State Department said it had issued a first passport with X for gender and would make the option routinely available by early 2022 both for passports and birth certificates of Americans abroad.
I want to reiterate, on the occasion of this passport issuance, the Department of State's commitment to promoting the freedom, dignity, and equality of all people -- including LGBTQI+ persons, State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had promised to address the issue in June but said that there were technological hurdles that needed to be addressed.
Under Blinken, the State Department has also allowed US passport holders to select their gender on passports.
Previously, Americans required medical certification if they sought to mark a gender on their passports different than on their birth certificates or other documents.
The Human Rights Campaign, a leading advocacy group for LGBTQ rights, called the new passport policy historic.
The move will mitigate the risk of discrimination, harassment and violence faced by millions of non-binary, intersex and gender non-conforming Americans who travel abroad, said JoDee Winterhof, the group's senior vice president of policy and political affairs.
The United States must encourage other governments around the world to follow suit in adopting inclusive policies, she said.
At least 11 other countries already have an X or other option for passports, according to the Employers Network for Equality and Inclusion, a London-based advocacy group.
The countries include Canada, Germany and Argentina as well as India, Nepal and Pakistan, a legacy of South Asia's historic concept of hijra intersex or transgender people.
The State Department made the announcement on the week of Intersex Awareness Day as it vowed to support people who face discrimination over their gender identity.
President Joe Biden has promised to make advocacy of LGBTQ rights a top priority of his administration.
It is a major shift from the previous administration of Donald Trump, during which Blinken's predecessor Mike Pompeo barred US embassies from flying rainbow Pride flags.