International Human Rights Defense Act of 2019
This bill establishes in the Department of State a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex) Peoples who shall serve as the principal State Department advisor regarding human rights for LGBTI people and represent the United States in diplomatic matters relevant to the human rights of LGBTI people.
The special envoy shall periodically provide Congress with a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTI people. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development may provide assistance to prevent and respond to such activities against LGBTI people.
The bill also requires that annual country reports on human rights practices include information on criminalization, discrimination, and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1857 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1857
To establish in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the
Department of State a Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI
Peoples, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 25, 2019
Mr. Lowenthal (for himself, Mr. Connolly, Ms. Norton, Ms. Schakowsky,
Mr. Foster, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Moore,
Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Cardenas, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. McGovern,
Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. Roybal-Allard, Mr. Lynch, Ms. Barragan, Mr.
O'Halleran, Ms. Wasserman Schultz, Mr. Soto, Mrs. Torres of California,
Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Pappas, Mr. Schiff, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. DeFazio,
Mr. Brown of Maryland, Mr. Cooper, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Morelle, Mr.
Pallone, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Aguilar, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Meeks, Mr.
Raskin, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Sean
Patrick Maloney of New York, Mr. Peters, Ms. Speier, Ms. Meng, Mr.
Ryan, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Kilmer, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Rush, Mr. Welch, Mr.
Moulton, Ms. Omar, Ms. Jayapal, Mrs. Davis of California, Ms. Lee of
California, Mr. Tonko, Ms. Shalala, Ms. Wild, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Higgins
of New York, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Serrano, Mr. Cartwright, Mr. Swalwell of
California, Ms. Houlahan, Mr. Schneider, Mrs. Murphy, Ms. Haaland, Ms.
Titus, Mr. Lawson of Florida, Mr. Huffman, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Quigley,
Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Himes, Ms. DelBene, Ms. Escobar, Mr. Sherman, Ms.
Scanlon, and Mr. McEachin) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the
Department of State a Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI
Peoples, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``International Human Rights Defense
Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
Committee on Appropriations of the House of
Representatives.
(2) Gender identity.--The term ``gender identity'' means
the gender-related identity, appearance, or mannerisms or other
gender-related characteristics of an individual, regardless of
the individual's designated sex at birth.
(3) LGBTI.--The term ``LGBTI'' means lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, or intersex.
(4) Intersex.--The term ``intersex'' means individuals born
with sex characteristics (including genitals, gonads, or
chromosome patterns) that vary from typical binary notions of
male or female bodies and is an umbrella term used to describe
a wide range of natural bodily variations.
(5) Sexual orientation.--The term ``sexual orientation''
means actual or perceived homosexuality, heterosexuality, or
bisexuality.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Around the world, LGBTI people face violence,
discrimination, hatred, and bigotry.
(2) Sixty-nine countries criminalize same-sex relations and
at least three countries prohibit the public support of the
LGBTI community. That is equal to 35 percent of United Nations
member states.
(3) In several countries, homosexuality is a crime that is
punishable by death.
(4) Intersex people experience prejudice and discrimination
because their bodies do not conform to other people's
expectations about sex and gender, including the common
performance of medically unnecessary surgeries without the
consent or approval of intersex individuals.
(5) Violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation
and gender identity are documented in the Department of State's
annual Human Rights Report to Congress. The 2017 report
continues to show a clear pattern of human rights violations in
every region of the world based on sexual orientation and
gender identity. These violations include murder, rape,
torture, death threats, extortion, and imprisonment, as well as
loss of employment, housing, access to health care, and other
forms of societal stigma and discrimination. The report further
documents LGBTI-specific restrictions on basic freedoms of
assembly, press, and speech in every region of the world.
(6) In Jamaica and other countries, discrimination against
LGBTI people, including ``corrective rape'' of lesbian women,
occurs all too frequently and with relative impunity.
(7) In 2013, the Russian Duma passed a law banning so-
called ``homosexual propaganda'', which effectively makes it a
crime to publicly support LGBTI equality or even discuss
homosexuality. This pernicious law is the basis for similar so-
called ``antipropaganda'' legislation in countries across
Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including in Moldova,
Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus.
(8) In December 2013, the Government of Nigeria adopted a
law that further criminalized same-sex relations and support
for LGBTI people, endangering neighbors, friends, doctors, and
landlords of LGBTI people.
(9) Several countries in South Asia continue to have
draconian laws that criminalize homosexual acts, which place
LGBTI people in danger and undermine their ability to live free
from persecution.
(10) In February 2014, the Government of Uganda adopted a
law making ``aggravated homosexuality'' a crime punishable with
life imprisonment and concurrently, the Government of Uganda
also passed laws severely limiting the basic freedoms of speech
and assembly for LGBTI citizens. While the Constitutional Court
overturned the Anti-Homosexuality Act on a technicality in
August 2014, LGBTI Ugandans continue to be subjected to
discrimination and violence, and their government has in recent
years forcibly shut down even private Pride celebrations in
Kampala.
(11) On April 1, 2017, the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta
reported that the government of the autonomous republic of
Chechnya had been arresting, detaining, and torturing gay and
bisexual men in secret prisons since early 2017. International
human rights groups and Russian LGBTI rights activists estimate
that as many as 20 people may have been murdered thus far and
potentially over 200 people were detained during the purge. An
OSCE factfinding report released in December 2018 confirmed the
atrocities, documenting ``several waves of violations of human
rights abuses of persons based on their sexual orientation and
gender identity''. Reports from early 2019 suggest the purge
has continued.
(12) On May 23, 2017, and again on July 13, 2018, gay men
were publicly caned in the Indonesian province of Aceh, while
thousands of spectators snapped pictures outside a mosque as
the brutal punishment was meted out. Several times in 2017,
police in Indonesia have arrested men at private parties,
sometimes releasing their photographs to the news media,
endangering their lives.
(13) In September 2017, reports emerged from Azerbaijan
that authorities had begun a crackdown on gay men and
transgender women, arresting more than 60 and subjecting them
to beatings, harassment, torture, and blackmail.
(14) From September through December 2017, over 70 LGBTI
individuals were arrested in Egypt, with dozens receiving
prison sentences of up to six years. In late 2017, authorities
in Egypt instructed local media to delete any positive
references to LGBTI people, and lawmakers proposed a bill that
would criminalize LGBTI people and their allies. The arrests
continued in 2018, with a Cairo-based LGBTI rights organization
documenting 76 arrests for alleged same-sex conduct in 2018.
(15) Anti-LGBTI laws not only endanger all LGBTI
individuals, but also pose serious risks for those associated
with or caring for LGBTI people. Studies have shown that when
LGBTI people, especially LGBTI youth, face discrimination, they
are less likely to seek HIV testing, prevention, and treatment
services.
(16) According to the Trans Murder Monitoring Project,
which monitors homicides of transgender individuals, there were
at least 369 cases of reported killings of trans and gender-
diverse people between October 2017 and September 2018, an
increase over previous years. The organization reports that a
``majority of the murders occurred in Brazil (167), Mexico
(71), the United States (28), and Colombia (21), adding up to a
total of 2982 reported cases in 72 countries worldwide between
1st of January 2008 and 30th of September 2018''.
(17) According to the International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS
and Human Rights, as published by the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights, and according to the July 2017
report of the Independent Expert on protection against violence
and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender
identity, countries should review and reform criminal laws and
correctional systems to ensure that they are consistent with
international human rights obligations and are not misused or
targeted against vulnerable groups.
(18) Removing institutionalized discrimination and targeted
persecution against LGBTI people around the world is a critical
step in the promotion of human rights and global health
internationally.
(19) Anti-LGBTI laws and discrimination pose significant
risks for LGBTI youth who come out to their family or community
and often face rejection, homelessness, and limited educational
and economic opportunities. These factors contribute to
increased risks of substance abuse, suicide, and HIV infection
among LGBTI youth.
(20) On December 6, 2011, President Barack Obama released
the ``Presidential Memorandum--International Initiatives to
Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender Persons''. The memorandum directed all Federal
agencies engaged abroad to ensure that United States diplomacy
and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of
LGBTI persons.
(21) On February 23, 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry
appointed senior diplomat Randy Berry as the Department of
State's first-ever Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI
Persons. Secretary Pompeo pledged to re-fill that position
during his April 2018 confirmation hearing, but has yet to do
so.
(22) On June 30, 2016, the United Nations Human Rights
Council passed a resolution cosponsored by the United States
that established an independent expert on violence and
discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
to help monitor and track discrimination and violence
experienced by LGBTI persons around the world.
(23) In November 2016, the Government of Tanzania placed a
ban on all HIV and AIDS outreach projects aimed at gay men,
including those funded by the President's Emergency Plan for
AIDS Relief. This forced the closure of United States-funded
programs providing testing, condoms, and care to gay men,
exacerbating the health needs of gay men in Tanzania, about 30
percent of whom are HIV positive. In 2018, various government
officials have announced crackdowns on the LGBTI community,
including a threat by the governor of the largest city, who
announced a purge on LGBTI individuals and asked the public to
report them. Reports suggest that many people have been
arrested and more are in hiding.
(24) In February 2017, three transgender women were
murdered in El Salvador with impunity, leading the United
Nations to call for an investigation into crimes against sexual
and gender minorities in that country. A 2016 report noted that
transgender women in El Salvador have an average life
expectancy of less than 35 years due to violence,
discrimination, and femicide.
(25) Extreme violence in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala,
and Honduras has driven LGBTI people to flee their countries or
origin to the United States for protection. LGBTI people were
among the first asylum seekers in the migrant ``caravans''
arriving at the United States-Mexico border.
(26) At the annual Summit of Commonwealth Nations in April
2018, United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May issued an
apology for discriminatory laws criminalizing same-sex
relationships that were imposed on British colonies around the
world. She also announced the creation of a fund to support
legal reform efforts.
(27) In April 2018, Trinidad and Tobago's High Court of
Justice issued a landmark ruling declaring that laws which
criminalize same-sex relationships between consenting adults
are unconstitutional.
(28) In April 2014, the Supreme Court of India recognized
transgender people as a third gender, improving the legal
rights of transgender people in that country. Though an
important step, the decision does not grant full legal rights
to transgender people.
(29) In September 2018, the Supreme Court of India issued a
unanimous decision decriminalizing same-sex relationships
across the country. The landmark case is likely to support
similar legal challenges to colonial-era sodomy laws in other
former British colonies, since the Indian sodomy law was the
model used for other British colonies.
(30) Angola decriminalized same-sex relationships in
January 2019, and prohibited discrimination against people on
the basis of sexual orientation.
(31) In January 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human
Rights issued an advisory opinion declaring that the American
Convention on Human Rights, adopted at San Jose November 22,
1969, grants the right of transgender people to change their
name and gender on public documents, and that same-sex couples
must be granted full legal rights, including the right to
marriage. This ruling is animating legal reforms and human
rights cases across the Americas.
(32) In September 2018, the legislature in Chile passed a
groundbreaking legal gender recognition law, which allows
transgender individuals to self-determine their legal gender in
official documents without a judicial determination or medical
interventions. The Government of Uruguay passed a similarly
expansive gender recognition law in 2018.
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.
It is the policy of the United States--
(1) to take effective action to prevent and respond to
discrimination and violence against all people on any basis
internationally, including sexual orientation, gender identity,
and sex characteristics, and that human rights policy includes
attention to criminalization, hate crimes, and other
discrimination against LGBTI people;
(2) to systematically integrate and coordinate into United
States foreign policy efforts to prevent and respond to
criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTI
people internationally;
(3) to support and build local capacity in countries around
the world, including of governments at all levels and
nongovernmental organizations, to prevent and respond to
criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTI
people internationally;
(4) to consult, cooperate, coordinate, and collaborate with
a wide variety of nongovernmental partners, including faith-
based organizations and LGBTI-led organizations, with
demonstrated experience in preventing and responding to
criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTI
people internationally;
(5) to employ a multisectoral approach to preventing and
responding to criminalization, discrimination, and violence
against LGBTI people internationally, including activities in
the economic, education, health, nutrition, legal, and judicial
sectors;
(6) to work at all levels, from the individual to the
family, community, local, national, and international levels,
to prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, and
violence against LGBTI people internationally;
(7) to enhance training by United States personnel of
professional foreign military and police forces and judicial
officials to include appropriate and thorough LGBTI-specific
instruction on preventing and responding to criminalization,
discrimination, and violence based on sexual orientation and
gender identity;
(8) to engage non-LGBTI people as allies and partners, as
an essential element of making sustained reductions in
criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTI
people internationally;
(9) to require that all Federal contractors and grant
recipients in the United States Government's international
programs establish appropriate policies and take effective
measures to ensure the protection and safety of their staff and
workplace, including from discrimination and violence directed
against LGBTI people and those who provide services to them;
(10) to exert sustained international leadership, including
in bilateral and multilateral fora, to prevent and respond to
criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTI
people internationally;
(11) to fully implement and expand upon the policies
outlined in the ``Presidential Memorandum--International
Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, and Transgender Persons'';
(12) to ensure that international efforts to combat HIV/
AIDS take all appropriate measures to support at-risk
communities, including LGBTI people, and to create enabling
legal environments for these communities;
(13) to work with governments and nongovernmental partners
around the world to develop and implement regional strategies
to decriminalize homosexuality and to counteract the
prohibition of public support of LGBTI people; and
(14) to ensure that those who have a well-founded fear of
persecution on account of being LGBTI or supporting LGBTI
rights have the opportunity to seek protection in the United
States.
SEC. 5. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF LGBTI PEOPLE.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of State shall establish in the
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) of the Department of
State a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Peoples
(in this section referred to as the ``Special Envoy''), who shall be
appointed by the President. The Special Envoy shall report directly to
the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
(b) Purpose.--In addition to the duties described in subsection (c)
and those duties determined by the Secretary of State, the Special
Envoy shall direct efforts of the United States Government relating to
United States foreign policy, as directed by the Secretary, regarding
human rights abuses against LGBTI people and communities
internationally and the advancement of human rights for LGBTI people,
and shall represent the United States internationally in bilateral and
multilateral engagement on such matters.
(c) Duties.--
(1) In general.--The Special Envoy--
(A) shall serve as the principal advisor to the
Secretary of State regarding human rights for LGBTI
people internationally;
(B) shall, notwithstanding any other provision of
law, direct activities, policies, programs, and funding
relating to the human rights of LGBTI people and the
advancement of LGBTI equality initiatives
internationally, for all bureaus and offices of the
Department of State, and shall lead the coordination of
relevant international programs for all other Federal
agencies relating to such matters;
(C) shall represent the United States in diplomatic
matters relevant to the human rights of LGBTI people,
including criminalization, discrimination, and violence
against LGBTI people internationally;
(D) shall direct, as appropriate, United States
Government resources to respond to needs for
protection, integration, resettlement, and empowerment
of LGBTI people in United States Government policies
and international programs, including to prevent and
respond to criminalization, discrimination, and
violence against LGBTI people internationally;
(E) shall design, support, and implement activities
regarding support, education, resettlement, and
empowerment of LGBTI people internationally, including
for the prevention and response to criminalization,
discrimination, and violence against LGBTI people
internationally;
(F) shall lead interagency coordination between the
foreign policy priorities related to the human rights
of LGBTI people and the development assistance
priorities of the LGBTI Coordinator of the United
States Agency for International Development;
(G) shall conduct regular consultation with
nongovernmental organizations working to prevent and
respond to criminalization, discrimination, and
violence against LGBTI people internationally;
(H) shall ensure that programs, projects, and
activities of the Department of State and the United
States Agency for International Development designed to
prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination,
and violence against LGBTI people internationally are
subject to rigorous monitoring and evaluation, and that
there is a uniform set of indicators and standards for
such monitoring and evaluation that is used across
international programs in Federal agencies; and
(I) is authorized to represent the United States in
bilateral and multilateral fora on matters relevant to
the human rights of LGBTI people internationally,
including criminalization, discrimination, and violence
against LGBTI people internationally.
(2) Data repository.--The Bureau of Democracy, Human
Rights, and Labor shall--
(A) be the central repository of data on all United
States programs, projects, and activities that relate
to prevention and response to criminalization,
discrimination, and violence against LGBTI people
internationally; and
(B) produce--
(i) a full accounting of United States
Government spending on such programs, projects,
and activities; and
(ii) evaluations of the effectiveness of
such programs, projects, and activities.
(d) Briefings and Assessments.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Special
Envoy shall--
(1) brief the appropriate congressional committees on the
status of the human rights of LGBTI people internationally, as
well as on the status of programs and response strategies to
address criminalization, discrimination, and violence against
LGBTI people internationally; and
(2) submit to the appropriate congressional committees an
assessment of human and financial resources necessary to
fulfill the purposes and duties of this Act.
(e) United States Policy To Prevent and Respond to Criminalization,
Discrimination, and Violence Against LGBTI People Globally.--
(1) Global strategy requirement.--Not later than 180 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually
thereafter for each of the following five years, the Special
Envoy shall develop or update, as the case may be, a United
States global strategy to prevent and respond to
criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTI
people internationally. The Special Envoy shall submit the
global strategy to the appropriate congressional committees
and, if practicable, make the global strategy available to the
public.
(2) Collaboration and coordination.--In developing the
global strategy required under paragraph (1), the Special Envoy
shall consult with--
(A) mid- and high-level officials of relevant
Federal agencies; and
(B) representatives of nongovernmental
organizations with demonstrated experience in
addressing criminalization, discrimination, and
violence against LGBTI people internationally or
promoting equal rights for LGBTI people
internationally.
(f) Monitoring the United States Strategy To Prevent and Respond to
Criminalization, Discrimination, and Violence Against LGBTI People and
Communities Internationally.--
(1) In general.--In each global strategy submitted under
subsection (e), the Special Envoy shall include an analysis of
best practices for preventing and addressing criminalization,
discrimination, and violence against LGBTI people and
communities internationally, including--
(A) a description of successful efforts by foreign
governments and nongovernmental organizations to
prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination,
and violence against LGBTI people and communities
internationally;
(B) recommendations related to best practices,
effective strategies, and improvements to enhance the
impact of such prevention and response efforts; and
(C) the impact of activities funded by the global
strategy in preventing and reducing criminalization,
discrimination, and violence against LGBTI people and
communities internationally.
(2) Information required to be included in annual country
reports on human rights practices.--
(A) Section 116.--Section 116(d) of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)) is
amended--
(i) in paragraph (11)(C), by striking ``;
and'' and inserting a semicolon;
(ii) in paragraph (12)(C)(ii), by striking
the period at the end and inserting ``; and'';
and
(iii) by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
``(13) wherever applicable, the nature and extent of
criminalization, discrimination, and violence based on sexual
orientation and gender identity, including an identification of
those countries that have adopted laws or constitutional
provisions that criminalize or discriminate based on sexual
orientation or gender identity (as those terms are defined in
section 2 of the International Human Rights Defense Act of
2019), including detailed descriptions of such laws and
provisions.''.
(B) Section 502b.--Section 502B of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304) is amended--
(i) by redesignating the second subsection
(i) (relating to child marriage status) as
subsection (j); and
(ii) by adding at the end the following new
subsection:
``(k) Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The report required
under subsection (b) shall include, wherever applicable, the nature and
extent of criminalization, discrimination, and violence based on sexual
orientation and gender identity, including an identification of those
countries that have adopted laws or constitutional provisions that
criminalize or discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender
identity (as those terms are defined in section 2 of the International
Human Rights Defense Act of 2018), including detailed descriptions of
such laws and provisions.''.
SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO PREVENT AND
RESPOND TO CRIMINALIZATION, DISCRIMINATION, AND VIOLENCE
AGAINST LGBTI PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES INTERNATIONALLY.
The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States
Agency for International Development are authorized to provide
assistance to prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination,
and violence against LGBTI people internationally. Such assistance may
include the following activities:
(1) Development and implementation of programs, such as the
Global Equality Fund of the Department of State, that respond
to human rights abuses and economic exclusion of LGBTI people
in the workplace and in public.
(2) Development and enforcement of civil and criminal legal
and judicial sanctions, protection, training, and capacity.
(3) Enhancement of health sector capacity to detect,
prevent, and respond to violence against LGBTI people and
communities internationally, and to combat HIV/AIDS in the
LGBTI community internationally, in close coordination with the
Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy of
the Department of State.
(4) Development of a leadership program for international
LGBTI activists that will foster collaboration and knowledge
sharing across the world.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.
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