International Human Rights Defense Act of 2021
This bill establishes in the Department of State a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex) Peoples who shall serve as the principal State Department advisor regarding human rights for LGBTQI people and represent the United States in diplomatic matters relevant to the human rights of LGBTQI people.
The special envoy shall periodically provide Congress with a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI people. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development may provide assistance to prevent and respond to such activities against LGBTQI 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 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1201 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1201
To establish in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the
Department of State a Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI
Peoples, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 22, 2021
Mr. Lowenthal 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 LGBTQI
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 2021''.
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) 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.
(4) LGBTQI.--The term ``LGBTQI'' means lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex.
(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, LGBTQI 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
LGBTQI 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, including the common performance of medically
unnecessary surgeries without their consent or approval,
because their bodies do not conform to other people's
expectations about sex and gender.
(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 2019 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 LGBTQI-specific restrictions on basic freedoms of
assembly, press, and speech in every region of the world.
(6) In 2013, the Russian Duma passed a law banning so-
called ``homosexual propaganda'', which effectively makes it a
crime to publicly support LGBTQI 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.
(7) 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. An
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
fact-finding 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 throughout 2020 suggest the purge
has continued.
(8) In May 2020, the Hungarian Parliament voted to
eliminate the ability for transgender and intersex Hungarians
to legally change their gender on official documents. In June
2020, Poland's president pledged to ban the ``propagation of
LGBT ideology,'' and nearly a third of Polish towns and
municipalities have now declared themselves to be ``LGBT-free
zones''.
(9) In December 2013, under the guise of prohibiting
marriage equality through the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition)
Act, the Government of Nigeria adopted a law that further
criminalized same-sex relations and support for LGBTQI people,
endangering neighbors, friends, doctors, and landlords of
LGBTQI people. In August 2018, 57 men at a party in Lagos were
arrested under this law and 47 were later charged in December
2019 for ``public show of same sex amorous relationship''.
While the case was thrown out in October 2020 due to
deficiencies in the prosecution, the men suffered significant
harm over the course of the two-year trial.
(10) Several countries in South Asia continue to have
draconian laws that criminalize homosexual acts, which place
LGBTQI people in danger and undermine their ability to live
free from persecution.
(11) 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 LGBTQI citizens. Although the Constitutional
Court overturned the Anti-Homosexuality Act on a technicality
in August 2014, LGBTQI 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.
(12) In November 2016, the Government of Tanzania banned
all HIV and AIDS outreach projects aimed at gay men, including
those funded by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
(PEPFAR), forcing 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
announced crackdowns on the LGBTQI community, including a
threat by the governor of the largest city, who announced a
purge on LGBTQI individuals and asked the public to report
them.
(13) A 2020 report by Human Rights Watch found that in the
Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and
Honduras, ``gangs specifically target LGBT people, killing,
assaulting, threatening or extorting them''. 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.
(14) Extreme violence in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala,
and Honduras has driven LGBTQI people to flee their countries
or origin to the United States for protection. At the United
States border with Mexico, LGBTQI asylum seekers face
additional violence and many have been returned to face
persecution in their home countries or in third countries that
are not safe.
(15) 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. More
recently, including in August 2020, police in Indonesia have
arrested men at private parties, sometimes releasing their
photographs to the news media, endangering their lives. The
August 2020 raid fits a disturbing pattern of Indonesian
authorities using the pornography law as a weapon to target
LGBTQI people.
(16) The Department of State Human Rights Report for 2019
notes that Egyptian police arrest LGBTQI persons on charges
such as ``debauchery'', ``prostitution'', and ``violating the
teachings of religion'', leading to prison sentences of up to
10 years. According to a local group, there have been more than
250 arrests since 2013. Arrests have continued apace in 2020.
Rights groups also have reported on the discredited use of
``virginity'' and ``anal tests'' by Egyptian authorities to
attempt to prove sexual activity, assaults that may constitute
cruel, degrading, and inhuman treatment that can rise to the
level of torture under international human rights law.
(17) Anti-LGBTQI laws not only endanger all LGBTQI
individuals, but also pose serious risks for those associated
with or caring for LGBTQI people. Studies have shown that when
LGBTQI people, especially LGBTQI youth, face discrimination,
they are less likely to seek HIV testing, prevention, and
treatment services.
(18) According to the Trans Murder Monitoring Project,
which monitors homicides of transgender individuals, 350 trans
and gender-diverse were killed between October 1, 2019, and
September 30, 2020, representing a 6 percent increase in
reported murders from the 2019 update.
(19) 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 reports of
the United Nations 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.
(20) Removing institutionalized discrimination and targeted
persecution against LGBTQI people around the world is a
critical step in the promotion of human rights and global
health internationally.
(21) Anti-LGBTQI laws and discrimination pose significant
risks for LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI youth.
(22) 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
LGBTQI persons.
(23) 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. No person was named to that position during the Trump
Administration.
(24) 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 LGBTQI persons around the world.
(25) 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.
(26) 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.
(27) In September 2018, the Supreme Court of India
decriminalized same-sex relationships. The same court also has
affirmed the rights of transgender people as a protected
``third gender'' under the Constitution of India.
(28) Angola decriminalized same-sex relationships in
January 2019, and prohibited discrimination against people on
the basis of sexual orientation. In December 2020, the
parliament of Bhutan voted to decriminalize same-sex
relationships.
(29) 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.
(30) 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.
(31) In May 2020, the United Nations Independent Expert on
protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual
orientation and gender identity released a report on so-called
``conversion therapy,'' which is an umbrella term used to
describe interventions based on a belief that a person's sexual
orientation or gender identity can and should be changed. The
report concludes that such practices represent significant
violations of rights to bodily autonomy, health, and free
expression, and can breach the prohibition against torture and
ill-treatment. The Independent Expert concludes by calling for
a global ban on conversion therapy, noting that ``the
psychological pain and suffering inflicted by practices of
`conversion therapy' are deep and long-lasting and often
exacerbate the risk of suicide''.
(32) The global COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated
inequalities that LGBTQI individuals face, including access to
healthcare, stigma, and discrimination.
(33) Some governments have enacted measures that target or
discriminate against LGBTQI individuals and communities under
the guise of COVID-19 public health precautions.
(34) In March 2020, Ugandan police arbitrarily arrested 20
LGBTQI people living in a homeless shelter, charging them with
``a negligent act likely to spread infection of disease''. They
were released and all charges were dropped after nearly two
months in prison.
(35) Gender-based quarantine rules have resulted in
increased violence against transgender individuals and reports
indicate an increase in transphobic and homophobic rhetoric, as
religious leaders and others scapegoat LGBTQI people for the
spread of the disease.
(36) COVID-19 has also increased barriers to access health
care for LGBTQI individuals. In addition to discrimination in
care, the health needs of LGBTQI people may be deprioritized.
For example, HIV prevention activities have largely ceased due
to the pandemic, elevating risks for transmission among key
population groups.
(37) Due to stay-at-home restrictions, LGBTQI people may be
confined to hostile households, putting them at increased risk
for gender-based violence and compounding mental health
challenges.
(38) LGBTQI individuals may be unable to access a
government's COVID support services due to discrimination. In
response, LGBTQI-led civil society organizations have been
forced to shift their programs to provide humanitarian support
to their communities, sidelining other programs previously
performed in their communities.
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 LGBTQI people;
(2) to systematically integrate and coordinate into United
States foreign policy efforts to prevent and respond to
criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI
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 LGBTQI
people internationally;
(4) to consult, cooperate, coordinate, and collaborate with
a wide variety of nongovernmental partners, including faith-
based organizations and LGBTQI-led organizations, with
demonstrated experience in preventing and responding to
criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI
people internationally;
(5) to employ a multisectoral approach to preventing and
responding to criminalization, discrimination, and violence
against LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI-specific
instruction on preventing and responding to criminalization,
discrimination, and violence based on sexual orientation and
gender identity;
(8) to engage non-LGBTQI people as allies and partners, as
an essential element of making sustained reductions in
criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI
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 LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI
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 LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI people; and
(14) to ensure that those who have a well-founded fear of
persecution on account of being LGBTQI or supporting LGBTQI
rights have the opportunity to seek protection in the United
States.
SEC. 5. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF LGBTQI PEOPLE.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--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 LGBTQI 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.
(2) Rank.--The Special Envoy may be appointed at the rank
of Ambassador.
(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 LGBTQI people and communities
internationally and the advancement of human rights for LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI
people internationally;
(B) shall, notwithstanding any other provision of
law, direct activities, policies, programs, and funding
relating to the human rights of LGBTQI people and the
advancement of LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI people,
including criminalization, discrimination, and violence
against LGBTQI people internationally;
(D) shall direct, as appropriate, United States
Government resources to respond to needs for
protection, integration, resettlement, and empowerment
of LGBTQI people in United States Government policies
and international programs, including to prevent and
respond to criminalization, discrimination, and
violence against LGBTQI people internationally;
(E) shall design, support, and implement activities
regarding support, education, resettlement, and
empowerment of LGBTQI people internationally, including
for the prevention and response to criminalization,
discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI people
internationally;
(F) shall lead interagency coordination between the
foreign policy priorities related to the human rights
of LGBTQI people and the development assistance
priorities of the LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI people internationally,
including criminalization, discrimination, and violence
against LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI people internationally, as
well as on the status of programs and response strategies to
address criminalization, discrimination, and violence against
LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI
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 LGBTQI people internationally or
promoting equal rights for LGBTQI people
internationally.
(f) Monitoring the United States Strategy To Prevent and Respond to
Criminalization, Discrimination, and Violence Against LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI 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
2018), 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 2021), 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 LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI people and
communities internationally, and to combat HIV/AIDS in the
LGBTQI 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
LGBTQI 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.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights.
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