This resolution addresses issues involving LGBTQI+ identifying people.
Specifically, the resolution
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 470 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 470
Supporting the right of LGBTQI+ people to equal and inalienable human
rights, economic rights, civil rights, and social and political equity
at home and abroad and condemning discrimination, persecution, and
violence against LGBTQI+ identifying individuals and communities
everywhere, including in Europe and Eurasia.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 11, 2021
Mr. Keating (for himself, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Deutch, Ms. Jacobs of
California, Mr. Malinowski, Ms. Titus, Mr. Castro of Texas, Ms. Wild,
Mr. McGovern, Mr. Costa, Mr. Takano, and Mr. Pappas) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a
period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the
committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Supporting the right of LGBTQI+ people to equal and inalienable human
rights, economic rights, civil rights, and social and political equity
at home and abroad and condemning discrimination, persecution, and
violence against LGBTQI+ identifying individuals and communities
everywhere, including in Europe and Eurasia.
Whereas Articles 2 and 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights state that
all people are entitled to the rights and freedoms in the Declaration
without distinction of any kind such as race, color, sex, language,
religion, political opinion or other opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth, or other status, and Articles 2, 14, and 26 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights reinforce this
right to equality for all with no distinction;
Whereas Articles 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
Articles 2, 14, and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights ensure freedom of expression and freedom of association
for all individuals;
Whereas globally, including in some countries in Europe and Eurasia, lesbian,
gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (referred to in this
resolution as ``LGBTQI+'') communities have faced increasingly hostile
environments, fueled by increasing democratic backsliding and
discriminatory rhetoric by politicians across the region;
Whereas some European countries are considered to have among the world's
strongest rights and protections for LGBTQI+ persons, and a number of
other countries in Europe and Eurasia have made progress in expanding
rights and protections for LGBTQI+ persons, despite continuing
challenges in the region;
Whereas the right to equal treatment and nondiscrimination is enshrined in the
Charter of the Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the Treaty on
European Union, and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union;
Whereas the 47 member states of the Council of Europe agreed in 2010 to a
Recommendation from its Committee of Ministers on measures to combat
discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity;
Whereas some countries in Europe and Eurasia do not explicitly include sexual
orientation, sex characteristics, or gender identity and expression as
protected grounds in antidiscrimination laws, and as a result place
marginalized populations in danger of discrimination and violence;
Whereas in many countries in Europe and Eurasia LGBTQI+ communities that already
face marginalization have experienced increased levels of homelessness
and economic insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic;
Whereas hate speech and online and physical abuse against LGBTQI+ communities in
Europe and Eurasia have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic;
Whereas European and multinational organizations lack systematic monitoring,
documentation, and data collection surrounding hate crimes against
LGBTQI+ identifying individuals and concerning violence against LGBTQI+
communities;
Whereas many governments at either the national or regional level, including in
Turkey, Poland, and Hungary municipal governments, have taken actions
that curtail the rights of or negatively target LGBTQI+ people;
Whereas Polish local governments in the form of regional, county, or municipal
governing bodies have passed resolutions declaring themselves to be
``LGBT-Free Zones'' or ``free from LGBT Ideology'';
Whereas expressions of bigotry and hostility by authorities may result in
increased acts of violence and hate crimes against LGBTQI+ individuals;
Whereas LGBTQI+ people have faced increasing violence from which authorities
have not protected them, including violence against participants in
pride parades;
Whereas, in many countries, antitrans rhetoric has been linked to an increase in
transphobic hate crimes over the past several years, including multiple
murders of transgender individuals in Europe and Eurasia in recent
years;
Whereas opposition to trans rights has grown in much of Europe and Eurasia, in
some cases causing a regression in legal gender recognition policies;
Whereas legal gender recognition has stagnated or reversed, with some countries
withdrawing or restricting the right to legal gender recognition in law,
including to various degrees in Hungary, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan;
Whereas in some instances authorities across Europe and Eurasia have failed to
classify hate crimes committed against LGBTQI+ individuals as such,
including murder, other acts of violence, and extortion;
Whereas government officials in Hungary and Poland have used anti-LGBTQI+
rhetoric in the political sphere, which civil society groups have linked
to an increase in violence against LGBTQI+ identifying people, as well
as introduced legislative actions that have limited the rights of
LGBTQI+ people;
Whereas Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that he will not introduce
marriage equality in the Russian Federation as long as he remains in
power;
Whereas Russian authorities have imposed fines on Russian citizens, prohibited
rallies and performances, and blocked websites on the basis of a 2013
law banning ``propaganda'' to minors about ``non-traditional sexual
relationships'';
Whereas in the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation, authorities in 2017
and again in the winter of 2018-2019 detained and tortured gay men in a
campaign of arrests, torture, and extrajudicial executions in what has
since become known as the ``gay purge'';
Whereas, in February of 2020, journalist Elena Milashina, who first reported on
the ``gay purge'' in Chechnya, was attacked by what appeared to be an
organized mob in the Chechen capital of Grozny and was later the target
of a death threat delivered on Instagram by Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader
of the Chechen Republic;
Whereas the United States and European Union have sanctioned two Russian
officials in Chechnya for their role in the persecution of LGBTQI+
identifying people in the region;
Whereas the severity of these attacks prompted the United States and 15 other
countries to support the appointment of an Organization for Security and
Co-operation in Europe rapporteur in 2018 to examine gross violations of
human rights, torture, extrajudicial killings, forced disappearances,
and impunity;
Whereas, despite significant difficulties, many governments in European and
Eurasian countries have made positive progress toward LGBTQI+ equality
and human rights in recent years;
Whereas many countries in Europe and Eurasia allow same-sex marriage and same-
sex civil unions, including Montenegro which in 2020 became the first
Western Balkan country to legalize same-sex civil partnership;
Whereas, in 2020, a court in Turkey reversed a previous ban on pride parades in
the country;
Whereas, on March 11, 2021, the European Parliament passed a resolution
declaring an ``LGBTIQ Freedom Zone'' in response to concerning
developments related to the human rights situation for LGBTQI+
communities in the European Union; and
Whereas the United States and its transatlantic allies and partners must explore
avenues for cooperation in support of the human rights, civil rights,
social rights, and economic rights of LGBTQI+ identifying people and in
building coalitions in support of equality in the United States, Europe,
Eurasia, and across the world: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) reinforces that the United States Government has an
obligation to promote and protect the human rights of all
people, a central value of our country, including those of
LGBTQI+ identifying individuals at home and abroad;
(2) finds that it is the responsibility of all governments
to ensure that the equal rights of LGBTQI+ people are
respected;
(3) calls on the Department of State, the United States
Agency for International Development, and other Federal
agencies to include the promotion of equal rights for LGBTQI+
identifying people in their work;
(4) strongly condemns all acts of discrimination,
persecution, and violence, including bigoted rhetoric and hate
crimes, committed against any person based on their sexual
orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or sex
characteristics;
(5) calls on governments across Europe and Eurasia to
foster safe and equitable environments for all people,
including those within the LGBTQI+ community;
(6) recognizes the progress that many countries across
Europe and Eurasia have achieved in ensuring equal rights for
LGBTQI+ identifying individuals and communities;
(7) calls on any governments with such a policy to rescind
all designation of counties, regions, or municipalities as
``LGBT-Free Zones'' and quickly implement measures to
reintroduce equitable local practices and root out systematized
discrimination in governing practices;
(8) urges the United States Government to continue to
assist in the development and implementation of training
programs in European and Eurasian countries, and within
multilateral bodies, to bolster antidiscrimination practices
and promote LGBTQI+ equity and inclusion;
(9) urges the United States Government to increase funding
for LGBTQI+ human rights organizations in Europe and Eurasia so
that they are better equipped to respond to growing anti-
LGBTQI+ forces;
(10) expresses concern that young LGBTQI+ individuals
experience harassment beginning in school, and calls for
European and Eurasian governments to take action and provide
LGBTQI+ children the same rights to equality in the educational
system as all students;
(11) calls for better and more comprehensive reporting of
anti-LGBTQI+ hate crimes in Europe and Eurasia and for
transatlantic cooperation on data collection and reporting
systems for anti-LGBTQI+ hate crimes and bias-motivated
violence in Europe, Eurasia, and the United States;
(12) continues to support the fundamental human rights,
civil rights, social rights, and economic rights of all LGBTQI+
identifying people on both sides of the Atlantic; and
(13) encourages further protection for LGBTQI+ and other
marginalized communities around the world.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
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