Text of US HB 1201 (2021)

I 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Human 4 Rights Defense Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1201 IH (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 1 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 2 mittees’’ means— 3 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 4 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 5 Senate; and 6 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 7 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 8 of Representatives. 9 (2) GENDER IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 10 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear- 11 ance, or mannerisms or other gender-related charac- 12 teristics of an individual, regardless of the individ- 13 ual’s designated sex at birth. 14 (3) INTERSEX.—The term ‘‘intersex’’ means in- 15 dividuals born with sex characteristics (including 16 genitals, gonads, or chromosome patterns) that vary 17 from typical binary notions of male or female bodies 18 and is an umbrella term used to describe a wide 19 range of natural bodily variations. 20 (4) LGBTQI.—The term ‘‘LGBTQI’’ means 21 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or 22 intersex. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1201 IH (5) SEXUAL ORIENTATION.—The term ‘‘sexual 1 orientation’’ means actual or perceived homosex- 2 uality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. 3 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 4 Congress makes the following findings: 5 (1) Around the world, LGBTQI people face vio- 6 lence, discrimination, hatred, and bigotry. 7 (2) Sixty-nine countries criminalize same-sex re- 8 lations and at least three countries prohibit the pub- 9 lic support of the LGBTQI community. That is 10 equal to 35 percent of United Nations member 11 states. 12 (3) In several countries, homosexuality is a 13 crime that is punishable by death. 14 (4) Intersex people experience prejudice and 15 discrimination, including the common performance 16 of medically unnecessary surgeries without their con- 17 sent or approval, because their bodies do not con- 18 form to other people’s expectations about sex and 19 gender. 20 (5) Violence and discrimination based on sexual 21 orientation and gender identity are documented in 22 the Department of State’s annual Human Rights 23 Report to Congress. The 2019 report continues to 24 show a clear pattern of human rights violations in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1201 IH every region of the world based on sexual orientation 1 and gender identity. These violations include mur- 2 der, rape, torture, death threats, extortion, and im- 3 prisonment, as well as loss of employment, housing, 4 access to health care, and other forms of societal 5 stigma and discrimination. The report further docu- 6 ments LGBTQI-specific restrictions on basic free- 7 doms of assembly, press, and speech in every region 8 of the world. 9 (6) In 2013, the Russian Duma passed a law 10 banning so-called ‘‘homosexual propaganda’’, which 11 effectively makes it a crime to publicly support 12 LGBTQI equality or even discuss homosexuality. 13 This pernicious law is the basis for similar so-called 14 ‘‘antipropaganda’’ legislation in countries across 15 Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including in 16 Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus. 17 (7) On April 1, 2017, the Russian newspaper 18 Novaya Gazeta reported that the government of the 19 autonomous republic of Chechnya had been arrest- 20 ing, detaining, and torturing gay and bisexual men 21 in secret prisons since early 2017. An Organization 22 for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) 23 fact-finding report released in December 2018 con- 24 firmed the atrocities, documenting ‘‘several waves of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1201 IH violations of human rights abuses of persons based 1 on their sexual orientation and gender identity’’. Re- 2 ports throughout 2020 suggest the purge has contin- 3 ued. 4 (8) In May 2020, the Hungarian Parliament 5 voted to eliminate the ability for transgender and 6 intersex Hungarians to legally change their gender 7 on official documents. In June 2020, Poland’s presi- 8 dent pledged to ban the ‘‘propagation of LGBT ide- 9 ology,’’ and nearly a third of Polish towns and mu- 10 nicipalities have now declared themselves to be 11 ‘‘LGBT-free zones’’. 12 (9) In December 2013, under the guise of pro- 13 hibiting marriage equality through the Same Sex 14 Marriage (Prohibition) Act, the Government of Nige- 15 ria adopted a law that further criminalized same-sex 16 relations and support for LGBTQI people, endan- 17 gering neighbors, friends, doctors, and landlords of 18 LGBTQI people. In August 2018, 57 men at a party 19 in Lagos were arrested under this law and 47 were 20 later charged in December 2019 for ‘‘public show of 21 same sex amorous relationship’’. While the case was 22 thrown out in October 2020 due to deficiencies in 23 the prosecution, the men suffered significant harm 24 over the course of the two-year trial. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1201 IH (10) Several countries in South Asia continue 1 to have draconian laws that criminalize homosexual 2 acts, which place LGBTQI people in danger and un- 3 dermine their ability to live free from persecution. 4 (11) In February 2014, the Government of 5 Uganda adopted a law making ‘‘aggravated homo- 6 sexuality’’ a crime punishable with life imprisonment 7 and concurrently, the Government of Uganda also 8 passed laws severely limiting the basic freedoms of 9 speech and assembly for LGBTQI citizens. Although 10 the Constitutional Court overturned the Anti-Homo- 11 sexuality Act on a technicality in August 2014, 12 LGBTQI Ugandans continue to be subjected to dis- 13 crimination and violence, and their government has 14 in recent years forcibly shut down even private Pride 15 celebrations in Kampala. 16 (12) In November 2016, the Government of 17 Tanzania banned all HIV and AIDS outreach 18 projects aimed at gay men, including those funded 19 by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 20 (PEPFAR), forcing the closure of United States- 21 funded programs providing testing, condoms, and 22 care to gay men, exacerbating the health needs of 23 gay men in Tanzania, about 30 percent of whom are 24 HIV positive. In 2018, various government officials 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1201 IH announced crackdowns on the LGBTQI community, 1 including a threat by the governor of the largest 2 city, who announced a purge on LGBTQI individ- 3 uals and asked the public to report them. 4 (13) A 2020 report by Human Rights Watch 5 found that in the Northern Triangle countries of El 6 Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, ‘‘gangs specifi- 7 cally target LGBT people, killing, assaulting, threat- 8 ening or extorting them’’. A 2016 report noted that 9 transgender women in El Salvador have an average 10 life expectancy of less than 35 years due to violence, 11 discrimination, and femicide. 12 (14) Extreme violence in El Salvador, Nica- 13 ragua, Guatemala, and Honduras has driven 14 LGBTQI people to flee their countries or origin to 15 the United States for protection. At the United 16 States border with Mexico, LGBTQI asylum seekers 17 face additional violence and many have been re- 18 turned to face persecution in their home countries or 19 in third countries that are not safe. 20 (15) On May 23, 2017, and again on July 13, 21 2018, gay men were publicly caned in the Indo- 22 nesian province of Aceh, while thousands of spec- 23 tators snapped pictures outside a mosque. More re- 24 cently, including in August 2020, police in Indonesia 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1201 IH have arrested men at private parties, sometimes re- 1 leasing their photographs to the news media, endan- 2 gering their lives. The August 2020 raid fits a dis- 3 turbing pattern of Indonesian authorities using the 4 pornography law as a weapon to target LGBTQI 5 people. 6 (16) The Department of State Human Rights 7 Report for 2019 notes that Egyptian police arrest 8 LGBTQI persons on charges such as ‘‘debauchery’’, 9 ‘‘prostitution’’, and ‘‘violating the teachings of reli- 10 gion’’, leading to prison sentences of up to 10 years. 11 According to a local group, there have been more 12 than 250 arrests since 2013. Arrests have continued 13 apace in 2020. Rights groups also have reported on 14 the discredited use of ‘‘virginity’’ and ‘‘anal tests’’ 15 by Egyptian authorities to attempt to prove sexual 16 activity, assaults that may constitute cruel, degrad- 17 ing, and inhuman treatment that can rise to the 18 level of torture under international human rights 19 law. 20 (17) Anti-LGBTQI laws not only endanger all 21 LGBTQI individuals, but also pose serious risks for 22 those associated with or caring for LGBTQI people. 23 Studies have shown that when LGBTQI people, es- 24 pecially LGBTQI youth, face discrimination, they 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1201 IH are less likely to seek HIV testing, prevention, and 1 treatment services. 2 (18) According to the Trans Murder Monitoring 3 Project, which monitors homicides of transgender in- 4 dividuals, 350 trans and gender-diverse were killed 5 between October 1, 2019, and September 30, 2020, 6 representing a 6 percent increase in reported mur- 7 ders from the 2019 update. 8 (19) According to the International Guidelines 9 on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, as published by 10 the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 11 Rights, and according to the reports of the United 12 Nations Independent Expert on protection against 13 violence and discrimination based on sexual orienta- 14 tion and gender identity, countries should review 15 and reform criminal laws and correctional systems to 16 ensure that they are consistent with international 17 human rights obligations and are not misused or 18 targeted against vulnerable groups. 19 (20) Removing institutionalized discrimination 20 and targeted persecution against LGBTQI people 21 around the world is a critical step in the promotion 22 of human rights and global health internationally. 23 (21) Anti-LGBTQI laws and discrimination 24 pose significant risks for LGBTQI youth who come 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1201 IH out to their family or community and often face re- 1 jection, homelessness, and limited educational and 2 economic opportunities. These factors contribute to 3 increased risks of substance abuse, suicide, and HIV 4 infection among LGBTQI youth. 5 (22) On December 6, 2011, President Barack 6 Obama released the ‘‘Presidential Memorandum— 7 International Initiatives to Advance the Human 8 Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender 9 Persons’’. The memorandum directed all Federal 10 agencies engaged abroad to ensure that United 11 States diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and 12 protect the human rights of LGBTQI persons. 13 (23) On February 23, 2015, Secretary of State 14 John Kerry appointed senior diplomat Randy Berry 15 as the Department of State’s first-ever Special 16 Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons. 17 No person was named to that position during the 18 Trump Administration. 19 (24) On June 30, 2016, the United Nations 20 Human Rights Council passed a resolution cospon- 21 sored by the United States that established an Inde- 22 pendent Expert on violence and discrimination based 23 on sexual orientation and gender identity to help 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1201 IH monitor and track discrimination and violence expe- 1 rienced by LGBTQI persons around the world. 2 (25) At the annual Summit of Commonwealth 3 Nations in April 2018, United Kingdom Prime Min- 4 ister Theresa May issued an apology for discrimina- 5 tory laws criminalizing same-sex relationships that 6 were imposed on British colonies around the world. 7 She also announced the creation of a fund to sup- 8 port legal reform efforts. 9 (26) In April 2018, Trinidad and Tobago’s 10 High Court of Justice issued a landmark ruling de- 11 claring that laws which criminalize same-sex rela- 12 tionships between consenting adults are unconstitu- 13 tional. 14 (27) In September 2018, the Supreme Court of 15 India decriminalized same-sex relationships. The 16 same court also has affirmed the rights of 17 transgender people as a protected ‘‘third gender’’ 18 under the Constitution of India. 19 (28) Angola decriminalized same-sex relation- 20 ships in January 2019, and prohibited discrimina- 21 tion against people on the basis of sexual orienta- 22 tion. In December 2020, the parliament of Bhutan 23 voted to decriminalize same-sex relationships. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1201 IH (29) In January 2018, the Inter-American 1 Court of Human Rights issued an advisory opinion 2 declaring that the American Convention on Human 3 Rights, adopted at San Jose November 22, 1969, 4 grants the right of transgender people to change 5 their name and gender on public documents, and 6 that same-sex couples must be granted full legal 7 rights, including the right to marriage. This ruling 8 is animating legal reforms and human rights cases 9 across the Americas. 10 (30) In September 2018, the legislature in 11 Chile passed a groundbreaking legal gender recogni- 12 tion law, which allows transgender individuals to 13 self-determine their legal gender in official docu- 14 ments without a judicial determination or medical 15 interventions. The Government of Uruguay passed a 16 similarly expansive gender recognition law in 2018. 17 (31) In May 2020, the United Nations Inde- 18 pendent Expert on protection against violence and 19 discrimination based on sexual orientation and gen- 20 der identity released a report on so-called ‘‘conver- 21 sion therapy,’’ which is an umbrella term used to de- 22 scribe interventions based on a belief that a person’s 23 sexual orientation or gender identity can and should 24 be changed. The report concludes that such practices 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 1201 IH represent significant violations of rights to bodily au- 1 tonomy, health, and free expression, and can breach 2 the prohibition against torture and ill-treatment. 3 The Independent Expert concludes by calling for a 4 global ban on conversion therapy, noting that ‘‘the 5 psychological pain and suffering inflicted by prac- 6 tices of ‘conversion therapy’ are deep and long-last- 7 ing and often exacerbate the risk of suicide’’. 8 (32) The global COVID–19 pandemic has exac- 9 erbated inequalities that LGBTQI individuals face, 10 including access to healthcare, stigma, and discrimi- 11 nation. 12 (33) Some governments have enacted measures 13 that target or discriminate against LGBTQI individ- 14 uals and communities under the guise of COVID–19 15 public health precautions. 16 (34) In March 2020, Ugandan police arbitrarily 17 arrested 20 LGBTQI people living in a homeless 18 shelter, charging them with ‘‘a negligent act likely to 19 spread infection of disease’’. They were released and 20 all charges were dropped after nearly two months in 21 prison. 22 (35) Gender-based quarantine rules have re- 23 sulted in increased violence against transgender indi- 24 viduals and reports indicate an increase in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 14 •HR 1201 IH transphobic and homophobic rhetoric, as religious 1 leaders and others scapegoat LGBTQI people for 2 the spread of the disease. 3 (36) COVID–19 has also increased barriers to 4 access health care for LGBTQI individuals. In addi- 5 tion to discrimination in care, the health needs of 6 LGBTQI people may be deprioritized. For example, 7 HIV prevention activities have largely ceased due to 8 the pandemic, elevating risks for transmission 9 among key population groups. 10 (37) Due to stay-at-home restrictions, LGBTQI 11 people may be confined to hostile households, put- 12 ting them at increased risk for gender-based violence 13 and compounding mental health challenges. 14 (38) LGBTQI individuals may be unable to ac- 15 cess a government’s COVID support services due to 16 discrimination. In response, LGBTQI-led civil soci- 17 ety organizations have been forced to shift their pro- 18 grams to provide humanitarian support to their com- 19 munities, sidelining other programs previously per- 20 formed in their communities. 21 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 22 It is the policy of the United States— 23 (1) to take effective action to prevent and re- 24 spond to discrimination and violence against all peo- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 15 •HR 1201 IH ple on any basis internationally, including sexual ori- 1 entation, gender identity, and sex characteristics, 2 and that human rights policy includes attention to 3 criminalization, hate crimes, and other discrimina- 4 tion against LGBTQI people; 5 (2) to systematically integrate and coordinate 6 into United States foreign policy efforts to prevent 7 and respond to criminalization, discrimination, and 8 violence against LGBTQI people internationally; 9 (3) to support and build local capacity in coun- 10 tries around the world, including of governments at 11 all levels and nongovernmental organizations, to pre- 12 vent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, 13 and violence against LGBTQI people internationally; 14 (4) to consult, cooperate, coordinate, and col- 15 laborate with a wide variety of nongovernmental 16 partners, including faith-based organizations and 17 LGBTQI-led organizations, with demonstrated expe- 18 rience in preventing and responding to criminaliza- 19 tion, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI 20 people internationally; 21 (5) to employ a multisectoral approach to pre- 22 venting and responding to criminalization, discrimi- 23 nation, and violence against LGBTQI people inter- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 16 •HR 1201 IH nationally, including activities in the economic, edu- 1 cation, health, nutrition, legal, and judicial sectors; 2 (6) to work at all levels, from the individual to 3 the family, community, local, national, and inter- 4 national levels, to prevent and respond to criminal- 5 ization, discrimination, and violence against 6 LGBTQI people internationally; 7 (7) to enhance training by United States per- 8 sonnel of professional foreign military and police 9 forces and judicial officials to include appropriate 10 and thorough LGBTQI-specific instruction on pre- 11 venting and responding to criminalization, discrimi- 12 nation, and violence based on sexual orientation and 13 gender identity; 14 (8) to engage non-LGBTQI people as allies and 15 partners, as an essential element of making sus- 16 tained reductions in criminalization, discrimination, 17 and violence against LGBTQI people internationally; 18 (9) to require that all Federal contractors and 19 grant recipients in the United States Government’s 20 international programs establish appropriate policies 21 and take effective measures to ensure the protection 22 and safety of their staff and workplace, including 23 from discrimination and violence directed against 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 17 •HR 1201 IH LGBTQI people and those who provide services to 1 them; 2 (10) to exert sustained international leadership, 3 including in bilateral and multilateral fora, to pre- 4 vent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, 5 and violence against LGBTQI people internationally; 6 (11) to fully implement and expand upon the 7 policies outlined in the ‘‘Presidential Memo- 8 randum—International Initiatives to Advance the 9 Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and 10 Transgender Persons’’; 11 (12) to ensure that international efforts to com- 12 bat HIV/AIDS take all appropriate measures to sup- 13 port at-risk communities, including LGBTQI people, 14 and to create enabling legal environments for these 15 communities; 16 (13) to work with governments and nongovern- 17 mental partners around the world to develop and im- 18 plement regional strategies to decriminalize homo- 19 sexuality and to counteract the prohibition of public 20 support of LGBTQI people; and 21 (14) to ensure that those who have a well- 22 founded fear of persecution on account of being 23 LGBTQI or supporting LGBTQI rights have the op- 24 portunity to seek protection in the United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 18 •HR 1201 IH SEC. 5. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF 1 LGBTQI PEOPLE. 2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 4 establish in the Bureau of Democracy, Human 5 Rights, and Labor (DRL) of the Department of 6 State a permanent Special Envoy for the Human 7 Rights of LGBTQI Peoples (in this section referred 8 to as the ‘‘Special Envoy’’), who shall be appointed 9 by the President. The Special Envoy shall report di- 10 rectly to the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, 11 Human Rights, and Labor. 12 (2) RANK.—The Special Envoy may be ap- 13 pointed at the rank of Ambassador. 14 (b) PURPOSE.—In addition to the duties described in 15 subsection (c) and those duties determined by the Sec- 16 retary of State, the Special Envoy shall direct efforts of 17 the United States Government relating to United States 18 foreign policy, as directed by the Secretary, regarding 19 human rights abuses against LGBTQI people and commu- 20 nities internationally and the advancement of human 21 rights for LGBTQI people, and shall represent the United 22 States internationally in bilateral and multilateral engage- 23 ment on such matters. 24 (c) DUTIES.— 25 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Special Envoy— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 19 •HR 1201 IH (A) shall serve as the principal advisor to 1 the Secretary of State regarding human rights 2 for LGBTQI people internationally; 3 (B) shall, notwithstanding any other provi- 4 sion of law, direct activities, policies, programs, 5 and funding relating to the human rights of 6 LGBTQI people and the advancement of 7 LGBTQI equality initiatives internationally, for 8 all bureaus and offices of the Department of 9 State, and shall lead the coordination of rel- 10 evant international programs for all other Fed- 11 eral agencies relating to such matters; 12 (C) shall represent the United States in 13 diplomatic matters relevant to the human rights 14 of LGBTQI people, including criminalization, 15 discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI 16 people internationally; 17 (D) shall direct, as appropriate, United 18 States Government resources to respond to 19 needs for protection, integration, resettlement, 20 and empowerment of LGBTQI people in United 21 States Government policies and international 22 programs, including to prevent and respond to 23 criminalization, discrimination, and violence 24 against LGBTQI people internationally; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 20 •HR 1201 IH (E) shall design, support, and implement 1 activities regarding support, education, resettle- 2 ment, and empowerment of LGBTQI people 3 internationally, including for the prevention and 4 response to criminalization, discrimination, and 5 violence against LGBTQI people internation- 6 ally; 7 (F) shall lead interagency coordination be- 8 tween the foreign policy priorities related to the 9 human rights of LGBTQI people and the devel- 10 opment assistance priorities of the LGBTQI 11 Coordinator of the United States Agency for 12 International Development; 13 (G) shall conduct regular consultation with 14 nongovernmental organizations working to pre- 15 vent and respond to criminalization, discrimina- 16 tion, and violence against LGBTQI people 17 internationally; 18 (H) shall ensure that programs, projects, 19 and activities of the Department of State and 20 the United States Agency for International De- 21 velopment designed to prevent and respond to 22 criminalization, discrimination, and violence 23 against LGBTQI people internationally are sub- 24 ject to rigorous monitoring and evaluation, and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 21 •HR 1201 IH that there is a uniform set of indicators and 1 standards for such monitoring and evaluation 2 that is used across international programs in 3 Federal agencies; and 4 (I) is authorized to represent the United 5 States in bilateral and multilateral fora on mat- 6 ters relevant to the human rights of LGBTQI 7 people internationally, including criminalization, 8 discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI 9 people internationally. 10 (2) DATA REPOSITORY.—The Bureau of De- 11 mocracy, Human Rights, and Labor shall— 12 (A) be the central repository of data on all 13 United States programs, projects, and activities 14 that relate to prevention and response to crim- 15 inalization, discrimination, and violence against 16 LGBTQI people internationally; and 17 (B) produce— 18 (i) a full accounting of United States 19 Government spending on such programs, 20 projects, and activities; and 21 (ii) evaluations of the effectiveness of 22 such programs, projects, and activities. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 22 •HR 1201 IH (d) BRIEFINGS AND ASSESSMENTS.—Not later than 1 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 2 annually thereafter, the Special Envoy shall— 3 (1) brief the appropriate congressional commit- 4 tees on the status of the human rights of LGBTQI 5 people internationally, as well as on the status of 6 programs and response strategies to address crim- 7 inalization, discrimination, and violence against 8 LGBTQI people internationally; and 9 (2) submit to the appropriate congressional 10 committees an assessment of human and financial 11 resources necessary to fulfill the purposes and duties 12 of this Act. 13 (e) UNITED STATES POLICY TO PREVENT AND RE- 14 SPOND TO CRIMINALIZATION, DISCRIMINATION, AND VIO- 15 LENCE AGAINST LGBTQI PEOPLE GLOBALLY.— 16 (1) GLOBAL STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.—Not 17 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 18 of this Act, and annually thereafter for each of the 19 following five years, the Special Envoy shall develop 20 or update, as the case may be, a United States glob- 21 al strategy to prevent and respond to criminaliza- 22 tion, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI 23 people internationally. The Special Envoy shall sub- 24 mit the global strategy to the appropriate congres- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 23 •HR 1201 IH sional committees and, if practicable, make the glob- 1 al strategy available to the public. 2 (2) COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION.—In 3 developing the global strategy required under para- 4 graph (1), the Special Envoy shall consult with— 5 (A) mid- and high-level officials of relevant 6 Federal agencies; and 7 (B) representatives of nongovernmental or- 8 ganizations with demonstrated experience in ad- 9 dressing criminalization, discrimination, and vi- 10 olence against LGBTQI people internationally 11 or promoting equal rights for LGBTQI people 12 internationally. 13 (f) MONITORING THE UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO 14 PREVENT AND RESPOND TO CRIMINALIZATION, DISCRIMI- 15 NATION, AND VIOLENCE AGAINST LGBTQI PEOPLE AND 16 COMMUNITIES INTERNATIONALLY.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—In each global strategy sub- 18 mitted under subsection (e), the Special Envoy shall 19 include an analysis of best practices for preventing 20 and addressing criminalization, discrimination, and 21 violence against LGBTQI people and communities 22 internationally, including— 23 (A) a description of successful efforts by 24 foreign governments and nongovernmental or- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 24 •HR 1201 IH ganizations to prevent and respond to criminal- 1 ization, discrimination, and violence against 2 LGBTQI people and communities internation- 3 ally; 4 (B) recommendations related to best prac- 5 tices, effective strategies, and improvements to 6 enhance the impact of such prevention and re- 7 sponse efforts; and 8 (C) the impact of activities funded by the 9 global strategy in preventing and reducing 10 criminalization, discrimination, and violence 11 against LGBTQI people and communities inter- 12 nationally. 13 (2) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE INCLUDED 14 IN ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS 15 PRACTICES.— 16 (A) SECTION 116.—Section 116(d) of the 17 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 18 2151n(d)) is amended— 19 (i) in paragraph (11)(C), by striking 20 ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 21 (ii) in paragraph (12)(C)(ii), by strik- 22 ing the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 23 and’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 25 •HR 1201 IH (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 1 lowing new paragraph: 2 ‘‘(13) wherever applicable, the nature and ex- 3 tent of criminalization, discrimination, and violence 4 based on sexual orientation and gender identity, in- 5 cluding an identification of those countries that have 6 adopted laws or constitutional provisions that crim- 7 inalize or discriminate based on sexual orientation or 8 gender identity (as those terms are defined in sec- 9 tion 2 of the International Human Rights Defense 10 Act of 2018), including detailed descriptions of such 11 laws and provisions.’’. 12 (B) SECTION 502B.—Section 502B of the 13 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 14 2304) is amended— 15 (i) by redesignating the second sub- 16 section (i) (relating to child marriage sta- 17 tus) as subsection (j); and 18 (ii) by adding at the end the following 19 new subsection: 20 ‘‘(k) SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDEN- 21 TITY.—The report required under subsection (b) shall in- 22 clude, wherever applicable, the nature and extent of crim- 23 inalization, discrimination, and violence based on sexual 24 orientation and gender identity, including an identification 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 26 •HR 1201 IH of those countries that have adopted laws or constitutional 1 provisions that criminalize or discriminate based on sexual 2 orientation or gender identity (as those terms are defined 3 in section 2 of the International Human Rights Defense 4 Act of 2021), including detailed descriptions of such laws 5 and provisions.’’. 6 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNITED STATES STRAT- 7 EGY TO PREVENT AND RESPOND TO CRIM- 8 INALIZATION, DISCRIMINATION, AND VIO- 9 LENCE AGAINST LGBTQI PEOPLE AND COM- 10 MUNITIES INTERNATIONALLY. 11 The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the 12 United States Agency for International Development are 13 authorized to provide assistance to prevent and respond 14 to criminalization, discrimination, and violence against 15 LGBTQI people internationally. Such assistance may in- 16 clude the following activities: 17 (1) Development and implementation of pro- 18 grams, such as the Global Equality Fund of the De- 19 partment of State, that respond to human rights 20 abuses and economic exclusion of LGBTQI people in 21 the workplace and in public. 22 (2) Development and enforcement of civil and 23 criminal legal and judicial sanctions, protection, 24 training, and capacity. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS 27 •HR 1201 IH (3) Enhancement of health sector capacity to 1 detect, prevent, and respond to violence against 2 LGBTQI people and communities internationally, 3 and to combat HIV/AIDS in the LGBTQI commu- 4 nity internationally, in close coordination with the 5 Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator and Health 6 Diplomacy of the Department of State. 7 (4) Development of a leadership program for 8 international LGBTQI activists that will foster col- 9 laboration and knowledge sharing across the world. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:19 Mar 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1201.IH H1201 khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with BILLS