II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 861 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 25, 2019 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Ms. WARREN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mrs. SHAHEEN, 

Mr. DURBIN, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CASEY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Ms. SMITH, Ms. 

BALDWIN, Mr. MERKLEY, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. WYDEN, Ms. HIRONO, 

Mr. REED, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. HARRIS, and Mr. MURPHY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Relations 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Human 

5 Rights Defense Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT4 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com5 mittees’’ means— 

6 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

7 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

8 Senate; and 

9 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

10 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

11 of Representatives. 

12 (2) GENDER IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 

13 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear14 ance, or mannerisms or other gender-related charac15 teristics of an individual, regardless of the individ16 ual’s designated sex at birth. 

17 (3) LGBTI.—The term ‘‘LGBTI’’ means les18 bian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex. 

19 (4) INTERSEX.—The term ‘‘intersex’’ means in20 dividuals born with sex characteristics (including 

21 genitals, gonads, or chromosome patterns) that vary 

22 from typical binary notions of male or female bodies 

23 and is an umbrella term used to describe a wide 

24 range of natural bodily variations. 


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1 (5) SEXUAL ORIENTATION.—The term ‘‘sexual 

2 orientation’’ means actual or perceived homosex3 uality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. 

4 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) Around the world, LGBTI people face vio7 lence, discrimination, hatred, and bigotry. 

8 (2) Sixty-nine countries criminalize same-sex re9 lations and at least three countries prohibit the pub10 lic support of the LGBTI community. That is equal 

11 to 35 percent of United Nations member 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 because their bodies do not conform 

16 to other people’s expectations about sex and gender, 

17 including the common performance of medically un18 necessary surgeries without the consent or approval 

19 of intersex individuals. 

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 2017 report continues to 

24 show a clear pattern of human rights violations in 

25 every region of the world based on sexual orientation 


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1 and gender identity. These violations include mur2 der, rape, torture, death threats, extortion, and im3 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 docu6 ments LGBTI-specific restrictions on basic freedoms 

7 of assembly, press, and speech in every region of the 

8 world. 

9 (6) In Jamaica and other countries, discrimina10 tion against LGBTI people, including ‘‘corrective 

11 rape’’ of lesbian women, occurs all too frequently 

12 and with relative impunity. 

13 (7) In 2013, the Russian Duma passed a law 

14 banning so-called ‘‘homosexual propaganda’’, which 

15 effectively makes it a crime to publicly support 

16 LGBTI equality or even discuss homosexuality. This 

17 pernicious law is the basis for similar so-called 

18 ‘‘antipropaganda’’ legislation in countries across 

19 Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including in 

20 Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus. 

21 (8) In December 2013, the Government of Ni22 geria adopted a law that further criminalized same23 sex relations and support for LGBTI people, endan24 gering neighbors, friends, doctors, and landlords of 

25 LGBTI people. 


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1 (9) Several countries in South Asia continue to 

2 have draconian laws that criminalize homosexual 

3 acts, which place LGBTI people in danger and un4 dermine their ability to live free from persecution. 

5 (10) In February 2014, the Government of 

6 Uganda adopted a law making ‘‘aggravated homo7 sexuality’’ a crime punishable with life imprisonment 

8 and concurrently, the Government of Uganda also 

9 passed laws severely limiting the basic freedoms of 

10 speech and assembly for LGBTI citizens. While the 

11 Constitutional Court overturned the Anti-Homosex12 uality Act on a technicality in August 2014, LGBTI 

13 Ugandans continue to be subjected to discrimination 

14 and violence, and their government has in recent 

15 years forcibly shut down even private Pride celebra16 tions in Kampala. 

17 (11) On April 1, 2017, the Russian newspaper 

18 Novaya Gazeta reported that the government of the 

19 autonomous republic of Chechnya had been arrest20 ing, detaining, and torturing gay and bisexual men 

21 in secret prisons since early 2017. International 

22 human rights groups and Russian LGBTI rights ac23 tivists estimate that as many as 20 people may have 

24 been murdered thus far and potentially over 200 

25 people were detained during the purge. An OSCE 


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1 factfinding report released in December 2018 con2 firmed the atrocities, documenting ‘‘several waves of 

3 violations of human rights abuses of persons based 

4 on their sexual orientation and gender identity’’. Re5 ports from early 2019 suggest the purge has contin6 ued. 

7 (12) On May 23, 2017, and again on July 13, 

8 2018, gay men were publicly caned in the Indo9 nesian province of Aceh, while thousands of spec10 tators snapped pictures outside a mosque as the bru11 tal punishment was meted out. Several times in 

12 2017, police in Indonesia have arrested men at pri13 vate parties, sometimes releasing their photographs 

14 to the news media, endangering their lives. 

15 (13) In September 2017, reports emerged from 

16 Azerbaijan that authorities had begun a crackdown 

17 on gay men and transgender women, arresting more 

18 than 60 and subjecting them to beatings, harass19 ment, torture, and blackmail. 

20 (14) From September through December 2017, 

21 over 70 LGBTI individuals were arrested in Egypt, 

22 with dozens receiving prison sentences of up to six 

23 years. In late 2017, authorities in Egypt instructed 

24 local media to delete any positive references to 

25 LGBTI people, and lawmakers proposed a bill that 


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1 would criminalize LGBTI people and their allies. 

2 The arrests continued in 2018, with a Cairo-based 

3 LGBTI rights organization documenting 76 arrests 

4 for alleged same-sex conduct in 2018. 

5 (15) Anti-LGBTI laws not only endanger all 

6 LGBTI individuals, but also pose serious risks for 

7 those associated with or caring for LGBTI people. 

8 Studies have shown that when LGBTI people, espe9 cially LGBTI youth, face discrimination, they are 

10 less likely to seek HIV testing, prevention, and 

11 treatment services. 

12 (16) According to the Trans Murder Monitoring 

13 Project, which monitors homicides of transgender in14 dividuals, there were at least 369 cases of reported 

15 killings of trans and gender-diverse people between 

16 October 2017 and September 2018, an increase over 

17 previous years. The organization reports that a ‘‘ma18 jority of the murders occurred in Brazil (167), Mex19 ico (71), the United States (28), and Colombia (21), 

20 adding up to a total of 2982 reported cases in 72 

21 countries worldwide between 1st of January 2008 

22 and 30th of September 2018’’. 

23 (17) According to the International Guidelines 

24 on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, as published by 

25 the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 


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1 Rights, and according to the July 2017 report of the 

2 Independent Expert on protection against violence 

3 and discrimination based on sexual orientation and 

4 gender identity, countries should review and reform 

5 criminal laws and correctional systems to ensure 

6 that they are consistent with international human 

7 rights obligations and are not misused or targeted 

8 against vulnerable groups. 

9 (18) Removing institutionalized discrimination 

10 and targeted persecution against LGBTI people 

11 around the world is a critical step in the promotion 

12 of human rights and global health internationally. 

13 (19) Anti-LGBTI laws and discrimination pose 

14 significant risks for LGBTI youth who come out to 

15 their family or community and often face rejection, 

16 homelessness, and limited educational and economic 

17 opportunities. These factors contribute to increased 

18 risks of substance abuse, suicide, and HIV infection 

19 among LGBTI youth. 

20 (20) On December 6, 2011, President Barack 

21 Obama released the ‘‘Presidential Memorandum— 

22 International Initiatives to Advance the Human 

23 Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender 

24 Persons’’. The memorandum directed all Federal 

25 agencies engaged abroad to ensure that United 


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1 States diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and 

2 protect the human rights of LGBTI persons. 

3 (21) On February 23, 2015, Secretary of State 

4 John Kerry appointed senior diplomat Randy Berry 

5 as the Department of State’s first-ever Special 

6 Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons. 

7 Secretary Pompeo pledged to re-fill that position 

8 during his April 2018 confirmation hearing, but has 

9 yet to do so. 

10 (22) On June 30, 2016, the United Nations 

11 Human Rights Council passed a resolution cospon12 sored by the United States that established an inde13 pendent expert on violence and discrimination based 

14 on sexual orientation and gender identity to help 

15 monitor and track discrimination and violence expe16 rienced by LGBTI persons around the world. 

17 (23) In November 2016, the Government of 

18 Tanzania placed a ban on all HIV and AIDS out19 reach projects aimed at gay men, including those 

20 funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS 

21 Relief. This forced the closure of United States22 funded programs providing testing, condoms, and 

23 care to gay men, exacerbating the health needs of 

24 gay men in Tanzania, about 30 percent of whom are 

25 HIV positive. In 2018, various government officials 


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1 have announced crackdowns on the LGBTI commu2 nity, including a threat by the governor of the larg3 est city, who announced a purge on LGBTI individ4 uals and asked the public to report them. Reports 

5 suggest that many people have been arrested and 

6 more are in hiding. 

7 (24) In February 2017, three transgender 

8 women were murdered in El Salvador with impunity, 

9 leading the United Nations to call for an investiga10 tion into crimes against sexual and gender minorities 

11 in that country. A 2016 report noted that 

12 transgender women in El Salvador have an average 

13 life expectancy of less than 35 years due to violence, 

14 discrimination, and femicide. 

15 (25) Extreme violence in El Salvador, Nica16 ragua, Guatemala, and Honduras has driven LGBTI 

17 people to flee their countries or origin to the United 

18 States for protection. LGBTI people were among the 

19 first asylum seekers in the migrant ‘‘caravans’’ ar20 riving at the United States-Mexico border. 

21 (26) At the annual Summit of Commonwealth 

22 Nations in April 2018, United Kingdom Prime Min23 ister Theresa May issued an apology for discrimina24 tory laws criminalizing same-sex relationships that 

25 were imposed on British colonies around the world. 


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1 She also announced the creation of a fund to sup2 port legal reform efforts. 

3 (27) In April 2018, Trinidad and Tobago’s 

4 High Court of Justice issued a landmark ruling de5 claring that laws which criminalize same-sex rela6 tionships between consenting adults are unconstitu7 tional. 

8 (28) In April 2014, the Supreme Court of India 

9 recognized transgender people as a third gender, im10 proving the legal rights of transgender people in that 

11 country. Though an important step, the decision 

12 does not grant full legal rights to transgender peo13 ple. 

14 (29) In September 2018, the Supreme Court of 

15 India issued a unanimous decision decriminalizing 

16 same-sex relationships across the country. The land17 mark case is likely to support similar legal chal18 lenges to colonial-era sodomy laws in other former 

19 British colonies, since the Indian sodomy law was 

20 the model used for other British colonies. 

21 (30) Angola decriminalized same-sex relation22 ships in January 2019, and prohibited discrimina23 tion against people on the basis of sexual orienta24 tion. 


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1 (31) In January 2018, the Inter-American 

2 Court of Human Rights issued an advisory opinion 

3 declaring that the American Convention on Human 

4 Rights, adopted at San Jose November 22, 1969, 

5 grants the right of transgender people to change 

6 their name and gender on public documents, and 

7 that same-sex couples must be granted full legal 

8 rights, including the right to marriage. This ruling 

9 is animating legal reforms and human rights cases 

10 across the Americas. 

11 (32) In September 2018, the legislature in 

12 Chile passed a groundbreaking legal gender recogni13 tion law, which allows transgender individuals to 

14 self-determine their legal gender in official docu15 ments without a judicial determination or medical 

16 interventions. The Government of Uruguay passed a 

17 similarly expansive gender recognition law in 2018. 

18 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

19 It is the policy of the United States— 

20 (1) to take effective action to prevent and re21 spond to discrimination and violence against all peo22 ple on any basis internationally, including sexual ori23 entation, gender identity, and sex characteristics, 

24 and that human rights policy includes attention to 


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1 criminalization, hate crimes, and other discrimina2 tion against LGBTI people; 

3 (2) to systematically integrate and coordinate 

4 into United States foreign policy efforts to prevent 

5 and respond to criminalization, discrimination, and 

6 violence against LGBTI people internationally; 

7 (3) to support and build local capacity in coun8 tries around the world, including of governments at 

9 all levels and nongovernmental organizations, to pre10 vent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, 

11 and violence against LGBTI people internationally; 

12 (4) to consult, cooperate, coordinate, and col13 laborate with a wide variety of nongovernmental 

14 partners, including faith-based organizations and 

15 LGBTI-led organizations, with demonstrated experi16 ence in preventing and responding to criminalization, 

17 discrimination, and violence against LGBTI people 

18 internationally; 

19 (5) to employ a multisectoral approach to pre20 venting and responding to criminalization, discrimi21 nation, and violence against LGBTI people inter22 nationally, including activities in the economic, edu23 cation, health, nutrition, legal, and judicial sectors; 

24 (6) to work at all levels, from the individual to 

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1 national levels, to prevent and respond to criminal2 ization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTI 

3 people internationally; 

4 (7) to enhance training by United States per5 sonnel of professional foreign military and police 

6 forces and judicial officials to include appropriate 

7 and thorough LGBTI-specific instruction on pre8 venting and responding to criminalization, discrimi9 nation, and violence based on sexual orientation and 

10 gender identity; 

11 (8) to engage non-LGBTI people as allies and 

12 partners, as an essential element of making sus13 tained reductions in criminalization, discrimination, 

14 and violence against LGBTI people internationally; 

15 (9) to require that all Federal contractors and 

16 grant recipients in the United States Government’s 

17 international programs establish appropriate policies 

18 and take effective measures to ensure the protection 

19 and safety of their staff and workplace, including 

20 from discrimination and violence directed against 

21 LGBTI people and those who provide services to 

22 them; 

23 (10) to exert sustained international leadership, 

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1 vent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, 

2 and violence against LGBTI people internationally; 

3 (11) to fully implement and expand upon the 

4 policies outlined in the ‘‘Presidential Memo5 randum—International Initiatives to Advance the 

6 Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and 

7 Transgender Persons’’; 

8 (12) to ensure that international efforts to com9 bat HIV/AIDS take all appropriate measures to sup10 port at-risk communities, including LGBTI people, 

11 and to create enabling legal environments for these 

12 communities; 

13 (13) to work with governments and nongovern14 mental partners around the world to develop and im15 plement regional strategies to decriminalize homo16 sexuality and to counteract the prohibition of public 

17 support of LGBTI people; and 

18 (14) to ensure that those who have a well19 founded fear of persecution on account of being 

20 LGBTI or supporting LGBTI rights have the oppor21 tunity to seek protection in the United States. 

22 SEC. 5. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF LGBTI 

23 PEOPLE. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State shall 

25 establish in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, 


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1 and Labor (DRL) of the Department of State a perma2 nent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Peo3 ples (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Special Envoy’’), 

4 who shall be appointed by the President. The Special 

5 Envoy shall report directly to the Assistant Secretary for 

6 Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. 

7 (b) PURPOSE.—In addition to the duties described in 

8 subsection (c) and those duties determined by the Sec9 retary of State, the Special Envoy shall direct efforts of 

10 the United States Government relating to United States 

11 foreign policy, as directed by the Secretary, regarding 

12 human rights abuses against LGBTI people and commu13 nities internationally and the advancement of human 

14 rights for LGBTI people, and shall represent the United 

15 States internationally in bilateral and multilateral engage16 ment on such matters. 

17 (c) DUTIES.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Special Envoy— 

19 (A) shall serve as the principal advisor to 

20 the Secretary of State regarding human rights 

21 for LGBTI people internationally; 

22 (B) shall, notwithstanding any other provi23 sion of law, direct activities, policies, programs, 

24 and funding relating to the human rights of 

25 LGBTI people and the advancement of LGBTI 


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1 equality initiatives internationally, for all bu2 reaus and offices of the Department of State, 

3 and shall lead the coordination of relevant 

4 international programs for all other Federal 

5 agencies relating to such matters; 

6 (C) shall represent the United States in 

7 diplomatic matters relevant to the human rights 

8 of LGBTI people, including criminalization, dis9 crimination, and violence against LGBTI people 

10 internationally; 

11 (D) shall direct, as appropriate, United 

12 States Government resources to respond to 

13 needs for protection, integration, resettlement, 

14 and empowerment of LGBTI people in United 

15 States Government policies and international 

16 programs, including to prevent and respond to 

17 criminalization, discrimination, and violence 

18 against LGBTI people internationally; 

19 (E) shall design, support, and implement 

20 activities regarding support, education, resettle21 ment, and empowerment of LGBTI people 

22 internationally, including for the prevention and 

23 response to criminalization, discrimination, and 

24 violence against LGBTI people internationally; 


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1 (F) shall lead interagency coordination be2 tween the foreign policy priorities related to the 

3 human rights of LGBTI people and the devel4 opment assistance priorities of the LGBTI Co5 ordinator of the United States Agency for 

6 International Development; 

7 (G) shall conduct regular consultation with 

8 nongovernmental organizations working to pre9 vent and respond to criminalization, discrimina10 tion, and violence against LGBTI people inter11 nationally; 

12 (H) shall ensure that programs, projects, 

13 and activities of the Department of State and 

14 the United States Agency for International De15 velopment designed to prevent and respond to 

16 criminalization, discrimination, and violence 

17 against LGBTI people internationally are sub18 ject to rigorous monitoring and evaluation, and 

19 that there is a uniform set of indicators and 

20 standards for such monitoring and evaluation 

21 that is used across international programs in 

22 Federal agencies; and 

23 (I) is authorized to represent the United 

24 States in bilateral and multilateral fora on mat25 ters relevant to the human rights of LGBTI 


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1 people internationally, including criminalization, 

2 discrimination, and violence against LGBTI 

3 people internationally. 

4 (2) DATA REPOSITORY.—The Bureau of De5 mocracy, Human Rights, and Labor shall— 

6 (A) be the central repository of data on all 

7 United States programs, projects, and activities 

8 that relate to prevention and response to crim9 inalization, discrimination, and violence against 

10 LGBTI people internationally; and 

11 (B) produce— 

12 (i) a full accounting of United States 

13 Government spending on such programs, 

14 projects, and activities; and 

15 (ii) evaluations of the effectiveness of 

16 such programs, projects, and activities. 

17 (d) BRIEFINGS AND ASSESSMENTS.—Not later than 

18 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and 

19 annually thereafter, the Special Envoy shall— 

20 (1) brief the appropriate congressional commit21 tees on the status of the human rights of LGBTI 

22 people internationally, as well as on the status of 

23 programs and response strategies to address crim24 inalization, discrimination, and violence against 

25 LGBTI people internationally; and 


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1 (2) submit to the appropriate congressional 

2 committees an assessment of human and financial 

3 resources necessary to fulfill the purposes and duties 

4 of this Act. 

5 (e) UNITED STATES POLICY TO PREVENT AND RE6 SPOND TO CRIMINALIZATION, DISCRIMINATION, AND VIO7 LENCE AGAINST LGBTI PEOPLE GLOBALLY.— 

8 (1) GLOBAL STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.—Not 

9 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

10 of this Act, and annually thereafter for each of the 

11 following five years, the Special Envoy shall develop 

12 or update, as the case may be, a United States glob13 al strategy to prevent and respond to criminaliza14 tion, discrimination, and violence against LGBTI 

15 people internationally. The Special Envoy shall sub16 mit the global strategy to the appropriate congres17 sional committees and, if practicable, make the glob18 al strategy available to the public. 

19 (2) COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION.—In 

20 developing the global strategy required under para21 graph (1), the Special Envoy shall consult with— 

22 (A) mid- and high-level officials of relevant 

23 Federal agencies; and 

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1 dressing criminalization, discrimination, and vi2 olence against LGBTI people internationally or 

3 promoting equal rights for LGBTI people inter4 nationally. 

5 (f) MONITORING THE UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO

6 PREVENT AND RESPOND TO CRIMINALIZATION, DISCRIMI7 NATION, AND VIOLENCE AGAINST LGBTI PEOPLE AND

8 COMMUNITIES INTERNATIONALLY.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—In each global strategy sub10 mitted under subsection (e), the Special Envoy shall 

11 include an analysis of best practices for preventing 

12 and addressing criminalization, discrimination, and 

13 violence against LGBTI people and communities 

14 internationally, including— 

15 (A) a description of successful efforts by 

16 foreign governments and nongovernmental or17 ganizations to prevent and respond to criminal18 ization, discrimination, and violence against 

19 LGBTI people and communities internationally; 

20 (B) recommendations related to best prac21 tices, effective strategies, and improvements to 

22 enhance the impact of such prevention and re23 sponse efforts; and 

24 (C) the impact of activities funded by the 

25 global strategy in preventing and reducing 


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1 criminalization, discrimination, and violence 

2 against LGBTI people and communities inter3 nationally. 

4 (2) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE INCLUDED

5 IN ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS

6 PRACTICES.— 

7 (A) SECTION 116.—Section 116(d) of the 

8 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

9 2151n(d)) is amended— 

10 (i) in paragraph (11)(C), by striking 

11 ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

12 (ii) in paragraph (12)(C)(ii), by strik13 ing the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

14 and’’; and 

15 (iii) by adding at the end the fol16 lowing new paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(13) wherever applicable, the nature and ex18 tent of criminalization, discrimination, and violence 

19 based on sexual orientation and gender identity, in20 cluding an identification of those countries that have 

21 adopted laws or constitutional provisions that crim22 inalize or discriminate based on sexual orientation or 

23 gender identity (as those terms are defined in sec24 tion 2 of the International Human Rights Defense 


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1 Act of 2018), including detailed descriptions of such 

2 laws and provisions.’’. 

3 (B) SECTION 502B.—Section 502B of the 

4 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

5 2304) is amended— 

6 (i) by redesignating the second sub7 section (i) (relating to child marriage sta8 tus) as subsection (j); and 

9 (ii) by adding at the end the following 

10 new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(k) SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDEN12 TITY.—The report required under subsection (b) shall in13 clude, wherever applicable, the nature and extent of crim14 inalization, discrimination, and violence based on sexual 

15 orientation and gender identity, including an identification 

16 of those countries that have adopted laws or constitutional 

17 provisions that criminalize or discriminate based on sexual 

18 orientation or gender identity (as those terms are defined 

19 in section 2 of the International Human Rights Defense 

20 Act of 2018), including detailed descriptions of such laws 

21 and provisions.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNITED STATES STRAT2 EGY TO PREVENT AND RESPOND TO CRIM3 INALIZATION, DISCRIMINATION, AND VIO4 LENCE AGAINST LGBTI PEOPLE AND COMMU5 NITIES INTERNATIONALLY. 

6 The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the 

7 United States Agency for International Development are 

8 authorized to provide assistance to prevent and respond 

9 to criminalization, discrimination, and violence against 

10 LGBTI people internationally. Such assistance may in11 clude the following activities: 

12 (1) Development and implementation of pro13 grams, such as the Global Equality Fund of the De14 partment of State, that respond to human rights 

15 abuses and economic exclusion of LGBTI people in 

16 the workplace and in public. 

17 (2) Development and enforcement of civil and 

18 criminal legal and judicial sanctions, protection, 

19 training, and capacity. 

20 (3) Enhancement of health sector capacity to 

21 detect, prevent, and respond to violence against 

22 LGBTI people and communities internationally, and 

23 to combat HIV/AIDS in the LGBTI community 

24 internationally, in close coordination with the Office 

25 of the Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplo26 macy of the Department of State. 


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1 (4) Development of a leadership program for 

2 international LGBTI activists that will foster col3 laboration and knowledge sharing across the world. 

Æ 


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