II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2277 

To impose sanctions with respect to foreign persons responsible for violations 

of the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex 

(LGBTI) individuals, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 24, 2021 

Mrs. SHAHEEN (for herself, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, 

Mr. COONS, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. MURPHY, Ms. COLLINS, 

and Ms. MURKOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To impose sanctions with respect to foreign persons responsible for violations of the human rights of lesbian, gay, 

bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals, 

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 ‘‘Global Respect Act 

5 of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 


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1 (1) The dignity, freedom, and equality of all 

2 human beings are fundamental to a thriving global 

3 community. 

4 (2) The rights to life, liberty, and security of 

5 the person, the right to privacy, and the right to 

6 freedom of expression and association are funda7 mental human rights. 

8 (3) An alarming trend of violence directed at 

9 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex 

10 (commonly referred to as ‘‘LGBTI’’) individuals 

11 around the world continues. 

12 (4) Approximately one-third of all countries 

13 have laws criminalizing consensual same-sex rela14 tions, and many have enacted policies or laws that 

15 would further target LGBTI individuals. 

16 (5) Every year thousands of individuals around 

17 the world are targeted for harassment, attack, ar18 rest, and murder on the basis of their sexual ori19 entation or gender identity. 

20 (6) Those who commit crimes against LGBTI 

21 individuals often do so with impunity, and are not 

22 held accountable for their crimes. 

23 (7) Homophobic and transphobic statements by 

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1 gion of the world promote negative public attitudes 

2 and can lead to violence toward LGBTI individuals. 

3 (8) In many instances, police, prison, military, 

4 and civilian government authorities have been di5 rectly complicit in abuses aimed at LGBTI citizens, 

6 including arbitrary arrest, torture, and sexual abuse. 

7 (9) Celebrations of LGBTI individuals and 

8 communities, such as film festivals, Pride events, 

9 and demonstrations are often forced underground 

10 due to inaction on the part of, or harassment by, 

11 local law enforcement and government officials, in 

12 violation of freedoms of assembly and expression. 

13 (10) Laws criminalizing consensual same-sex 

14 relations severely hinder access to HIV/AIDS treat15 ment, information, and preventive measures for 

16 LGBTI individuals and families. 

17 (11) Many countries are making positive devel18 opments in the protection of the basic human rights 

19 of LGBTI individuals. 

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

22 (1) ADMISSION; ADMITTED.—The terms ‘‘ad23 mission’’ and ‘‘admitted’’ have the meanings given 

24 those terms in section 101 of the Immigration and 

25 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101). 


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1 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Relations 

4 of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

5 of the House of Representatives. 

6 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per7 son’’ means— 

8 (A) an individual who is a citizen or na9 tional of a foreign country (including any such 

10 individual who is also a citizen or national of 

11 the United States), including leaders or officials 

12 of governmental entities of a foreign country; or 

13 (B) any entity not organized solely under 

14 the laws of the United States or existing solely 

15 in the United States, including governmental 

16 entities of a foreign country. 

17 SEC. 4. IDENTIFICATION OF FOREIGN PERSONS RESPON18 SIBLE FOR VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS 

19 OF LGBTI INDIVIDUALS. 

20 (a) LIST REQUIRED.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

22 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

23 every 180 days thereafter, the President shall sub24 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a 

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1 mines, based on credible information, on or after 

2 such date of enactment— 

3 (A) engages in, is responsible for, or is 

4 complicit in, conduct described in paragraph 

5 (2); 

6 (B) acts as an agent of or on behalf of a 

7 foreign person in a matter relating to conduct 

8 described in paragraph (2); or 

9 (C) is responsible for, or complicit in, incit10 ing a foreign person to engage in conduct de11 scribed in paragraph (2). 

12 (2) CONDUCT DESCRIBED.—Conduct described 

13 in this paragraph is any of the following, conducted 

14 with respect to an individual based on the actual or 

15 perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex 

16 characteristics of the individual: 

17 (A) Cruel, inhuman, or degrading treat18 ment or punishment of the individual. 

19 (B) Prolonged detention of the individual 

20 without charges or trial. 

21 (C) Causing the disappearance of the indi22 vidual by the abduction and clandestine deten23 tion of the individual. 

24 (D) Other flagrant denial of the right to 

25 life, liberty, or the security of the individual. 


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1 (3) CREDIBLE INFORMATION.—For purposes of 

2 paragraph (1), credible information includes infor3 mation obtained by other countries or nongovern4 mental organizations that monitor violations of 

5 human rights. 

6 (b) UPDATES.—The President shall submit to the ap7 propriate congressional committees an update of the list 

8 required by subsection (a) as new information becomes 

9 available. 

10 (c) REMOVAL.—A person may be removed from the 

11 list required by subsection (a) if the President determines 

12 and reports to the appropriate congressional committees 

13 not later than 15 days before the removal of the person 

14 from the list that— 

15 (1) credible information exists that the person 

16 did not engage in the activity for which the person 

17 was added to the list; 

18 (2) the person has been prosecuted appro19 priately for the activity; or 

20 (3) the person has credibly demonstrated a sig21 nificant change in behavior, has paid an appropriate 

22 consequence for the activity, and has credibly com23 mitted to not engage in an activity described in sub24 section (a) in the future. 

25 (d) FORM.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The list required by sub2 section (a)— 

3 (A) shall, notwithstanding the require4 ments of section 222(f) of the Immigration and 

5 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1202(f)) with respect 

6 to confidentiality of records pertaining to the 

7 issuance or refusal of visas or permits to enter 

8 the United States, be submitted in unclassified 

9 form and be published in the Federal Register; 

10 and 

11 (B) may include a classified annex only as 

12 provided in paragraph (2). 

13 (2) USE OF CLASSIFIED ANNEX.—The Presi14 dent may include a person on the list required by 

15 subsection (a) in a classified annex to the list if the 

16 President— 

17 (A) determines that— 

18 (i) it is vital for the national security 

19 interests of the United States to do so; and 

20 (ii) the use of the annex, and the in21 clusion of the person in the annex, would 

22 not undermine the overall purpose of this 

23 section to publicly identify foreign persons 

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1 section (a) in order to increase account2 ability for such conduct; and 

3 (B) not later than 15 days before including 

4 the person in the annex, submits to the appro5 priate congressional committees notice of, and a 

6 justification for, including or continuing to in7 clude the person in the classified annex despite 

8 the existence of any publicly available credible 

9 information indicating that the person engaged 

10 in an activity described in subsection (a). 

11 (e) PUBLIC SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—The 

12 President shall issue public guidance, including through 

13 United States diplomatic and consular posts, setting forth 

14 the manner by which the names of foreign persons that 

15 may meet the criteria to be included on the list required 

16 by subsection (a) may be submitted to the Secretary of 

17 State for evaluation. 

18 (f) REQUESTS FROM APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL

19 COMMITTEES.— 

20 (1) CONSIDERATION OF INFORMATION.—The 

21 President shall consider information provided by the 

22 chairperson or ranking member of any of the appro23 priate congressional committees in determining 

24 whether to include a foreign person on the list re25 quired by subsection (a). 


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1 (2) REQUESTS.—Not later than 120 days after 

2 receiving a written request from the chairperson or 

3 ranking member of one of the appropriate congres4 sional committees with respect to whether a foreign 

5 person meets the criteria for being added to the list 

6 required by subsection (a), the President shall sub7 mit a response to the chairperson or ranking mem8 ber, as the case may be, with respect to the deter9 mination of the President with respect to the person. 

10 (3) REMOVAL.—If the President removes from 

11 the list required by subsection (a) a person that had 

12 been placed on the list pursuant to a request the 

13 chairperson or ranking member of one of the appro14 priate congressional committees under paragraph 

15 (2), the President shall provide to the chairperson or 

16 ranking member any information that contributed to 

17 the decision to remove the person from the list. 

18 (4) FORM.—The President may submit a re19 sponse required by paragraph (2) or (3) in classified 

20 form if the President determines that it is necessary 

21 for the national security interests of the United 

22 States to do so. 


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1 SEC. 5. INADMISSIBILITY OF INDIVIDUALS RESPONSIBLE 

2 FOR VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS OF 

3 LGBTI INDIVIDUALS. 

4 (a) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS AND ADMISSION TO

5 THE UNITED STATES.—An individual who is a foreign 

6 person on the list required by section 4(a) is ineligible to 

7 receive a visa to enter the United States and ineligible to 

8 be admitted to the United States. 

9 (b) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED AND REMOVAL FROM

10 UNITED STATES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 

12 revoke, in accordance with section 221(i) of the Im13 migration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), 

14 the visa or other documentation of an individual on 

15 the list required by section 4(a), and the Secretary 

16 of Homeland Security shall remove any such indi17 vidual from the United States. 

18 (2) REGULATIONS REQUIRED.—Not later than 

19 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

20 the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Home21 land Security shall prescribe such regulations as are 

22 necessary to carry out this subsection. 

23 (c) WAIVERS.—The President may waive the applica24 tion of subsection (a) or (b) with respect to a foreign per25 son if the President— 

26 (1) determines that such a waiver— 


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1 (A) is necessary to permit the United 

2 States to comply with the Agreement regarding 

3 the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed 

4 at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered 

5 into force November 21, 1947, between the 

6 United Nations and the United States, the Con7 vention on Consular Relations, done at Vienna 

8 April 24, 1963, and entered into force March 

9 19, 1967, or other applicable international obli10 gations of the United States; or 

11 (B) is in the national security interests of 

12 the United States; and 

13 (2) not less than 15 days before the granting 

14 of the waiver, submits to the appropriate congres15 sional committees a notice of and justification for 

16 the waiver. 

17 SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO ADDI18 TIONAL SANCTIONS. 

19 It is the sense of Congress that the President should 

20 use existing authorities to impose targeted sanctions (in 

21 addition to section 5) with respect to foreign persons on 

22 the list required by section 4(a) to push for accountability 

23 for flagrant denials of the right to life, liberty, or the secu24 rity of the person. 


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1 SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

2 Not later than one year after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

4 of State shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

5 committees a report on— 

6 (1) the actions taken to carry out this Act, in7 cluding— 

8 (A) the number of foreign persons added 

9 to or removed from the list required by section 

10 4(a) during the year preceding the report, the 

11 dates on which those persons were added or re12 moved, and the reasons for adding or removing 

13 those persons; and 

14 (B) in each report after the first such re15 port, an analysis that compares increases or de16 creases in the number of persons added to or 

17 removed from the list year-over-year and the 

18 reasons for such increases or decreases; and 

19 (2) any efforts by the President to coordinate 

20 with the governments of other countries, as appro21 priate, to impose sanctions that are similar to the 

22 sanctions imposed under this Act. 

23 SEC. 8. DISCRIMINATION RELATED TO SEXUAL ORIENTA24 TION OR GENDER IDENTITY. 

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1 TITY.—The Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, 

2 Human Rights, and Labor shall designate a Bureau-based 

3 senior officer or officers who shall be responsible for track4 ing violence, criminalization, and restrictions on the enjoy5 ment of fundamental freedoms in foreign countries based 

6 on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender iden7 tity. 

8 (b) ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS

9 PRACTICES.—The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in section 116(d) (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d))— 

12 (A) in paragraph (11)(C), by striking 

13 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

14 (B) in paragraph (12)— 

15 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

16 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

17 (ii) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by strik18 ing the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

19 and’’; and 

20 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

21 paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(13) wherever applicable, violence or discrimi23 nation that affects the fundamental freedoms, in24 cluding widespread or systematic violation of the 

25 freedoms of expression, association, or assembly of 


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1 an individual in foreign countries that is based on 

2 actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender 

3 identity.’’; and 

4 (2) in section 502B(b) (22 U.S.C. 2304(b)), by 

5 inserting after the ninth sentence the following: 

6 ‘‘Wherever applicable, each report under this section 

7 shall also include information regarding violence or 

8 discrimination that affects the fundamental free9 doms, including widespread or systematic violation 

10 of the freedoms of expression, association, or assem11 bly of an individual in foreign countries that is based 

12 on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender 

13 identity, or sex characteristics.’’. 

Æ 


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