I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1857 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 25, 2019 

Mr. LOWENTHAL (for himself, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. NORTON, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. 

POCAN, Ms. MOORE, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. 

ESPAILLAT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, 

Mr. LYNCH, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Ms. WASSERMAN

SCHULTZ, Mr. SOTO, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. 

PAPPAS, Mr. SCHIFF, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. 

BROWN of Maryland, Mr. COOPER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. MORELLE, 

Mr. PALLONE, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. AGUILAR, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. 

MEEKS, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. PETERS, Ms. 

SPEIER, Ms. MENG, Mr. RYAN, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. KILMER, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. RUSH, Mr. WELCH, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. OMAR, Ms. JAYAPAL, 

Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. TONKO, Ms. 

SHALALA, Ms. WILD, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. 

SUOZZI, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. SWALWELL of California, 

Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mrs. MURPHY, Ms. HAALAND, Ms. 

TITUS, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. 

QUIGLEY, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. HIMES, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. 

SHERMAN, Ms. SCANLON, and Mr. MCEACHIN) 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 


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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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT9 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com10 mittees’’ means— 

11 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

12 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

13 Senate; and 

14 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

15 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

16 of Representatives. 

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

18 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear19 ance, or mannerisms or other gender-related charac20 teristics of an individual, regardless of the individ21 ual’s designated sex at birth. 

22 (3) LGBTI.—The term ‘‘LGBTI’’ means les23 bian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex. 


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1 (4) INTERSEX.—The term ‘‘intersex’’ means in2 dividuals born with sex characteristics (including 

3 genitals, gonads, or chromosome patterns) that vary 

4 from typical binary notions of male or female bodies 

5 and is an umbrella term used to describe a wide 

6 range of natural bodily variations. 

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

8 orientation’’ means actual or perceived homosex9 uality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. 

10 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

11 Congress makes the following findings: 

12 (1) Around the world, LGBTI people face vio13 lence, discrimination, hatred, and bigotry. 

14 (2) Sixty-nine countries criminalize same-sex re15 lations and at least three countries prohibit the pub16 lic support of the LGBTI community. That is equal 

17 to 35 percent of United Nations member states. 

18 (3) In several countries, homosexuality is a 

19 crime that is punishable by death. 

20 (4) Intersex people experience prejudice and 

21 discrimination because their bodies do not conform 

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

23 including the common performance of medically un24 necessary surgeries without the consent or approval 

25 of intersex individuals. 


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1 (5) Violence and discrimination based on sexual 

2 orientation and gender identity are documented in 

3 the Department of State’s annual Human Rights 

4 Report to Congress. The 2017 report continues to 

5 show a clear pattern of human rights violations in 

6 every region of the world based on sexual orientation 

7 and gender identity. These violations include mur8 der, rape, torture, death threats, extortion, and im9 prisonment, as well as loss of employment, housing, 

10 access to health care, and other forms of societal 

11 stigma and discrimination. The report further docu12 ments LGBTI-specific restrictions on basic freedoms 

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

14 world. 

15 (6) In Jamaica and other countries, discrimina16 tion against LGBTI people, including ‘‘corrective 

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

18 and with relative impunity. 

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

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

21 effectively makes it a crime to publicly support 

22 LGBTI equality or even discuss homosexuality. This 

23 pernicious law is the basis for similar so-called 

24 ‘‘antipropaganda’’ legislation in countries across 


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1 Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including in 

2 Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus. 

3 (8) In December 2013, the Government of Ni4 geria adopted a law that further criminalized same5 sex relations and support for LGBTI people, endan6 gering neighbors, friends, doctors, and landlords of 

7 LGBTI people. 

8 (9) Several countries in South Asia continue to 

9 have draconian laws that criminalize homosexual 

10 acts, which place LGBTI people in danger and un11 dermine their ability to live free from persecution. 

12 (10) In February 2014, the Government of 

13 Uganda adopted a law making ‘‘aggravated homo14 sexuality’’ a crime punishable with life imprisonment 

15 and concurrently, the Government of Uganda also 

16 passed laws severely limiting the basic freedoms of 

17 speech and assembly for LGBTI citizens. While the 

18 Constitutional Court overturned the Anti-Homosex19 uality Act on a technicality in August 2014, LGBTI 

20 Ugandans continue to be subjected to discrimination 

21 and violence, and their government has in recent 

22 years forcibly shut down even private Pride celebra23 tions in Kampala. 

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

25 Novaya Gazeta reported that the government of the 


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1 autonomous republic of Chechnya had been arrest2 ing, detaining, and torturing gay and bisexual men 

3 in secret prisons since early 2017. International 

4 human rights groups and Russian LGBTI rights ac5 tivists estimate that as many as 20 people may have 

6 been murdered thus far and potentially over 200 

7 people were detained during the purge. An OSCE 

8 factfinding report released in December 2018 con9 firmed the atrocities, documenting ‘‘several waves of 

10 violations of human rights abuses of persons based 

11 on their sexual orientation and gender identity’’. Re12 ports from early 2019 suggest the purge has contin13 ued. 

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

15 2018, gay men were publicly caned in the Indo16 nesian province of Aceh, while thousands of spec17 tators snapped pictures outside a mosque as the bru18 tal punishment was meted out. Several times in 

19 2017, police in Indonesia have arrested men at pri20 vate parties, sometimes releasing their photographs 

21 to the news media, endangering their lives. 

22 (13) In September 2017, reports emerged from 

23 Azerbaijan that authorities had begun a crackdown 

24 on gay men and transgender women, arresting more 


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1 than 60 and subjecting them to beatings, harass2 ment, torture, and blackmail. 

3 (14) From September through December 2017, 

4 over 70 LGBTI individuals were arrested in Egypt, 

5 with dozens receiving prison sentences of up to six 

6 years. In late 2017, authorities in Egypt instructed 

7 local media to delete any positive references to 

8 LGBTI people, and lawmakers proposed a bill that 

9 would criminalize LGBTI people and their allies. 

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

11 LGBTI rights organization documenting 76 arrests 

12 for alleged same-sex conduct in 2018. 

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

14 LGBTI individuals, but also pose serious risks for 

15 those associated with or caring for LGBTI people. 

16 Studies have shown that when LGBTI people, espe17 cially LGBTI youth, face discrimination, they are 

18 less likely to seek HIV testing, prevention, and 

19 treatment services. 

20 (16) According to the Trans Murder Monitoring 

21 Project, which monitors homicides of transgender in22 dividuals, there were at least 369 cases of reported 

23 killings of trans and gender-diverse people between 

24 October 2017 and September 2018, an increase over 

25 previous years. The organization reports that a ‘‘maVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1857.IH H1857

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1 jority of the murders occurred in Brazil (167), Mex2 ico (71), the United States (28), and Colombia (21), 

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

4 countries worldwide between 1st of January 2008 

5 and 30th of September 2018’’. 

6 (17) According to the International Guidelines 

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

8 the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 

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

10 Independent Expert on protection against violence 

11 and discrimination based on sexual orientation and 

12 gender identity, countries should review and reform 

13 criminal laws and correctional systems to ensure 

14 that they are consistent with international human 

15 rights obligations and are not misused or targeted 

16 against vulnerable groups. 

17 (18) Removing institutionalized discrimination 

18 and targeted persecution against LGBTI people 

19 around the world is a critical step in the promotion 

20 of human rights and global health internationally. 

21 (19) Anti-LGBTI laws and discrimination pose 

22 significant risks for LGBTI youth who come out to 

23 their family or community and often face rejection, 

24 homelessness, and limited educational and economic 

25 opportunities. These factors contribute to increased 


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1 risks of substance abuse, suicide, and HIV infection 

2 among LGBTI youth. 

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

4 Obama released the ‘‘Presidential Memorandum— 

5 International Initiatives to Advance the Human 

6 Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender 

7 Persons’’. The memorandum directed all Federal 

8 agencies engaged abroad to ensure that United 

9 States diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and 

10 protect the human rights of LGBTI persons. 

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

12 John Kerry appointed senior diplomat Randy Berry 

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

14 Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons. 

15 Secretary Pompeo pledged to re-fill that position 

16 during his April 2018 confirmation hearing, but has 

17 yet to do so. 

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

19 Human Rights Council passed a resolution cospon20 sored by the United States that established an inde21 pendent expert on violence and discrimination based 

22 on sexual orientation and gender identity to help 

23 monitor and track discrimination and violence expe24 rienced by LGBTI persons around the world. 


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1 (23) In November 2016, the Government of 

2 Tanzania placed a ban on all HIV and AIDS out3 reach projects aimed at gay men, including those 

4 funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS 

5 Relief. This forced the closure of United States6 funded programs providing testing, condoms, and 

7 care to gay men, exacerbating the health needs of 

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

9 HIV positive. In 2018, various government officials 

10 have announced crackdowns on the LGBTI commu11 nity, including a threat by the governor of the larg12 est city, who announced a purge on LGBTI individ13 uals and asked the public to report them. Reports 

14 suggest that many people have been arrested and 

15 more are in hiding. 

16 (24) In February 2017, three transgender 

17 women were murdered in El Salvador with impunity, 

18 leading the United Nations to call for an investiga19 tion into crimes against sexual and gender minorities 

20 in that country. A 2016 report noted that 

21 transgender women in El Salvador have an average 

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

23 discrimination, and femicide. 

24 (25) Extreme violence in El Salvador, Nica25 ragua, Guatemala, and Honduras has driven LGBTI 


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1 people to flee their countries or origin to the United 

2 States for protection. LGBTI people were among the 

3 first asylum seekers in the migrant ‘‘caravans’’ ar4 riving at the United States-Mexico border. 

5 (26) At the annual Summit of Commonwealth 

6 Nations in April 2018, United Kingdom Prime Min7 ister Theresa May issued an apology for discrimina8 tory laws criminalizing same-sex relationships that 

9 were imposed on British colonies around the world. 

10 She also announced the creation of a fund to sup11 port legal reform efforts. 

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

13 High Court of Justice issued a landmark ruling de14 claring that laws which criminalize same-sex rela15 tionships between consenting adults are unconstitu16 tional. 

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

18 recognized transgender people as a third gender, im19 proving the legal rights of transgender people in that 

20 country. Though an important step, the decision 

21 does not grant full legal rights to transgender peo22 ple. 

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

24 India issued a unanimous decision decriminalizing 

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1 mark case is likely to support similar legal chal2 lenges to colonial-era sodomy laws in other former 

3 British colonies, since the Indian sodomy law was 

4 the model used for other British colonies. 

5 (30) Angola decriminalized same-sex relation6 ships in January 2019, and prohibited discrimina7 tion against people on the basis of sexual orienta8 tion. 

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

10 Court of Human Rights issued an advisory opinion 

11 declaring that the American Convention on Human 

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

13 grants the right of transgender people to change 

14 their name and gender on public documents, and 

15 that same-sex couples must be granted full legal 

16 rights, including the right to marriage. This ruling 

17 is animating legal reforms and human rights cases 

18 across the Americas. 

19 (32) In September 2018, the legislature in 

20 Chile passed a groundbreaking legal gender recogni21 tion law, which allows transgender individuals to 

22 self-determine their legal gender in official docu23 ments without a judicial determination or medical 

24 interventions. The Government of Uruguay passed a 

25 similarly expansive gender recognition law in 2018. 


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1 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

2 It is the policy of the United States— 

3 (1) to take effective action to prevent and re4 spond to discrimination and violence against all peo5 ple on any basis internationally, including sexual ori6 entation, gender identity, and sex characteristics, 

7 and that human rights policy includes attention to 

8 criminalization, hate crimes, and other discrimina9 tion against LGBTI people; 

10 (2) to systematically integrate and coordinate 

11 into United States foreign policy efforts to prevent 

12 and respond to criminalization, discrimination, and 

13 violence against LGBTI people internationally; 

14 (3) to support and build local capacity in coun15 tries around the world, including of governments at 

16 all levels and nongovernmental organizations, to pre17 vent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, 

18 and violence against LGBTI people internationally; 

19 (4) to consult, cooperate, coordinate, and col20 laborate with a wide variety of nongovernmental 

21 partners, including faith-based organizations and 

22 LGBTI-led organizations, with demonstrated experi23 ence in preventing and responding to criminalization, 

24 discrimination, and violence against LGBTI people 

25 internationally; 


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1 (5) to employ a multisectoral approach to pre2 venting and responding to criminalization, discrimi3 nation, and violence against LGBTI people inter4 nationally, including activities in the economic, edu5 cation, health, nutrition, legal, and judicial sectors; 

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

7 the family, community, local, national, and inter8 national levels, to prevent and respond to criminal9 ization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTI 

10 people internationally; 

11 (7) to enhance training by United States per12 sonnel of professional foreign military and police 

13 forces and judicial officials to include appropriate 

14 and thorough LGBTI-specific instruction on pre15 venting and responding to criminalization, discrimi16 nation, and violence based on sexual orientation and 

17 gender identity; 

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

19 partners, as an essential element of making sus20 tained reductions in criminalization, discrimination, 

21 and violence against LGBTI people internationally; 

22 (9) to require that all Federal contractors and 

23 grant recipients in the United States Government’s 

24 international programs establish appropriate policies 

25 and take effective measures to ensure the protection 


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1 and safety of their staff and workplace, including 

2 from discrimination and violence directed against 

3 LGBTI people and those who provide services to 

4 them; 

5 (10) to exert sustained international leadership, 

6 including in bilateral and multilateral fora, to pre7 vent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, 

8 and violence against LGBTI people internationally; 

9 (11) to fully implement and expand upon the 

10 policies outlined in the ‘‘Presidential Memo11 randum—International Initiatives to Advance the 

12 Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and 

13 Transgender Persons’’; 

14 (12) to ensure that international efforts to com15 bat HIV/AIDS take all appropriate measures to sup16 port at-risk communities, including LGBTI people, 

17 and to create enabling legal environments for these 

18 communities; 

19 (13) to work with governments and nongovern20 mental partners around the world to develop and im21 plement regional strategies to decriminalize homo22 sexuality and to counteract the prohibition of public 

23 support of LGBTI people; and 

24 (14) to ensure that those who have a well25 founded fear of persecution on account of being 


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1 LGBTI or supporting LGBTI rights have the oppor2 tunity to seek protection in the United States. 

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

4 PEOPLE. 

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

6 establish in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, 

7 and Labor (DRL) of the Department of State a perma8 nent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Peo9 ples (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Special Envoy’’), 

10 who shall be appointed by the President. The Special 

11 Envoy shall report directly to the Assistant Secretary for 

12 Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. 

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

14 subsection (c) and those duties determined by the Sec15 retary of State, the Special Envoy shall direct efforts of 

16 the United States Government relating to United States 

17 foreign policy, as directed by the Secretary, regarding 

18 human rights abuses against LGBTI people and commu19 nities internationally and the advancement of human 

20 rights for LGBTI people, and shall represent the United 

21 States internationally in bilateral and multilateral engage22 ment on such matters. 

23 (c) DUTIES.— 

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


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1 (A) shall serve as the principal advisor to 

2 the Secretary of State regarding human rights 

3 for LGBTI people internationally; 

4 (B) shall, notwithstanding any other provi5 sion of law, direct activities, policies, programs, 

6 and funding relating to the human rights of 

7 LGBTI people and the advancement of LGBTI 

8 equality initiatives internationally, for all bu9 reaus and offices of the Department of State, 

10 and shall lead the coordination of relevant 

11 international programs for all other Federal 

12 agencies relating to such matters; 

13 (C) shall represent the United States in 

14 diplomatic matters relevant to the human rights 

15 of LGBTI people, including criminalization, dis16 crimination, and violence against LGBTI people 

17 internationally; 

18 (D) shall direct, as appropriate, United 

19 States Government resources to respond to 

20 needs for protection, integration, resettlement, 

21 and empowerment of LGBTI people in United 

22 States Government policies and international 

23 programs, including to prevent and respond to 

24 criminalization, discrimination, and violence 

25 against LGBTI people internationally; 


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1 (E) shall design, support, and implement 

2 activities regarding support, education, resettle3 ment, and empowerment of LGBTI people 

4 internationally, including for the prevention and 

5 response to criminalization, discrimination, and 

6 violence against LGBTI people internationally; 

7 (F) shall lead interagency coordination be8 tween the foreign policy priorities related to the 

9 human rights of LGBTI people and the devel10 opment assistance priorities of the LGBTI Co11 ordinator of the United States Agency for 

12 International Development; 

13 (G) shall conduct regular consultation with 

14 nongovernmental organizations working to pre15 vent and respond to criminalization, discrimina16 tion, and violence against LGBTI people inter17 nationally; 

18 (H) shall ensure that programs, projects, 

19 and activities of the Department of State and 

20 the United States Agency for International De21 velopment designed to prevent and respond to 

22 criminalization, discrimination, and violence 

23 against LGBTI people internationally are sub24 ject to rigorous monitoring and evaluation, and 

25 that there is a uniform set of indicators and 


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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 mat6 ters relevant to the human rights of LGBTI 

7 people internationally, including criminalization, 

8 discrimination, and violence against LGBTI 

9 people internationally. 

10 (2) DATA REPOSITORY.—The Bureau of De11 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 crim15 inalization, discrimination, and violence against 

16 LGBTI 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 (d) BRIEFINGS AND ASSESSMENTS.—Not later than 

24 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and 

25 annually thereafter, the Special Envoy shall— 


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1 (1) brief the appropriate congressional commit2 tees on the status of the human rights of LGBTI 

3 people internationally, as well as on the status of 

4 programs and response strategies to address crim5 inalization, discrimination, and violence against 

6 LGBTI people internationally; and 

7 (2) submit to the appropriate congressional 

8 committees an assessment of human and financial 

9 resources necessary to fulfill the purposes and duties 

10 of this Act. 

11 (e) UNITED STATES POLICY TO PREVENT AND RE12 SPOND TO CRIMINALIZATION, DISCRIMINATION, AND VIO13 LENCE AGAINST LGBTI PEOPLE GLOBALLY.— 

14 (1) GLOBAL STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.—Not 

15 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

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

17 following five years, the Special Envoy shall develop 

18 or update, as the case may be, a United States glob19 al strategy to prevent and respond to criminaliza20 tion, discrimination, and violence against LGBTI 

21 people internationally. The Special Envoy shall sub22 mit the global strategy to the appropriate congres23 sional committees and, if practicable, make the glob24 al strategy available to the public. 


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1 (2) COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION.—In 

2 developing the global strategy required under para3 graph (1), the Special Envoy shall consult with— 

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

5 Federal agencies; and 

6 (B) representatives of nongovernmental or7 ganizations with demonstrated experience in ad8 dressing criminalization, discrimination, and vi9 olence against LGBTI people internationally or 

10 promoting equal rights for LGBTI people inter11 nationally. 

12 (f) MONITORING THE UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO

13 PREVENT AND RESPOND TO CRIMINALIZATION, DISCRIMI14 NATION, AND VIOLENCE AGAINST LGBTI PEOPLE AND

15 COMMUNITIES INTERNATIONALLY.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—In each global strategy sub17 mitted under subsection (e), the Special Envoy shall 

18 include an analysis of best practices for preventing 

19 and addressing criminalization, discrimination, and 

20 violence against LGBTI people and communities 

21 internationally, including— 

22 (A) a description of successful efforts by 

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1 ization, discrimination, and violence against 

2 LGBTI people and communities internationally; 

3 (B) recommendations related to best prac4 tices, effective strategies, and improvements to 

5 enhance the impact of such prevention and re6 sponse efforts; and 

7 (C) the impact of activities funded by the 

8 global strategy in preventing and reducing 

9 criminalization, discrimination, and violence 

10 against LGBTI people and communities inter11 nationally. 

12 (2) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE INCLUDED

13 IN ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS

14 PRACTICES.— 

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

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

17 2151n(d)) is amended— 

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

19 ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

20 (ii) in paragraph (12)(C)(ii), by strik21 ing the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

22 and’’; and 

23 (iii) by adding at the end the fol24 lowing new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(13) wherever applicable, the nature and ex2 tent of criminalization, discrimination, and violence 

3 based on sexual orientation and gender identity, in4 cluding an identification of those countries that have 

5 adopted laws or constitutional provisions that crim6 inalize or discriminate based on sexual orientation or 

7 gender identity (as those terms are defined in sec8 tion 2 of the International Human Rights Defense 

9 Act of 2019), including detailed descriptions of such 

10 laws and provisions.’’. 

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

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

13 2304) is amended— 

14 (i) by redesignating the second sub15 section (i) (relating to child marriage sta16 tus) as subsection (j); and 

17 (ii) by adding at the end the following 

18 new subsection: 

19 ‘‘(k) SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDEN20 TITY.—The report required under subsection (b) shall in21 clude, wherever applicable, the nature and extent of crim22 inalization, discrimination, and violence based on sexual 

23 orientation and gender identity, including an identification 

24 of those countries that have adopted laws or constitutional 

25 provisions that criminalize or discriminate based on sexual 


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1 orientation or gender identity (as those terms are defined 

2 in section 2 of the International Human Rights Defense 

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

4 and provisions.’’. 

5 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNITED STATES STRAT6 EGY TO PREVENT AND RESPOND TO CRIM7 INALIZATION, DISCRIMINATION, AND VIO8 LENCE AGAINST LGBTI PEOPLE AND COMMU9 NITIES INTERNATIONALLY. 

10 The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the 

11 United States Agency for International Development are 

12 authorized to provide assistance to prevent and respond 

13 to criminalization, discrimination, and violence against 

14 LGBTI people internationally. Such assistance may in15 clude the following activities: 

16 (1) Development and implementation of pro17 grams, such as the Global Equality Fund of the De18 partment of State, that respond to human rights 

19 abuses and economic exclusion of LGBTI people in 

20 the workplace and in public. 

21 (2) Development and enforcement of civil and 

22 criminal legal and judicial sanctions, protection, 

23 training, and capacity. 

24 (3) Enhancement of health sector capacity to 

25 detect, prevent, and respond to violence against 


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25 

•HR 1857 IH

1 LGBTI people and communities internationally, and 

2 to combat HIV/AIDS in the LGBTI community 

3 internationally, in close coordination with the Office 

4 of the Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplo5 macy of the Department of State. 

6 (4) Development of a leadership program for 

7 international LGBTI activists that will foster col8 laboration and knowledge sharing across the world. 

Æ 


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