I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5128 

To establish in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of 

the Department of State a Special Envoy for the Human Rights of 

LGBT Peoples. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 16, 2014 

Mr. TIERNEY (for himself, Mr. CICILLINE, Ms. ESTY, Mr. GIBSON, Mr. 

HANNA, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. MCGOVERN, and Ms. SCHAKOWSKY) 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 LGBT Peoples. 

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 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 5128 IH

1 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT2 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com3 mittees’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

5 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 

6 Senate; and 

7 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

8 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 

9 of Representatives. 

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

11 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear12 ance, or mannerisms or other gender-related charac13 teristics of an individual, with or without regard to 

14 the individual’s designated sex at birth. 

15 (3) LGBT.—The term ‘‘LGBT’’ means lesbian, 

16 gay, bisexual, or transgender. 

17 (4) SEXUAL ORIENTATION.—The term ‘‘sexual 

18 orientation’’ means homosexuality, heterosexuality, 

19 or bisexuality. 

20 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

21 Congress makes the following findings: 

22 (1) Eighty-two countries prohibit the public 

23 support of the LGBT community, promote 

24 homophobia across society, or criminalize homosexVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:17 Jul 22, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5128.IH H5128

tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 5128 IH

1 uality. That is equal to more than 40 percent of 

2 United Nations Member States. 

3 (2) In seven countries, homosexuality is a crime 

4 that is punishable by death. 

5 (3) Around the world, LGBT people face dis6 crimination, hatred, violence, and bigotry. 

7 (4) Violence and discrimination based on sexual 

8 orientation and gender identity are documented in 

9 the Department of State’s annual Human Rights 

10 Report to Congress. The 2013 report continues to 

11 show a clear pattern of increased human rights vio12 lations in every region of the world based on sexual 

13 orientation and gender identity. These violations in14 clude murder, rape, torture, death threats, extortion, 

15 imprisonment, as well as loss of employment, hous16 ing, access to health care, and other forms of soci17 etal stigma and discrimination. The report further 

18 documents growing LGBT-specific restrictions on 

19 basic freedoms of assembly, press, and speech in 

20 every region of the world. 

21 (5) In Jamaica and other countries, discrimina22 tion against LGBT people, including ‘‘corrective 

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

24 and with relative impunity. 


tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 5128 IH

1 (6) In 2013, the Government of the Russian 

2 Federation and others in the region passed laws 

3 banning ‘‘Homosexual Propaganda’’, which effec4 tively makes it a crime to publically support LGBT 

5 equality. 

6 (7) In February 2014, the Government of 

7 Uganda adopted a law that makes ‘‘aggravated ho8 mosexuality’’ a crime punishable with life imprison9 ment and endangers any individual arbitrarily found 

10 to support LGBT people. Concurrently, the Govern11 ment of Uganda also passed laws severely limiting 

12 the basic freedoms of speech and assembly for 

13 LGBT citizens. 

14 (8) In December 2013, the Government of Ni15 geria adopted a law further criminalizing homosex16 uality. The law also criminalizes supporting LGBT 

17 people in any way, endangering the neighbors, 

18 friends, doctors, and landlords of LGBT people. 

19 (9) The anti-homosexuality laws in Nigeria and 

20 Uganda potentially endanger all LGBT individuals 

21 in those countries. In addition, international HIV 

22 workers could be at risk since the study and treat23 ment of at-risk populations may constitute support 

24 for LGBT people. 


tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 5128 IH

1 (10) On December 6, 2011, President Barack 

2 Obama released the Presidential Memorandum— 

3 International Initiatives to Advance the Human 

4 Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender 

5 Persons. The memorandum directed all Federal 

6 agencies engaged abroad to ensure that United 

7 States diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and 

8 protect the human rights of LGBT persons. 

9 (11) Secretary of State John Kerry has an10 nounced that the United States Government will re11 view United States diplomatic relationships with Ni12 geria and Uganda in light of passage of their recent 

13 anti-LGBT laws. On March 23, 2014, the Depart14 ment of State announced that the United States 

15 Government would cut $6,400,000 in funding for 

16 the Interreligious Council of Uganda because of its 

17 support for the Anti-Homosexuality Act, halt a sur18 vey designed to minimize the spread of HIV/AIDS 

19 because of potential harm to respondents, impose 

20 short-term travel bans on Ugandan military officials, 

21 and halt some joint military exercises with the mili22 tary of Uganda. 

23 (12) In December 2013, the Supreme Court of 

24 India reversed a lower court ruling and reinstated 

25 the criminalization of homosexuality in the second 


tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 5128 IH

1 most populous nation on Earth. In April 2014, In2 dia’s Supreme Court recognized transgender people 

3 as a third gender, improving the legal rights of 

4 transgender people in that country. Given these two 

5 court decisions, the degree of human rights protec6 tions for LGBT persons in India is uncertain. 

7 (13) Removing institutionalized discrimination 

8 and targeted persecution against LGBT people 

9 around the world is a critical step in the promotion 

10 of human rights and global health internationally. 

11 (14) According to the Trans Murder Monitoring 

12 Project, which monitors homicides of transgender in13 dividuals, 238 transgender persons were killed be14 tween November 2012 and November 2013 world15 wide. 

16 (15) According to the International Guidelines 

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

18 the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 

19 Rights, countries should review and reform criminal 

20 laws and correctional systems to ensure that they 

21 are consistent with international human rights obli22 gations and are not misused in the context of HIV 

23 or targeted against vulnerable groups. 

24 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

25 It is the policy of the United States— 


tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 5128 IH

1 (1) to take effective action to prevent and re2 spond to discrimination and violence against all peo3 ple on any basis internationally, including sexual ori4 entation and gender identity, and that human rights 

5 policy include attention to hate crimes and other dis6 crimination against LGBT people; 

7 (2) to systematically integrate and coordinate 

8 efforts to prevent and respond to discrimination and 

9 violence against LGBT people internationally into 

10 United States foreign policy; 

11 (3) to support and build local capacity in coun12 tries around the world, including of governments at 

13 all levels and nongovernmental organizations, to pre14 vent and respond to discrimination and violence 

15 against LGBT people internationally; 

16 (4) to consult, cooperate, coordinate, and col17 laborate with a wide variety of nongovernmental 

18 partners with demonstrated experience in preventing 

19 and responding to discrimination and violence 

20 against LGBT people internationally, including 

21 faith-based organizations and LGBT-led organiza22 tions; 

23 (5) to employ a multisectoral approach to pre24 venting and responding to discrimination and vio25 lence against LGBT people internationally, including 


tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 5128 IH

1 activities in the economic, education, health, nutri2 tion, legal, and judicial sectors; 

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

4 the family, community, local, national, and inter5 national levels, to prevent and respond to discrimina6 tion and violence against LGBT people internation7 ally; 

8 (7) to enhance training by United States per9 sonnel of professional foreign military and police 

10 forces and judicial officials to include appropriate 

11 and thorough LGBT-specific instruction on pre12 venting and responding to discrimination and vio13 lence based on sexual orientation and gender iden14 tity; 

15 (8) to engage non-LGBT people as allies and 

16 partners, as an essential element of making sus17 tained reductions in discrimination and violence 

18 against LGBT people; 

19 (9) to require that all Federal contractors and 

20 grant recipients in the United States Government’s 

21 international programs establish appropriate policies 

22 and take effective measures to ensure the protection 

23 and safety of their staff and workplace, including 

24 from discrimination and violence directed against 


tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 5128 IH

1 LGBT people and those who provide services to 

2 them; 

3 (10) to exert sustained international leadership 

4 to prevent and respond to discrimination and vio5 lence against LGBT persons, including in bilateral 

6 and multilateral fora; 

7 (11) to fully implement and expand upon the 

8 policies outlined in the Presidential Memorandum— 

9 International Initiatives to Advance the Human 

10 Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender 

11 Persons; 

12 (12) to ensure that international efforts to com13 bat HIV/AIDS take all appropriate measures to sup14 port at-risk communities, including LGBT persons, 

15 and to create enabling legal environments for these 

16 communities; 

17 (13) to work with governments and nongovern18 mental partners around the world to develop and im19 plement regional strategies to decriminalize homo20 sexuality and to counteract the prohibition of public 

21 support of the LGBT community; and 

22 (14) to ensure that those who have a well23 founded fear of persecution on account of being 

24 LGBT or supporting LGBT rights have the oppor25 tunity to seek protection in the United States. 


tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
10 

•HR 5128 IH

1 SEC. 5. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF LGBT 

2 PEOPLE. 

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

4 establish in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, 

5 and Labor (DRL) of the Department of State a Special 

6 Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBT Peoples (in this 

7 section referred to as the ‘‘Special Envoy’’), who shall be 

8 appointed by the President. The Special Envoy shall re9 port directly to the Assistant Secretary for DRL. 

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

11 subsection (c) and those duties determined by the Sec12 retary of State, the Special Envoy shall direct efforts of 

13 the United States Government as directed by the Sec14 retary regarding human rights abuses against the LGBT 

15 community internationally and the advancement of human 

16 rights for LGBT people in United States foreign policy, 

17 and shall represent the United States internationally in 

18 bilateral and multilateral engagement on these matters. 

19 (c) DUTIES.— 

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

21 (A) shall direct activities, policies, pro22 grams, and funding relating to the human 

23 rights of LGBT people and the advancement of 

24 LGBT equality initiatives internationally, for all 

25 bureaus and offices of the Department of State 

26 and shall lead the coordination of relevant 


tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
11 

•HR 5128 IH

1 international programs for all other Federal 

2 agencies; 

3 (B) shall represent the United States in 

4 diplomatic matters relevant to the human rights 

5 of LGBT people, including discrimination and 

6 violence against LGBT people internationally; 

7 (C) shall direct, as appropriate, United 

8 States Government resources to respond to 

9 needs for protection, integration, resettlement, 

10 and empowerment of LGBT people in United 

11 States Government policies and international 

12 programs, including to prevent and respond to 

13 discrimination and violence against LGBT peo14 ple internationally; 

15 (D) shall design, support, and implement 

16 activities regarding support, education, resettle17 ment, and empowerment of LGBT people inter18 nationally, including for the prevention and re19 sponse to discrimination and violence against 

20 LGBT people internationally; 

21 (E) shall lead interagency coordination be22 tween the foreign policy priorities related to the 

23 human rights of LGBT people and the develop24 ment assistance priorities of the LGBT CoordiVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:17 Jul 22, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5128.IH H5128

tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
12 

•HR 5128 IH

1 nator of the United States Agency for Inter2 national Development; 

3 (F) shall conduct regular consultation with 

4 civil society organizations working to prevent 

5 and respond to discrimination and violence 

6 against LGBT people internationally; 

7 (G) shall ensure that programs, projects, 

8 and activities designed to prevent and respond 

9 to discrimination and violence against LGBT 

10 people are subject to rigorous monitoring and 

11 evaluation, and that there is a uniform set of 

12 indicators and standards for such monitoring 

13 and evaluation that is used across international 

14 programs in Federal agencies; 

15 (H) shall serve as the principal advisor to 

16 the Secretary of State regarding human rights 

17 for LGBT people internationally; and 

18 (I) is authorized to represent the United 

19 States in diplomatic and multilateral situations 

20 on matters relevant to the human rights of 

21 LGBT people, including discrimination and vio22 lence against LGBT people internationally. 

23 (2) DATA REPOSITORY.—The Bureau of De24 mocracy, Human Rights, and Labor shall— 


tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
13 

•HR 5128 IH

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

2 United States programs, projects, and activities 

3 that relate to prevention and response to dis4 crimination and violence against LGBT people; 

5 and 

6 (B) produce— 

7 (i) a full accounting of United States 

8 Government spending on such programs, 

9 projects, and activities; and 

10 (ii) evaluations of the effectiveness of 

11 implemented programs. 

12 SEC. 6. BRIEFINGS AND ASSESSMENTS. 

13 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact14 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Special 

15 Envoy shall brief the appropriate congressional commit16 tees on the status of the human rights of LGBT people 

17 internationally, as well as the status of programs and re18 sponse strategies to address LGBT discrimination and vi19 olence against LGBT people internationally, and shall 

20 submit to the appropriate congressional committees an as21 sessment of human and financial resources necessary to 

22 fulfill the purposes and duties of this Act. 


tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
14 

•HR 5128 IH

1 SEC. 7. UNITED STATES POLICY TO PREVENT AND RE2 SPOND TO DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE 

3 AGAINST LGBT PEOPLE GLOBALLY. 

4 (a) GLOBAL STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.—Not later 

5 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

6 and annually thereafter for five years, the Special Envoy 

7 shall develop or update a United States global strategy 

8 to prevent and respond to discrimination and violence 

9 against LGBT people globally. The strategy shall be 

10 transmitted to the appropriate congressional committees 

11 and, if practicable, made available to the public. 

12 (b) INITIAL STRATEGY.—For the purposes of this 

13 section, the Presidential Memorandum—International Ini14 tiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, 

15 Bisexual, and Transgender Persons, issued December 6, 

16 2011, shall be deemed to fulfill the initial requirement of 

17 subsection (a). 

18 (c) REPORTING.—In accordance with paragraph (13) 

19 of section 116(d) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

20 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)), as added by section 9(b), the An21 nual Report on Human Rights Practices shall include de22 tailed descriptions of nations that have adopted laws or 

23 constitutions that discriminate against LGBT people. 

24 (d) COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION.—In devel25 oping the strategy under subsection (a), the Special Envoy 

26 shall consult with— 


tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
15 

•HR 5128 IH

1 (1) the heads of relevant Federal agencies; and 

2 (2) representatives of civil society, multilateral, 

3 and private sector organizations with demonstrated 

4 experience in addressing discrimination and violence 

5 against LGBT people or promoting equal rights for 

6 LGBT people internationally. 

7 SEC. 8. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNITED STATES STRAT8 EGY TO PREVENT AND RESPOND TO LGBT 

9 DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE AGAINST 

10 THE LGBT COMMUNITY GLOBALLY. 

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 discrimination and violence against LGBT people inter15 nationally, including the following activities: 

16 (1) Development and implementation of pro17 grams, such as the Global Equality Fund, that re18 spond to human rights abuses and economic exclu19 sion of LGBT people in the workplace and in public. 

20 (2) Development and enforcement of civil and 

21 criminal legal and judicial sanctions, protection, 

22 training, and capacity. 

23 (3) Enhancement of the health sector capacity 

24 to detect, prevent, and respond to violence against 

25 the LGBT community and to combat HIV/AIDS in 


tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
16 

•HR 5128 IH

1 the LGBT community internationally, in close co2 ordination with the Office of the Global AIDS Coor3 dinator. 

4 (4) Development of a leadership program for 

5 international LGBT activists that will foster collabo6 ration and knowledge sharing across the world. 

7 SEC. 9. MONITORING THE UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO 

8 PREVENT AND RESPOND TO DISCRIMINA9 TION AND VIOLENCE AGAINST THE LGBT 

10 COMMUNITY GLOBALLY. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—In each strategy submitted under 

12 section 7(a), the Special Envoy shall include an analysis 

13 of best practices for preventing and addressing discrimina14 tion and violence against LGBT people internationally, 

15 which shall include— 

16 (1) a description of successful efforts by foreign 

17 governments, multilateral institutions, nongovern18 mental organizations, educational organizations, and 

19 faith-based organizations in preventing and respond20 ing to discrimination and violence against LGBT 

21 people; 

22 (2) recommendations related to best practices, 

23 effective strategies, and improvements to enhance 

24 the impact of prevention and response efforts; and 


tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
17 

•HR 5128 IH

1 (3) the impact of activities funded by the strat2 egy in preventing and reducing discrimination and 

3 violence against LGBT people internationally. 

4 (b) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE INCLUDED IN

5 HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES REPORT.—Section 116(d) 

6 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 

7 1961 is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (11)(C), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

9 and inserting a semicolon; 

10 (2) in paragraph (12)(C)(ii), by striking the pe11 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

13 paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(13) wherever applicable, the nature and ex15 tent of discrimination and violence based on sexual 

16 orientation and gender identity.’’. 

Æ 


tjames on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS