II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 424 

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

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

LGBTQI Peoples, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 24, 2021 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, 

Mr. BROWN, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. CASEY, Mr. COONS, Mr. 

DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. KAINE, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, 

Mr. LEAHY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. REED, Ms. 

ROSEN, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. SCHUMER, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Ms. SINEMA, Ms. 

SMITH, Ms. STABENOW, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Mr. WARNER, Ms. WARREN, 

Mr. WHITEHOUSE, and Mr. WYDEN) 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 LGBTQI 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 2021’’. 


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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) INTERSEX.—The term ‘‘intersex’’ means in18 dividuals born with sex characteristics (including 

19 genitals, gonads, or chromosome patterns) that vary 

20 from typical binary notions of male or female bodies 

21 and is an umbrella term used to describe a wide 

22 range of natural bodily variations. 

23 (4) LGBTQI.—The term ‘‘LGBTQI’’ means 

24 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or 

25 intersex. 


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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, LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI community. That is 

11 equal to 35 percent of United Nations member 

12 states. 

13 (3) In several countries, homosexuality is a 

14 crime that is punishable by death. 

15 (4) Intersex people experience prejudice and 

16 discrimination, including the common performance 

17 of medically unnecessary surgeries without their con18 sent or approval, because their bodies do not con19 form to other people’s expectations about sex and 

20 gender. 

21 (5) Violence and discrimination based on sexual 

22 orientation and gender identity are documented in 

23 the Department of State’s annual Human Rights 

24 Report to Congress. The 2019 report continues to 

25 show a clear pattern of human rights violations in 


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1 every region of the world based on sexual orientation 

2 and gender identity. These violations include mur3 der, rape, torture, death threats, extortion, and im4 prisonment, as well as loss of employment, housing, 

5 access to health care, and other forms of societal 

6 stigma and discrimination. The report further docu7 ments LGBTQI-specific restrictions on basic free8 doms of assembly, press, and speech in every region 

9 of the world. 

10 (6) In 2013, the Russian Duma passed a law 

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

12 effectively makes it a crime to publicly support 

13 LGBTQI equality or even discuss homosexuality. 

14 This pernicious law is the basis for similar so-called 

15 ‘‘anti-propaganda’’ legislation in countries across 

16 Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including in 

17 Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus. 

18 (7) On April 1, 2017, the Russian newspaper 

19 Novaya Gazeta reported that the government of the 

20 autonomous republic of Chechnya had been arrest21 ing, detaining, and torturing gay and bisexual men 

22 in secret prisons since early 2017. An Organization 

23 for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) 

24 fact-finding report released in December 2018 con25 firmed the atrocities, documenting ‘‘several waves of 


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1 violations of human rights abuses of persons based 

2 on their sexual orientation and gender identity’’. Re3 ports throughout 2020 suggest the purge has contin4 ued. 

5 (8) In May 2020, the Hungarian Parliament 

6 voted to eliminate the ability for transgender and 

7 intersex Hungarians to legally change their gender 

8 on official documents. In June 2020, Poland’s presi9 dent pledged to ban the ‘‘propagation of LGBT ide10 ology,’’ and nearly a third of Polish towns and mu11 nicipalities have now declared themselves to be 

12 ‘‘LGBT-free zones’’. 

13 (9) In December 2013, under the guise of pro14 hibiting marriage equality through the Same Sex 

15 Marriage (Prohibition) Act, the Government of Nige16 ria adopted a law that further criminalized same-sex 

17 relations and support for LGBTQI people, endan18 gering neighbors, friends, doctors, and landlords of 

19 LGBTQI people. In August 2018, 57 men at a party 

20 in Lagos were arrested under this law and 47 were 

21 later charged in December 2019 for ‘‘public show of 

22 same sex amorous relationship’’. While the case was 

23 thrown out in October 2020 due to deficiencies in 

24 the prosecution, the men suffered significant harm 

25 over the course of the two-year trial. 


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1 (10) Several countries in South Asia continue 

2 to have draconian laws that criminalize homosexual 

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

5 (11) 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 LGBTQI citizens. Although 

11 the Constitutional Court overturned the Anti-Homo12 sexuality Act on a technicality in August 2014, 

13 LGBTQI Ugandans continue to be subjected to dis14 crimination and violence, and their government has 

15 in recent years forcibly shut down even private Pride 

16 celebrations in Kampala. 

17 (12) In November 2016, the Government of 

18 Tanzania banned all HIV and AIDS outreach 

19 projects aimed at gay men, including those funded 

20 by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 

21 (PEPFAR), forcing 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 announced crackdowns on the LGBTQI community, 

2 including a threat by the governor of the largest 

3 city, who announced a purge on LGBTQI individ4 uals and asked the public to report them. 

5 (13) A 2020 report by Human Rights Watch 

6 found that in the Northern Triangle countries of El 

7 Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras, ‘‘gangs specifi8 cally target LGBT people, killing, assaulting, threat9 ening or extorting them’’. A 2016 report noted that 

10 transgender women in El Salvador have an average 

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

12 discrimination, and femicide. 

13 (14) Extreme violence in El Salvador, Nica14 ragua, Guatemala, and Honduras has driven 

15 LGBTQI people to flee their countries or origin to 

16 the United States for protection. At the United 

17 States border with Mexico, LGBTQI asylum seekers 

18 face additional violence and many have been re19 turned to face persecution in their home countries or 

20 in third countries that are not safe. 

21 (15) On May 23, 2017, and again on July 13, 

22 2018, gay men were publicly caned in the Indo23 nesian province of Aceh, while thousands of spec24 tators snapped pictures outside a mosque. More re25 cently, including in August 2020, police in Indonesia 


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1 have arrested men at private parties, sometimes re2 leasing their photographs to the news media, endan3 gering their lives. The August 2020 raid fits a dis4 turbing pattern of Indonesian authorities using the 

5 pornography law as a weapon to target LGBTQI 

6 people. 

7 (16) The Department of State Human Rights 

8 Report for 2019 notes that Egyptian police arrest 

9 LGBTQI persons on charges such as ‘‘debauchery’’, 

10 ‘‘prostitution’’, and ‘‘violating the teachings of reli11 gion’’, leading to prison sentences of up to 10 years. 

12 According to a local group, there have been more 

13 than 250 arrests since 2013. Arrests have continued 

14 apace in 2020. Rights groups also have reported on 

15 the discredited use of ‘‘virginity’’ and ‘‘anal tests’’ 

16 by Egyptian authorities to attempt to prove sexual 

17 activity, assaults that may constitute cruel, degrad18 ing, and inhuman treatment that can rise to the 

19 level of torture under international human rights 

20 law. 

21 (17) Anti-LGBTQI laws not only endanger all 

22 LGBTQI individuals, but also pose serious risks for 

23 those associated with or caring for LGBTQI people. 

24 Studies have shown that when LGBTQI people, es25 pecially LGBTQI youth, face discrimination, they 


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1 are less likely to seek HIV testing, prevention, and 

2 treatment services. 

3 (18) According to the Trans Murder Monitoring 

4 Project, which monitors homicides of transgender in5 dividuals, 350 trans and gender-diverse were killed 

6 between October 1, 2019, and September 30, 2020, 

7 representing a 6 percent increase in reported mur8 ders from the 2019 update. 

9 (19) According to the International Guidelines 

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

11 the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 

12 Rights, and according to the reports of the United 

13 Nations Independent Expert on protection against 

14 violence and discrimination based on sexual orienta15 tion and gender identity, countries should review 

16 and reform criminal laws and correctional systems to 

17 ensure that they are consistent with international 

18 human rights obligations and are not misused or 

19 targeted against vulnerable groups. 

20 (20) Removing institutionalized discrimination 

21 and targeted persecution against LGBTQI people 

22 around the world is a critical step in the promotion 

23 of human rights and global health internationally. 

24 (21) Anti-LGBTQI laws and discrimination 

25 pose significant risks for LGBTQI youth who come 


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1 out to their family or community and often face re2 jection, homelessness, and limited educational and 

3 economic opportunities. These factors contribute to 

4 increased risks of substance abuse, suicide, and HIV 

5 infection among LGBTQI youth. 

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

7 Obama released the ‘‘Presidential Memorandum— 

8 International Initiatives to Advance the Human 

9 Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender 

10 Persons’’. The memorandum directed all Federal 

11 agencies engaged abroad to ensure that United 

12 States diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and 

13 protect the human rights of LGBTQI persons. 

14 (23) On February 23, 2015, Secretary of State 

15 John Kerry appointed senior diplomat Randy Berry 

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

17 Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons. 

18 No person was named to that position during the 

19 Trump Administration. 

20 (24) On June 30, 2016, the United Nations 

21 Human Rights Council passed a resolution cospon22 sored by the United States that established an Inde23 pendent Expert on violence and discrimination based 

24 on sexual orientation and gender identity to help 


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1 monitor and track discrimination and violence expe2 rienced by LGBTQI persons around the world. 

3 (25) At the annual Summit of Commonwealth 

4 Nations in April 2018, United Kingdom Prime Min5 ister Theresa May issued an apology for discrimina6 tory laws criminalizing same-sex relationships that 

7 were imposed on British colonies around the world. 

8 She also announced the creation of a fund to sup9 port legal reform efforts. 

10 (26) In April 2018, Trinidad and Tobago’s 

11 High Court of Justice issued a landmark ruling de12 claring that laws which criminalize same-sex rela13 tionships between consenting adults are unconstitu14 tional. 

15 (27) In September 2018, the Supreme Court of 

16 India decriminalized same-sex relationships. The 

17 same court also has affirmed the rights of 

18 transgender people as a protected ‘‘third gender’’ 

19 under the Constitution of India. 

20 (28) Angola decriminalized same-sex relation21 ships in January 2019, and prohibited discrimina22 tion against people on the basis of sexual orienta23 tion. In December 2020, the parliament of Bhutan 

24 voted to decriminalize same-sex relationships. 


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1 (29) 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 (30) 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 (31) In May 2020, the United Nations Inde19 pendent Expert on protection against violence and 

20 discrimination based on sexual orientation and gen21 der identity released a report on so-called ‘‘conver22 sion therapy,’’ which is an umbrella term used to de23 scribe interventions based on a belief that a person’s 

24 sexual orientation or gender identity can and should 

25 be changed. The report concludes that such practices 


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1 represent significant violations of rights to bodily au2 tonomy, health, and free expression, and can breach 

3 the prohibition against torture and ill-treatment. 

4 The Independent Expert concludes by calling for a 

5 global ban on conversion therapy, noting that ‘‘the 

6 psychological pain and suffering inflicted by prac7 tices of ‘conversion therapy’ are deep and long-last8 ing and often exacerbate the risk of suicide’’. 

9 (32) The global COVID–19 pandemic has exac10 erbated inequalities that LGBTQI individuals face, 

11 including access to healthcare, stigma, and discrimi12 nation. 

13 (33) Some governments have enacted measures 

14 that target or discriminate against LGBTQI individ15 uals and communities under the guise of COVID–19 

16 public health precautions. 

17 (34) In March 2020, Ugandan police arbitrarily 

18 arrested 20 LGBTQI people living in a homeless 

19 shelter, charging them with ‘‘a negligent act likely to 

20 spread infection of disease’’. They were released and 

21 all charges were dropped after nearly two months in 

22 prison. 

23 (35) Gender-based quarantine rules have re24 sulted in increased violence against transgender indi25 viduals and reports indicate an increase in 


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1 transphobic and homophobic rhetoric, as religious 

2 leaders and others scapegoat LGBTQI people for 

3 the spread of the disease. 

4 (36) COVID–19 has also increased barriers to 

5 access health care for LGBTQI individuals. In addi6 tion to discrimination in care, the health needs of 

7 LGBTQI people may be deprioritized. For example, 

8 HIV prevention activities have largely ceased due to 

9 the pandemic, elevating risks for transmission 

10 among key population groups. 

11 (37) Due to stay-at-home restrictions, LGBTQI 

12 people may be confined to hostile households, put13 ting them at increased risk for gender-based violence 

14 and compounding mental health challenges. 

15 (38) LGBTQI individuals may be unable to ac16 cess a government’s COVID support services due to 

17 discrimination. In response, LGBTQI-led civil soci18 ety organizations have been forced to shift their pro19 grams to provide humanitarian support to their com20 munities, sidelining other programs previously per21 formed in their communities. 

22 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

23 It is the policy of the United States— 

24 (1) to take effective action to prevent and re25 spond to discrimination and violence against all peoVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S424.IS S424

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1 ple on any basis internationally, including sexual ori2 entation, gender identity, and sex characteristics, 

3 and that human rights policy includes attention to 

4 criminalization, hate crimes, and other discrimina5 tion against LGBTQI people; 

6 (2) to systematically integrate and coordinate 

7 into United States foreign policy efforts to prevent 

8 and respond to criminalization, discrimination, and 

9 violence against LGBTQI people internationally; 

10 (3) to support and build local capacity in coun11 tries around the world, including of governments at 

12 all levels and nongovernmental organizations, to pre13 vent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, 

14 and violence against LGBTQI people internationally; 

15 (4) to consult, cooperate, coordinate, and col16 laborate with a wide variety of nongovernmental 

17 partners, including faith-based organizations and 

18 LGBTQI-led organizations, with demonstrated expe19 rience in preventing and responding to criminaliza20 tion, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI 

21 people internationally; 

22 (5) to employ a multisectoral approach to pre23 venting and responding to criminalization, discrimi24 nation, and violence against LGBTQI people interVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S424.IS S424

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1 nationally, including activities in the economic, edu2 cation, health, nutrition, 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 criminal6 ization, discrimination, and violence against 

7 LGBTQI people internationally; 

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 LGBTQI-specific instruction on pre12 venting and responding to criminalization, discrimi13 nation, and violence based on sexual orientation and 

14 gender identity; 

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

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

18 and violence against LGBTQI people internationally; 

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 


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1 LGBTQI people and those who provide services to 

2 them; 

3 (10) to exert sustained international leadership, 

4 including in bilateral and multilateral fora, to pre5 vent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, 

6 and violence against LGBTQI people internationally; 

7 (11) to fully implement and expand upon the 

8 policies outlined in the ‘‘Presidential Memo9 randum—International Initiatives to Advance the 

10 Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and 

11 Transgender Persons’’; 

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

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 LGBTQI people; and 

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

24 LGBTQI or supporting LGBTQI rights have the op25 portunity to seek protection in the United States. 


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

2 LGBTQI PEOPLE. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

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

5 establish in the Bureau of Democracy, Human 

6 Rights, and Labor (DRL) of the Department of 

7 State a permanent Special Envoy for the Human 

8 Rights of LGBTQI Peoples (in this section referred 

9 to as the ‘‘Special Envoy’’), who shall be appointed 

10 by the President. The Special Envoy shall report di11 rectly to the Assistant Secretary for Democracy, 

12 Human Rights, and Labor. 

13 (2) RANK.—The Special Envoy may be ap14 pointed at the rank of Ambassador. 

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

16 subsection (c) and those duties determined by the Sec17 retary of State, the Special Envoy shall direct efforts of 

18 the United States Government relating to United States 

19 foreign policy, as directed by the Secretary, regarding 

20 human rights abuses against LGBTQI people and commu21 nities internationally and the advancement of human 

22 rights for LGBTQI people, and shall represent the United 

23 States internationally in bilateral and multilateral engage24 ment on such matters. 

25 (c) DUTIES.— 

26 (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 LGBTQI 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 LGBTQI people and the advancement of 

8 LGBTQI equality initiatives internationally, for 

9 all bureaus and offices of the Department of 

10 State, and shall lead the coordination of rel11 evant international programs for all other Fed12 eral agencies relating to such matters; 

13 (C) shall represent the United States in 

14 diplomatic matters relevant to the human rights 

15 of LGBTQI people, including criminalization, 

16 discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI 

17 people 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 LGBTQI people in United 

22 States Government policies and international 

23 programs, including to prevent and respond to 

24 criminalization, discrimination, and violence 

25 against LGBTQI people internationally; 


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1 (E) shall design, support, and implement 

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

4 internationally, including for the prevention and 

5 response to criminalization, discrimination, and 

6 violence against LGBTQI people internation7 ally; 

8 (F) shall lead interagency coordination be9 tween the foreign policy priorities related to the 

10 human rights of LGBTQI people and the devel11 opment assistance priorities of the LGBTQI 

12 Coordinator of the United States Agency for 

13 International Development; 

14 (G) shall conduct regular consultation with 

15 nongovernmental organizations working to pre16 vent and respond to criminalization, discrimina17 tion, and violence against LGBTQI people 

18 internationally; 

19 (H) shall ensure that programs, projects, 

20 and activities of the Department of State and 

21 the United States Agency for International De22 velopment designed to prevent and respond to 

23 criminalization, discrimination, and violence 

24 against LGBTQI people internationally are sub25 ject to rigorous monitoring and evaluation, and 


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1 that there is a uniform set of indicators and 

2 standards for such monitoring and evaluation 

3 that is used across international programs in 

4 Federal agencies; and 

5 (I) is authorized to represent the United 

6 States in bilateral and multilateral fora on mat7 ters relevant to the human rights of LGBTQI 

8 people internationally, including criminalization, 

9 discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI 

10 people internationally. 

11 (2) DATA REPOSITORY.—The Bureau of De12 mocracy, Human Rights, and Labor shall— 

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

14 United States programs, projects, and activities 

15 that relate to prevention and response to crim16 inalization, discrimination, and violence against 

17 LGBTQI people internationally; and 

18 (B) produce— 

19 (i) a full accounting of United States 

20 Government spending on such programs, 

21 projects, and activities; and 

22 (ii) evaluations of the effectiveness of 

23 such programs, projects, and activities. 


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

2 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

3 annually thereafter, the Special Envoy shall— 

4 (1) brief the appropriate congressional commit5 tees on the status of the human rights of LGBTQI 

6 people internationally, as well as on the status of 

7 programs and response strategies to address crim8 inalization, discrimination, and violence against 

9 LGBTQI people internationally; and 

10 (2) submit to the appropriate congressional 

11 committees an assessment of human and financial 

12 resources necessary to fulfill the purposes and duties 

13 of this Act. 

14 (e) UNITED STATES POLICY TO PREVENT AND RE15 SPOND TO CRIMINALIZATION, DISCRIMINATION, AND VIO16 LENCE AGAINST LGBTQI PEOPLE GLOBALLY.— 

17 (1) GLOBAL STRATEGY REQUIREMENT.—Not 

18 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment 

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

20 following five years, the Special Envoy shall develop 

21 or update, as the case may be, a United States glob22 al strategy to prevent and respond to criminaliza23 tion, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI 

24 people internationally. The Special Envoy shall sub25 mit the global strategy to the appropriate congresVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S424.IS S424

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1 sional committees and, if practicable, make the glob2 al strategy available to the public. 

3 (2) COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION.—In 

4 developing the global strategy required under para5 graph (1), the Special Envoy shall consult with— 

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

7 Federal agencies; and 

8 (B) representatives of nongovernmental or9 ganizations with demonstrated experience in ad10 dressing criminalization, discrimination, and vi11 olence against LGBTQI people internationally 

12 or promoting equal rights for LGBTQI people 

13 internationally. 

14 (f) MONITORING THE UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO

15 PREVENT AND RESPOND TO CRIMINALIZATION, DISCRIMI16 NATION, AND VIOLENCE AGAINST LGBTQI PEOPLE AND

17 COMMUNITIES INTERNATIONALLY.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—In each global strategy sub19 mitted under subsection (e), the Special Envoy shall 

20 include an analysis of best practices for preventing 

21 and addressing criminalization, discrimination, and 

22 violence against LGBTQI people and communities 

23 internationally, including— 

24 (A) a description of successful efforts by 

25 foreign governments and nongovernmental orVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:56 Mar 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S424.IS S424

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1 ganizations to prevent and respond to criminal2 ization, discrimination, and violence against 

3 LGBTQI people and communities internation4 ally; 

5 (B) recommendations related to best prac6 tices, effective strategies, and improvements to 

7 enhance the impact of such prevention and re8 sponse efforts; and 

9 (C) the impact of activities funded by the 

10 global strategy in preventing and reducing 

11 criminalization, discrimination, and violence 

12 against LGBTQI people and communities inter13 nationally. 

14 (2) INFORMATION REQUIRED TO BE INCLUDED

15 IN ANNUAL COUNTRY REPORTS ON HUMAN RIGHTS

16 PRACTICES.— 

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

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

19 2151n(d)) is amended— 

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

21 ‘‘; and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

22 (ii) in paragraph (12)(C)(ii), by strik23 ing the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

24 and’’; and 


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1 (iii) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(13) wherever applicable, the nature and ex4 tent of criminalization, discrimination, and violence 

5 based on sexual orientation and gender identity, in6 cluding an identification of those countries that have 

7 adopted laws or constitutional provisions that crim8 inalize or discriminate based on sexual orientation or 

9 gender identity (as those terms are defined in sec10 tion 2 of the International Human Rights Defense 

11 Act of 2018), including detailed descriptions of such 

12 laws and provisions.’’. 

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

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

15 2304) is amended— 

16 (i) by redesignating the second sub17 section (i) (relating to child marriage sta18 tus) as subsection (j); and 

19 (ii) by adding at the end the following 

20 new subsection: 

21 ‘‘(k) SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDEN22 TITY.—The report required under subsection (b) shall in23 clude, wherever applicable, the nature and extent of crim24 inalization, discrimination, and violence based on sexual 

25 orientation and gender identity, including an identification 


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1 of those countries that have adopted laws or constitutional 

2 provisions that criminalize or discriminate based on sexual 

3 orientation or gender identity (as those terms are defined 

4 in section 2 of the International Human Rights Defense 

5 Act of 2021), including detailed descriptions of such laws 

6 and provisions.’’. 

7 SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNITED STATES STRAT8 EGY TO PREVENT AND RESPOND TO CRIM9 INALIZATION, DISCRIMINATION, AND VIO10 LENCE AGAINST LGBTQI PEOPLE AND COM11 MUNITIES INTERNATIONALLY. 

12 The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the 

13 United States Agency for International Development are 

14 authorized to provide assistance to prevent and respond 

15 to criminalization, discrimination, and violence against 

16 LGBTQI people internationally. Such assistance may in17 clude the following activities: 

18 (1) Development and implementation of pro19 grams, such as the Global Equality Fund of the De20 partment of State, that respond to human rights 

21 abuses and economic exclusion of LGBTQI people in 

22 the workplace and in public. 

23 (2) Development and enforcement of civil and 

24 criminal legal and judicial sanctions, protection, 

25 training, and capacity. 


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1 (3) Enhancement of health sector capacity to 

2 detect, prevent, and respond to violence against 

3 LGBTQI people and communities internationally, 

4 and to combat HIV/AIDS in the LGBTQI commu5 nity internationally, in close coordination with the 

6 Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator and Health 

7 Diplomacy of the Department of State. 

8 (4) Development of a leadership program for 

9 international LGBTQI activists that will foster col10 laboration and knowledge sharing across the world. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS