International Human Rights Defense Act of 2021
Bill: S.424 | Sponsor: Sen. Markey, Edward J. (D-MA)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
International Human Rights Defense Act of 2021
This bill establishes in the Department of State a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex) Peoples who shall serve as the principal State Department advisor regarding human rights for LGBTQI people and represent the United States in diplomatic matters relevant to the human rights of LGBTQI people.
The special envoy shall periodically provide Congress with a U.S. global strategy to prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI people. The State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development may provide assistance to prevent and respond to such activities against LGBTQI people.
The bill also requires that annual country reports on human rights practices include information on criminalization, discrimination, and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``International Human Rights Defense 
Act of 2021''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations and the 
                Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 
                Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Gender identity.--The term ``gender identity'' means 
        the gender-related identity, appearance, or mannerisms or other 
        gender-related characteristics of an individual, regardless of 
        the individual's designated sex at birth.
            (3) Intersex.--The term ``intersex'' means individuals born 
        with sex characteristics (including genitals, gonads, or 
        chromosome patterns) that vary from typical binary notions of 
        male or female bodies and is an umbrella term used to describe 
        a wide range of natural bodily variations.
            (4) LGBTQI.--The term ``LGBTQI'' means lesbian, gay, 
        bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex.
            (5) Sexual orientation.--The term ``sexual orientation'' 
        means actual or perceived homosexuality, heterosexuality, or 
        bisexuality.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) Around the world, LGBTQI people face violence, 
        discrimination, hatred, and bigotry.
            (2) Sixty-nine countries criminalize same-sex relations and 
        at least three countries prohibit the public support of the 
        LGBTQI community. That is equal to 35 percent of United Nations 
        member states.
            (3) In several countries, homosexuality is a crime that is 
        punishable by death.
            (4) Intersex people experience prejudice and 
        discrimination, including the common performance of medically 
        unnecessary surgeries without their consent or approval, 
        because their bodies do not conform to other people's 
        expectations about sex and gender.
            (5) Violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation 
        and gender identity are documented in the Department of State's 
        annual Human Rights Report to Congress. The 2019 report 
        continues to show a clear pattern of human rights violations in 
        every region of the world based on sexual orientation and 
        gender identity. These violations include murder, rape, 
        torture, death threats, extortion, and imprisonment, as well as 
        loss of employment, housing, access to health care, and other 
        forms of societal stigma and discrimination. The report further 
        documents LGBTQI-specific restrictions on basic freedoms of 
        assembly, press, and speech in every region of the world.
            (6) In 2013, the Russian Duma passed a law banning so-
        called ``homosexual propaganda'', which effectively makes it a 
        crime to publicly support LGBTQI equality or even discuss 
        homosexuality. This pernicious law is the basis for similar so-
        called ``anti-propaganda'' legislation in countries across 
        Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including in Moldova, 
        Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus.
            (7) On April 1, 2017, the Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta 
        reported that the government of the autonomous republic of 
        Chechnya had been arresting, detaining, and torturing gay and 
        bisexual men in secret prisons since early 2017. An 
        Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) 
        fact-finding report released in December 2018 confirmed the 
        atrocities, documenting ``several waves of violations of human 
        rights abuses of persons based on their sexual orientation and 
        gender identity''. Reports throughout 2020 suggest the purge 
        has continued.
            (8) In May 2020, the Hungarian Parliament voted to 
        eliminate the ability for transgender and intersex Hungarians 
        to legally change their gender on official documents. In June 
        2020, Poland's president pledged to ban the ``propagation of 
        LGBT ideology,'' and nearly a third of Polish towns and 
        municipalities have now declared themselves to be ``LGBT-free 
        zones''.
            (9) In December 2013, under the guise of prohibiting 
        marriage equality through the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) 
        Act, the Government of Nigeria adopted a law that further 
        criminalized same-sex relations and support for LGBTQI people, 
        endangering neighbors, friends, doctors, and landlords of 
        LGBTQI people. In August 2018, 57 men at a party in Lagos were 
        arrested under this law and 47 were later charged in December 
        2019 for ``public show of same sex amorous relationship''. 
        While the case was thrown out in October 2020 due to 
        deficiencies in the prosecution, the men suffered significant 
        harm over the course of the two-year trial.
            (10) Several countries in South Asia continue to have 
        draconian laws that criminalize homosexual acts, which place 
        LGBTQI people in danger and undermine their ability to live 
        free from persecution.
            (11) In February 2014, the Government of Uganda adopted a 
        law making ``aggravated homosexuality'' a crime punishable with 
        life imprisonment and concurrently, the Government of Uganda 
        also passed laws severely limiting the basic freedoms of speech 
        and assembly for LGBTQI citizens. Although the Constitutional 
        Court overturned the Anti-Homosexuality Act on a technicality 
        in August 2014, LGBTQI Ugandans continue to be subjected to 
        discrimination and violence, and their government has in recent 
        years forcibly shut down even private Pride celebrations in 
        Kampala.
            (12) In November 2016, the Government of Tanzania banned 
        all HIV and AIDS outreach projects aimed at gay men, including 
        those funded by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief 
        (PEPFAR), forcing the closure of United States-funded programs 
        providing testing, condoms, and care to gay men, exacerbating 
        the health needs of gay men in Tanzania, about 30 percent of 
        whom are HIV positive. In 2018, various government officials 
        announced crackdowns on the LGBTQI community, including a 
        threat by the governor of the largest city, who announced a 
        purge on LGBTQI individuals and asked the public to report 
        them.
            (13) A 2020 report by Human Rights Watch found that in the 
        Northern Triangle countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and 
        Honduras, ``gangs specifically target LGBT people, killing, 
        assaulting, threatening or extorting them''. A 2016 report 
        noted that transgender women in El Salvador have an average 
        life expectancy of less than 35 years due to violence, 
        discrimination, and femicide.
            (14) Extreme violence in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, 
        and Honduras has driven LGBTQI people to flee their countries 
        or origin to the United States for protection. At the United 
        States border with Mexico, LGBTQI asylum seekers face 
        additional violence and many have been returned to face 
        persecution in their home countries or in third countries that 
        are not safe.
            (15) On May 23, 2017, and again on July 13, 2018, gay men 
        were publicly caned in the Indonesian province of Aceh, while 
        thousands of spectators snapped pictures outside a mosque. More 
        recently, including in August 2020, police in Indonesia have 
        arrested men at private parties, sometimes releasing their 
        photographs to the news media, endangering their lives. The 
        August 2020 raid fits a disturbing pattern of Indonesian 
        authorities using the pornography law as a weapon to target 
        LGBTQI people.
            (16) The Department of State Human Rights Report for 2019 
        notes that Egyptian police arrest LGBTQI persons on charges 
        such as ``debauchery'', ``prostitution'', and ``violating the 
        teachings of religion'', leading to prison sentences of up to 
        10 years. According to a local group, there have been more than 
        250 arrests since 2013. Arrests have continued apace in 2020. 
        Rights groups also have reported on the discredited use of 
        ``virginity'' and ``anal tests'' by Egyptian authorities to 
        attempt to prove sexual activity, assaults that may constitute 
        cruel, degrading, and inhuman treatment that can rise to the 
        level of torture under international human rights law.
            (17) Anti-LGBTQI laws not only endanger all LGBTQI 
        individuals, but also pose serious risks for those associated 
        with or caring for LGBTQI people. Studies have shown that when 
        LGBTQI people, especially LGBTQI youth, face discrimination, 
        they are less likely to seek HIV testing, prevention, and 
        treatment services.
            (18) According to the Trans Murder Monitoring Project, 
        which monitors homicides of transgender individuals, 350 trans 
        and gender-diverse were killed between October 1, 2019, and 
        September 30, 2020, representing a 6 percent increase in 
        reported murders from the 2019 update.
            (19) According to the International Guidelines on HIV/AIDS 
        and Human Rights, as published by the United Nations High 
        Commissioner for Human Rights, and according to the reports of 
        the United Nations Independent Expert on protection against 
        violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and 
        gender identity, countries should review and reform criminal 
        laws and correctional systems to ensure that they are 
        consistent with international human rights obligations and are 
        not misused or targeted against vulnerable groups.
            (20) Removing institutionalized discrimination and targeted 
        persecution against LGBTQI people around the world is a 
        critical step in the promotion of human rights and global 
        health internationally.
            (21) Anti-LGBTQI laws and discrimination pose significant 
        risks for LGBTQI youth who come out to their family or 
        community and often face rejection, homelessness, and limited 
        educational and economic opportunities. These factors 
        contribute to increased risks of substance abuse, suicide, and 
        HIV infection among LGBTQI youth.
            (22) On December 6, 2011, President Barack Obama released 
        the ``Presidential Memorandum--International Initiatives to 
        Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and 
        Transgender Persons''. The memorandum directed all Federal 
        agencies engaged abroad to ensure that United States diplomacy 
        and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of 
        LGBTQI persons.
            (23) On February 23, 2015, Secretary of State John Kerry 
        appointed senior diplomat Randy Berry as the Department of 
        State's first-ever Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI 
        Persons. No person was named to that position during the Trump 
        Administration.
            (24) On June 30, 2016, the United Nations Human Rights 
        Council passed a resolution cosponsored by the United States 
        that established an Independent Expert on violence and 
        discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity 
        to help monitor and track discrimination and violence 
        experienced by LGBTQI persons around the world.
            (25) At the annual Summit of Commonwealth Nations in April 
        2018, United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May issued an 
        apology for discriminatory laws criminalizing same-sex 
        relationships that were imposed on British colonies around the 
        world. She also announced the creation of a fund to support 
        legal reform efforts.
            (26) In April 2018, Trinidad and Tobago's High Court of 
        Justice issued a landmark ruling declaring that laws which 
        criminalize same-sex relationships between consenting adults 
        are unconstitutional.
            (27) In September 2018, the Supreme Court of India 
        decriminalized same-sex relationships. The same court also has 
        affirmed the rights of transgender people as a protected 
        ``third gender'' under the Constitution of India.
            (28) Angola decriminalized same-sex relationships in 
        January 2019, and prohibited discrimination against people on 
        the basis of sexual orientation. In December 2020, the 
        parliament of Bhutan voted to decriminalize same-sex 
        relationships.
            (29) In January 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human 
        Rights issued an advisory opinion declaring that the American 
        Convention on Human Rights, adopted at San Jose November 22, 
        1969, grants the right of transgender people to change their 
        name and gender on public documents, and that same-sex couples 
        must be granted full legal rights, including the right to 
        marriage. This ruling is animating legal reforms and human 
        rights cases across the Americas.
            (30) In September 2018, the legislature in Chile passed a 
        groundbreaking legal gender recognition law, which allows 
        transgender individuals to self-determine their legal gender in 
        official documents without a judicial determination or medical 
        interventions. The Government of Uruguay passed a similarly 
        expansive gender recognition law in 2018.
            (31) In May 2020, the United Nations Independent Expert on 
        protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual 
        orientation and gender identity released a report on so-called 
        ``conversion therapy,'' which is an umbrella term used to 
        describe interventions based on a belief that a person's sexual 
        orientation or gender identity can and should be changed. The 
        report concludes that such practices represent significant 
        violations of rights to bodily autonomy, health, and free 
        expression, and can breach the prohibition against torture and 
        ill-treatment. The Independent Expert concludes by calling for 
        a global ban on conversion therapy, noting that ``the 
        psychological pain and suffering inflicted by practices of 
        `conversion therapy' are deep and long-lasting and often 
        exacerbate the risk of suicide''.
            (32) The global COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated 
        inequalities that LGBTQI individuals face, including access to 
        healthcare, stigma, and discrimination.
            (33) Some governments have enacted measures that target or 
        discriminate against LGBTQI individuals and communities under 
        the guise of COVID-19 public health precautions.
            (34) In March 2020, Ugandan police arbitrarily arrested 20 
        LGBTQI people living in a homeless shelter, charging them with 
        ``a negligent act likely to spread infection of disease''. They 
        were released and all charges were dropped after nearly two 
        months in prison.
            (35) Gender-based quarantine rules have resulted in 
        increased violence against transgender individuals and reports 
        indicate an increase in transphobic and homophobic rhetoric, as 
        religious leaders and others scapegoat LGBTQI people for the 
        spread of the disease.
            (36) COVID-19 has also increased barriers to access health 
        care for LGBTQI individuals. In addition to discrimination in 
        care, the health needs of LGBTQI people may be deprioritized. 
        For example, HIV prevention activities have largely ceased due 
        to the pandemic, elevating risks for transmission among key 
        population groups.
            (37) Due to stay-at-home restrictions, LGBTQI people may be 
        confined to hostile households, putting them at increased risk 
        for gender-based violence and compounding mental health 
        challenges.
            (38) LGBTQI individuals may be unable to access a 
        government's COVID support services due to discrimination. In 
        response, LGBTQI-led civil society organizations have been 
        forced to shift their programs to provide humanitarian support 
        to their communities, sidelining other programs previously 
        performed in their communities.

SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to take effective action to prevent and respond to 
        discrimination and violence against all people on any basis 
        internationally, including sexual orientation, gender identity, 
        and sex characteristics, and that human rights policy includes 
        attention to criminalization, hate crimes, and other 
        discrimination against LGBTQI people;
            (2) to systematically integrate and coordinate into United 
        States foreign policy efforts to prevent and respond to 
        criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI 
        people internationally;
            (3) to support and build local capacity in countries around 
        the world, including of governments at all levels and 
        nongovernmental organizations, to prevent and respond to 
        criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI 
        people internationally;
            (4) to consult, cooperate, coordinate, and collaborate with 
        a wide variety of nongovernmental partners, including faith-
        based organizations and LGBTQI-led organizations, with 
        demonstrated experience in preventing and responding to 
        criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI 
        people internationally;
            (5) to employ a multisectoral approach to preventing and 
        responding to criminalization, discrimination, and violence 
        against LGBTQI people internationally, including activities in 
        the economic, education, health, nutrition, legal, and judicial 
        sectors;
            (6) to work at all levels, from the individual to the 
        family, community, local, national, and international levels, 
        to prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, and 
        violence against LGBTQI people internationally;
            (7) to enhance training by United States personnel of 
        professional foreign military and police forces and judicial 
        officials to include appropriate and thorough LGBTQI-specific 
        instruction on preventing and responding to criminalization, 
        discrimination, and violence based on sexual orientation and 
        gender identity;
            (8) to engage non-LGBTQI people as allies and partners, as 
        an essential element of making sustained reductions in 
        criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI 
        people internationally;
            (9) to require that all Federal contractors and grant 
        recipients in the United States Government's international 
        programs establish appropriate policies and take effective 
        measures to ensure the protection and safety of their staff and 
        workplace, including from discrimination and violence directed 
        against LGBTQI people and those who provide services to them;
            (10) to exert sustained international leadership, including 
        in bilateral and multilateral fora, to prevent and respond to 
        criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI 
        people internationally;
            (11) to fully implement and expand upon the policies 
        outlined in the ``Presidential Memorandum--International 
        Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, 
        Bisexual, and Transgender Persons'';
            (12) to ensure that international efforts to combat HIV/
        AIDS take all appropriate measures to support at-risk 
        communities, including LGBTQI people, and to create enabling 
        legal environments for these communities;
            (13) to work with governments and nongovernmental partners 
        around the world to develop and implement regional strategies 
        to decriminalize homosexuality and to counteract the 
        prohibition of public support of LGBTQI people; and
            (14) to ensure that those who have a well-founded fear of 
        persecution on account of being LGBTQI or supporting LGBTQI 
        rights have the opportunity to seek protection in the United 
        States.

SEC. 5. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF LGBTQI PEOPLE.

    (a) Establishment.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of State shall establish in 
        the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) of the 
        Department of State a permanent Special Envoy for the Human 
        Rights of LGBTQI Peoples (in this section referred to as the 
        ``Special Envoy''), who shall be appointed by the President. 
        The Special Envoy shall report directly to the Assistant 
        Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
            (2) Rank.--The Special Envoy may be appointed at the rank 
        of Ambassador.
    (b) Purpose.--In addition to the duties described in subsection (c) 
and those duties determined by the Secretary of State, the Special 
Envoy shall direct efforts of the United States Government relating to 
United States foreign policy, as directed by the Secretary, regarding 
human rights abuses against LGBTQI people and communities 
internationally and the advancement of human rights for LGBTQI people, 
and shall represent the United States internationally in bilateral and 
multilateral engagement on such matters.
    (c) Duties.--
            (1) In general.--The Special Envoy--
                    (A) shall serve as the principal advisor to the 
                Secretary of State regarding human rights for LGBTQI 
                people internationally;
                    (B) shall, notwithstanding any other provision of 
                law, direct activities, policies, programs, and funding 
                relating to the human rights of LGBTQI people and the 
                advancement of LGBTQI equality initiatives 
                internationally, for all bureaus and offices of the 
                Department of State, and shall lead the coordination of 
                relevant international programs for all other Federal 
                agencies relating to such matters;
                    (C) shall represent the United States in diplomatic 
                matters relevant to the human rights of LGBTQI people, 
                including criminalization, discrimination, and violence 
                against LGBTQI people internationally;
                    (D) shall direct, as appropriate, United States 
                Government resources to respond to needs for 
                protection, integration, resettlement, and empowerment 
                of LGBTQI people in United States Government policies 
                and international programs, including to prevent and 
                respond to criminalization, discrimination, and 
                violence against LGBTQI people internationally;
                    (E) shall design, support, and implement activities 
                regarding support, education, resettlement, and 
                empowerment of LGBTQI people internationally, including 
                for the prevention and response to criminalization, 
                discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI people 
                internationally;
                    (F) shall lead interagency coordination between the 
                foreign policy priorities related to the human rights 
                of LGBTQI people and the development assistance 
                priorities of the LGBTQI Coordinator of the United 
                States Agency for International Development;
                    (G) shall conduct regular consultation with 
                nongovernmental organizations working to prevent and 
                respond to criminalization, discrimination, and 
                violence against LGBTQI people internationally;
                    (H) shall ensure that programs, projects, and 
                activities of the Department of State and the United 
                States Agency for International Development designed to 
                prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, 
                and violence against LGBTQI people internationally are 
                subject to rigorous monitoring and evaluation, and that 
                there is a uniform set of indicators and standards for 
                such monitoring and evaluation that is used across 
                international programs in Federal agencies; and
                    (I) is authorized to represent the United States in 
                bilateral and multilateral fora on matters relevant to 
                the human rights of LGBTQI people internationally, 
                including criminalization, discrimination, and violence 
                against LGBTQI people internationally.
            (2) Data repository.--The Bureau of Democracy, Human 
        Rights, and Labor shall--
                    (A) be the central repository of data on all United 
                States programs, projects, and activities that relate 
                to prevention and response to criminalization, 
                discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI people 
                internationally; and
                    (B) produce--
                            (i) a full accounting of United States 
                        Government spending on such programs, projects, 
                        and activities; and
                            (ii) evaluations of the effectiveness of 
                        such programs, projects, and activities.
    (d) Briefings and Assessments.--Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Special 
Envoy shall--
            (1) brief the appropriate congressional committees on the 
        status of the human rights of LGBTQI people internationally, as 
        well as on the status of programs and response strategies to 
        address criminalization, discrimination, and violence against 
        LGBTQI people internationally; and
            (2) submit to the appropriate congressional committees an 
        assessment of human and financial resources necessary to 
        fulfill the purposes and duties of this Act.
    (e) United States Policy To Prevent and Respond to Criminalization, 
Discrimination, and Violence Against LGBTQI People Globally.--
            (1) Global strategy requirement.--Not later than 180 days 
        after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 
        thereafter for each of the following five years, the Special 
        Envoy shall develop or update, as the case may be, a United 
        States global strategy to prevent and respond to 
        criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI 
        people internationally. The Special Envoy shall submit the 
        global strategy to the appropriate congressional committees 
        and, if practicable, make the global strategy available to the 
        public.
            (2) Collaboration and coordination.--In developing the 
        global strategy required under paragraph (1), the Special Envoy 
        shall consult with--
                    (A) mid- and high-level officials of relevant 
                Federal agencies; and
                    (B) representatives of nongovernmental 
                organizations with demonstrated experience in 
                addressing criminalization, discrimination, and 
                violence against LGBTQI people internationally or 
                promoting equal rights for LGBTQI people 
                internationally.
    (f) Monitoring the United States Strategy To Prevent and Respond to 
Criminalization, Discrimination, and Violence Against LGBTQI People and 
Communities Internationally.--
            (1) In general.--In each global strategy submitted under 
        subsection (e), the Special Envoy shall include an analysis of 
        best practices for preventing and addressing criminalization, 
        discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI people and 
        communities internationally, including--
                    (A) a description of successful efforts by foreign 
                governments and nongovernmental organizations to 
                prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, 
                and violence against LGBTQI people and communities 
                internationally;
                    (B) recommendations related to best practices, 
                effective strategies, and improvements to enhance the 
                impact of such prevention and response efforts; and
                    (C) the impact of activities funded by the global 
                strategy in preventing and reducing criminalization, 
                discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI people and 
                communities internationally.
            (2) Information required to be included in annual country 
        reports on human rights practices.--
                    (A) Section 116.--Section 116(d) of the Foreign 
                Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)) is 
                amended--
                            (i) in paragraph (11)(C), by striking ``; 
                        and'' and inserting a semicolon;
                            (ii) in paragraph (12)(C)(ii), by striking 
                        the period at the end and inserting ``; and''; 
                        and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following 
                        new paragraph:
            ``(13) wherever applicable, the nature and extent of 
        criminalization, discrimination, and violence based on sexual 
        orientation and gender identity, including an identification of 
        those countries that have adopted laws or constitutional 
        provisions that criminalize or discriminate based on sexual 
        orientation or gender identity (as those terms are defined in 
        section 2 of the International Human Rights Defense Act of 
        2018), including detailed descriptions of such laws and 
        provisions.''.
                    (B) Section 502b.--Section 502B of the Foreign 
                Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304) is amended--
                            (i) by redesignating the second subsection 
                        (i) (relating to child marriage status) as 
                        subsection (j); and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following new 
                        subsection:
    ``(k) Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.--The report required 
under subsection (b) shall include, wherever applicable, the nature and 
extent of criminalization, discrimination, and violence based on sexual 
orientation and gender identity, including an identification of those 
countries that have adopted laws or constitutional provisions that 
criminalize or discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender 
identity (as those terms are defined in section 2 of the International 
Human Rights Defense Act of 2021), including detailed descriptions of 
such laws and provisions.''.

SEC. 6. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE UNITED STATES STRATEGY TO PREVENT AND 
              RESPOND TO CRIMINALIZATION, DISCRIMINATION, AND VIOLENCE 
              AGAINST LGBTQI PEOPLE AND COMMUNITIES INTERNATIONALLY.

    The Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States 
Agency for International Development are authorized to provide 
assistance to prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, 
and violence against LGBTQI people internationally. Such assistance may 
include the following activities:
            (1) Development and implementation of programs, such as the 
        Global Equality Fund of the Department of State, that respond 
        to human rights abuses and economic exclusion of LGBTQI people 
        in the workplace and in public.
            (2) Development and enforcement of civil and criminal legal 
        and judicial sanctions, protection, training, and capacity.
            (3) Enhancement of health sector capacity to detect, 
        prevent, and respond to violence against LGBTQI people and 
        communities internationally, and to combat HIV/AIDS in the 
        LGBTQI community internationally, in close coordination with 
        the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator and Health Diplomacy 
        of the Department of State.
            (4) Development of a leadership program for international 
        LGBTQI activists that will foster collaboration and knowledge 
        sharing across the world.
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