Global Respect Act
Bill: H.R.3485 | Sponsor: Rep. Cicilline, David N. (D-RI)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Global Respect Act
This bill imposes visa-blocking sanctions on foreign persons responsible for or complicit in violating the human rights of individuals due to actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics. The President must report and periodically update a list of foreign persons responsible for such human rights violations and apply sanctions accordingly.
The Department of State must designate at least one senior officer who shall be responsible for tracking violence and discrimination against individuals based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics in foreign countries.

To impose sanctions on foreign persons responsible for violations of 
internationally recognized human rights against lesbian, gay, bisexual, 
  transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) individuals, 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 ``Global Respect Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The dignity, freedom, and equality of all human beings 
        are fundamental to a thriving global community.
            (2) The rights to life, liberty, and security of the 
        person, the right to privacy, and the right to freedom of 
        expression and association are fundamental human rights.
            (3) An alarming trend of violence directed at LGBTQI 
        individuals around the world continues.
            (4) Approximately one-third of all countries have laws 
        criminalizing consensual same-sex relations, and many have 
        enacted policies or laws that would further target LGBTQI 
        individuals.
            (5) Every year thousands of individuals around the world 
        are targeted for harassment, attack, arrest, and murder on the 
        basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
            (6) Those who commit crimes against LGBTQI individuals 
        often do so with impunity, and are not held accountable for 
        their crimes.
            (7) In many instances police, prison, military, and 
        civilian government authorities have been directly complicit in 
        abuses aimed at LGBTQI citizens, including arbitrary arrest, 
        torture, and sexual abuse.
            (8) Celebrations of LGBTQI individuals and communities, 
        such as film festivals, Pride events, and demonstrations are 
        often forced underground due to inaction on the part of, or 
        harassment by, local law enforcement and government officials, 
        in violation of freedoms of assembly and expression.
            (9) Laws criminalizing consensual same-sex relations 
        severely hinder access to HIV/AIDS treatment, information, and 
        preventive measures for LGBTQI individuals and families.
            (10) Many countries are making positive developments in the 
        protection of the basic human rights of LGBTQI individuals.

SEC. 3. SANCTIONS ON INDIVIDUALS RESPONSIBLE FOR VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN 
              RIGHTS AGAINST LGBTQI PEOPLE.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and biannually thereafter, the President shall 
transmit to the appropriate congressional committees a list of each 
foreign person the President determines, based on credible information, 
including information obtained by other countries or by nongovernmental 
organizations that monitor violations of human rights--
            (1) is responsible for or complicit in, with respect to 
        persons based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender 
        identity, or sex characteristics--
                    (A) torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading 
                treatment or punishment;
                    (B) prolonged detention without charges and trial;
                    (C) causing the disappearance of such persons by 
                the abduction and clandestine detention of such 
                persons; or
                    (D) other flagrant denial of the right to life, 
                liberty, or the security of such persons; or
            (2) acted as an agent of or on behalf of a foreign person 
        in a matter relating to an activity described in paragraph (1).
    (b) Form; Updates; Removal.--
            (1) Form.--The list required by subsection (a) shall be 
        transmitted in unclassified form and published in the Federal 
        Register, except that the President may include a foreign 
        person in a classified, unpublished annex to such list if the 
        President--
                    (A) determines that--
                            (i) it is vital for the national security 
                        interests of the United States to do so; and
                            (ii) the use of such annex, and the 
                        inclusion of such person in such annex, would 
                        not undermine the overall purpose of this 
                        section to publicly identify foreign persons 
                        engaging in the conduct described in subsection 
                        (a) in order to increase accountability for 
                        such conduct; and
                    (B) not later than 15 days before including such 
                person in a classified annex, provides to the 
                appropriate congressional committees notice of, and a 
                justification for, including or continuing to include 
                each foreign person in such annex despite the existence 
                of any publicly available credible information 
                indicating that each such foreign person engaged in an 
                activity described in subsection (a).
            (2) Updates.--The President shall transmit to the 
        appropriate congressional committees an update of the list 
        required by subsection (a) as new information becomes 
        available.
            (3) Removal.--A foreign person may be removed from the list 
        required by subsection (a) if the President determines and 
        reports to the appropriate congressional committees not later 
        than 15 days before the removal of such person from such list 
        that--
                    (A) new, credible information is discovered 
                confirming that such person did not in fact engage in 
                the activity for which the person was included in such 
                list;
                    (B) such person has been prosecuted appropriately 
                for the activity in which such person engaged; or
                    (C) such person has credibly demonstrated a 
                significant change in behavior, has paid an appropriate 
                consequence for the activities in which such person 
                engaged, and has credibly committed to not engage in an 
                activity described in subsection (a).
    (c) Public Submission of Information.--The President shall issue 
public guidance, including through United States diplomatic and 
consular posts, setting forth the manner by which the names of foreign 
persons that may meet the criteria to be included on the list required 
by subsection (a) may be submitted to the Department of State for 
evaluation.
    (d) Requests From Chair and Ranking Member of Appropriate 
Congressional Committees.--
            (1) Consideration of information.--In addition to the 
        guidance issued pursuant to subsection (c), the President shall 
        also consider information provided by the Chair or Ranking 
        Member of each of the appropriate congressional committees in 
        determining whether to include a foreign person in the list 
        required by subsection (a).
            (2) Requests.--Not later than 120 days after receiving a 
        written request from the Chair or Ranking Member of one of the 
        appropriate congressional committees with respect to whether a 
        foreign person meets the criteria for being included in the 
        list required by subsection (a), the President shall transmit a 
        response to such Chair or Ranking Member, as the case may be, 
        with respect to the President's determination relating to such 
        foreign person.
            (3) Removal.--If the President removes from the list 
        required by subsection (a) a foreign person that had been 
        included in such list pursuant to a request under paragraph 
        (2), the President shall provide to the relevant Chair or 
        Ranking Member of the appropriate congressional committees any 
        information that contributed to such decision.
            (4) Form.--The President may transmit a response required 
        by paragraph (2) or paragraph (3) in classified form if the 
        President determines that it is necessary for the national 
        security interests of the United States to do so.
    (e) Inadmissibility of Certain Individuals.--
            (1) Ineligibility for visas and admission to the united 
        states.--A foreign person on the list required by subsection 
        (a), and each immediate family member of such person, is--
                    (A) inadmissible to the United States;
                    (B) ineligible to receive a visa or other 
                documentation to enter the United States; and
                    (C) otherwise ineligible to be admitted or paroled 
                into the United States or to receive any other benefit 
                under the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
                1101 et seq.).
            (2) Current visas revoked.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary of State, or the 
                Secretary of Homeland Security (or a designee of one 
                such Secretaries) shall, in accordance with section 
                221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
                1201(i)), revoke any visa or other entry documentation 
                issued to a foreign person on the list required by 
                subsection (a) and to each immediate family member of 
                such person regardless of when the visa or other entry 
                documentation is issued.
                    (B) Effect of revocation.--A revocation under 
                subparagraph (A) shall--
                            (i) take effect immediately; and
                            (ii) automatically cancel any other valid 
                        visa or entry documentation that is in the 
                        foreign person's possession.
            (3) Sense of congress with respect to additional 
        sanctions.--It is the sense of Congress that the President 
        should impose additional targeted sanctions with respect to 
        foreign persons on the list required by subsection (a) to push 
        for accountability for flagrant denials of the right to life, 
        liberty, or the security of the person, through the use of 
        designations and targeted sanctions provided for such conduct 
        under other existing authorities.
            (4) Exceptions.--
                    (A) Exception with respect to national security.--
                This section shall not apply with respect to--
                            (i) activities subject to the reporting 
                        requirements under title V of the National 
                        Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq.); 
                        or
                            (ii) any authorized intelligence or law 
                        enforcement activities of the United States.
                    (B) Exception to comply with international 
                obligations.--Sanctions under paragraphs (1) and (2) 
                shall not apply with respect to a person if admitting 
                or paroling the person into the United States is 
                necessary to permit the United States to comply with 
                the Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the United 
                Nations signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and 
                entered into force November 21, 1947, between the 
                United Nations and the United States or other 
                applicable international obligations.
                    (C) Exception for certain immediate family 
                members.--
                            (i) In general.--A covered individual shall 
                        not be subject to sanctions under this section 
                        if the President certifies to the appropriate 
                        congressional committees, in accordance with 
                        clause (ii), that such individual has a 
                        reasonable fear of persecution based on--
                                    (I) actual or perceived sexual 
                                orientation, gender identity, or sex 
                                characteristics;
                                    (II) race, religion, or 
                                nationality; or
                                    (III) political opinion or 
                                membership in a particular social 
                                group.
                            (ii) Determination and certification.--A 
                        certification under clause (i) shall be made 
                        not later than 30 days after the date of the 
                        determination required by such clause. Any 
                        proceedings relating to such determination 
                        shall not be publicly available.
                            (iii) Covered individual.--For purposes of 
                        this subparagraph, the term ``covered 
                        individual'' means an individual who is an 
                        immediate family member of foreign person on 
                        the list required by subsection (a).
            (5) Waiver.--The President may waive the application of 
        sanctions or restrictions imposed with respect to a foreign 
        person under this section if the President certifies to the 
        appropriate congressional committees, not later than 15 days 
        before such waiver is to take effect, that the waiver is vital 
        to the national interest of the United States.
    (f) Report to Congress.--Not later than one year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act and annually thereafter, the President, 
acting through the Secretary of State, shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees a report on--
            (1) the actions taken to carry out this section, 
        including--
                    (A) the number of foreign persons added to or 
                removed from the list required by subsection (a) during 
                the year preceding each such report, the dates on which 
                such persons were so added or removed, and the reasons 
                for so adding or removing such persons; and
                    (B) an analysis that compares increases or 
                decreases in the number of such persons added or 
                removed year-over-year and the reasons therefor; and
            (2) any efforts by the President to coordinate with the 
        governments of other countries, as appropriate, to impose 
        sanctions that are similar to the sanctions imposed under this 
        section.
    (g) Form; Publication.--The report required by subsection (f) shall 
be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex. 
The unclassified portion of such report shall be published on a 
publicly available website of the Department of State.
    (h) Report on Prevention.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to 
the appropriate congressional committees a report describing steps the 
Department can take to improve coordination with foreign governments, 
civil society groups, and the private sector, to prevent the commission 
of the human rights violations described in section 3(a)(1) against 
persons based on actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender 
identity, or sex characteristics.
    (i) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee 
                on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Homeland Security, 
                and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (B) the Committee on Armed Services, the Committee 
                on Foreign Relations, the Committee on Homeland 
                Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Committee on 
                the Judiciary of the Senate.
            (2) Immediate family member.--The term ``immediate family 
        member'' has the meaning given such term for purposes of 
        section 7031(c) of division K of the Consolidated 
        Appropriations Act, 2021.
    (j) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section may be construed 
to allow the imposition of sanctions with respect to, or otherwise 
authorize any other action against, any foreign person based solely 
upon religious belief.

SEC. 4. DISCRIMINATION RELATED TO SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY, 
              OR SEX CHARACTERISTICS.

    (a) Tracking Violence or Criminalization Related to Sexual 
Orientation or Gender Identity.--The Assistant Secretary of State for 
Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor shall designate one or more Bureau-
based senior officer or officers who shall be responsible for tracking 
violence, criminalization, and restrictions on the enjoyment of 
fundamental freedoms in foreign countries based on actual or perceived 
sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics.
    (b) Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.--The Foreign 
Assistance Act of 1961 is amended--
            (1) in section 116(d) (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d))--
                    (A) in paragraph (11)(C), by striking ``and'' after 
                the semicolon at the end;
                    (B) in paragraph (12)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
                        ``and'' after the semicolon at the end; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by striking 
                        the period at the end and inserting ``; and''; 
                        and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(13) wherever applicable, information relating to 
        violence or discrimination that affects fundamental freedoms, 
        including widespread or systematic violation of the freedoms of 
        expression, association, or assembly, of individuals in foreign 
        countries that is based on actual or perceived sexual 
        orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics.''; and
            (2) in section 502B(b) (22 U.S.C. 2304(b)), by inserting 
        after the ninth sentence the following new sentence: ``Wherever 
        applicable, such report shall also include information relating 
        to violence or discrimination that affects the fundamental 
        freedoms, including widespread or systematic violation of the 
        freedoms of expression, association, or assembly, of 
        individuals in foreign countries that is based on actual or 
        perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex 
        characteristics.''.

SEC. 5. STUDY REQUIRED.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of State shall submit to Congress a report that comprises 
of sections from each regional bureau detailing past risks to LGBTQI 
individuals, with a summary on the differences between regions with 
respect to such risks.

            Passed the House of Representatives February 9, 2022.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.
117th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 3485

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