Title: Global Respect Act of 2017
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Global Respect Act Act of 2017
This bill directs the President to submit to Congress, every 180 days, a list of each foreign person that the President determines is responsible for or complicit in, or who acted as an agent for a foreign person in a matter relating to, detention, torture, or other denials of the right to life, liberty, or security of a person based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Department of State shall issue public guidance relating to how names of foreign persons may be included on such list.
A foreign listed person: (1) may be removed from the list under specified conditions; (2) is ineligible to enter or be admitted to the United States, or (3) if in the United States, shall have his or her visa revoked and be removed.
The State Department and the Department of Homeland Security may waive such prohibition if such waiver is in U.S. national security interests or is necessary for compliance with the Agreement between the United Nations (U.N.) and the United States regarding the U.N. Headquarters. Congressional notification is required prior to any such waiver.
The Assistant Secretary for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor shall designate a senior officer or officers to track violence, criminalization, and restrictions on fundamental freedoms in foreign countries based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended to require the annual country reports on human rights practices to include information on sexual orientation or gender identity violence or restrictions.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1172 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1172

  To impose sanctions with respect to foreign persons responsible for 
  gross violations of internationally recognized human rights against 
  lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 18, 2017

Mrs. Shaheen (for herself, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Portman, 
   Mr. Murphy, Ms. Collins, Mr. Markey, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Wyden) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To impose sanctions with respect to foreign persons responsible for 
  gross violations of internationally recognized human rights against 
  lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) 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 of 2017''.

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 rights.
            (3) An alarming trend of violence directed at lesbian, gay, 
        bisexual, and transgender (in this section referred to as 
        ``LGBT'') individuals around the world continues.
            (4) More than one-third of all countries have laws 
        criminalizing consensual same-sex relations, and countries such 
        as Nigeria, the Russian Federation, Uganda, and Kyrgyzstan have 
        recently considered or passed legislation that would further 
        target LGBT 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) Persons who commit crimes against LGBT individuals 
        often do so with impunity, and are not held accountable for 
        their crimes.
            (7) Homophobic and transphobic statements by government 
        officials in many countries in every region of the world 
        promote negative public attitudes and can lead to violence 
        toward LGBT individuals.
            (8) In many instances, police, prison, military, and 
        civilian government authorities have been directly complicit in 
        abuses aimed at LGBT individuals, including arbitrary arrest, 
        torture, and sexual abuse.
            (9) Celebrations of LGBT 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.
            (10) Laws criminalizing consensual same-sex relations 
        severely hinder access to HIV/AIDS treatment, information, and 
        preventive measures for LGBT individuals and families.
            (11) Many countries are making positive developments in the 
        protection of the basic human rights of LGBT individuals.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) 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; and
                    (B) 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.
            (2) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' has the 
        meaning given that term in section 595.304 of title 31, Code of 
        Federal Regulations (as in effect on the day before the date of 
        the enactment of this Act).

SEC. 4. IDENTIFICATION OF FOREIGN PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR GROSS 
              VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the President 
shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a list of each 
foreign person that the President determines, based on credible 
information--
            (1) is responsible for or complicit in torture, cruel, 
        inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, prolonged 
        detention without charges and trial, causing disappearance by 
        abduction and clandestine detention, or other flagrant denials 
        of the right to life, liberty, or security of the person based 
        on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity;
            (2) acted as an agent of or on behalf of a foreign person 
        in a matter relating to an activity described in paragraph (1); 
        or
            (3) is responsible for or complicit in inciting a foreign 
        person to engage in an activity described in paragraph (1).
    (b) Updates.--The President shall submit to the appropriate 
congressional committees an update of the list required by subsection 
(a) as new information becomes available.
    (c) Guidance Relating to Submission of Certain Information.--The 
Secretary of State shall issue public guidance, including through 
United States diplomatic and consular posts, relating to how names of 
foreign persons who may be included on the list required by subsection 
(a) may be submitted to the Department of State.
    (d) Form.--
            (1) In general.--The list required by subsection (a) shall 
        be submitted in unclassified form.
            (2) Exception.--The name of a foreign person to be included 
        in the list required by subsection (a) may be submitted in a 
        classified annex only if the President--
                    (A) determines that it is vital for the national 
                security interests of the United States to do so;
                    (B) uses the annex in a manner consistent with 
                congressional intent and the purposes of this Act; and
                    (C) not later than 15 days before submitting the 
                name 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 the classified annex despite any publicly 
                available credible information indicating that the 
                foreign person engaged in an activity described in 
                subsection (a).
            (3) Consideration of certain information.--In preparing the 
        list required by subsection (a), the President shall consider--
                    (A) information provided by the chairperson or 
                ranking member of each of the appropriate congressional 
                committees; and
                    (B) credible information obtained by other 
                countries and nongovernmental organizations that 
                monitor violations of human rights.
            (4) Public availability.--The unclassified portion of the 
        list required by subsection (a) shall be made available to the 
        public and published in the Federal Register.
    (e) Removal From List.--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 the foreign person from the list that--
            (1) credible information exists that the foreign person did 
        not engage in the activity for which the foreign person was 
        added to the list;
            (2) the foreign person has been prosecuted appropriately 
        for the activity in which the foreign person engaged; or
            (3) the foreign person has credibly demonstrated a 
        significant change in behavior, has paid an appropriate 
        consequence for the activities in which the foreign person 
        engaged, and has credibly committed to not engage in an 
        activity described in subsection (a).
    (f) Requests by Chairperson or Ranking Member of Appropriate 
Congressional Committees.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after receiving a 
        written request from the chairperson or ranking member of one 
        of the appropriate congressional committees with respect to 
        whether a foreign person meets the criteria for being added to 
        the list required by subsection (a), the President shall submit 
        a response to that chairperson or ranking member, as the case 
        may be, with respect to the status of that foreign person.
            (2) Form.--The President may submit a response required by 
        paragraph (1) in classified form if the President determines 
        that it is necessary for the national security interests of the 
        United States to do so.
            (3) Removal.--
                    (A) In general.--If the President removes a foreign 
                person from the list required by subsection (a), the 
                President shall provide the chairpersons and ranking 
                members of the appropriate congressional committees 
                with any information that contributed to the decision 
                to remove the foreign person from the list.
                    (B) Form of information.--The President may submit 
                the information required by subparagraph (A) in 
                classified form if the President determines that it is 
                necessary to the national security interests of the 
                United States to do so.
    (g) Nonapplicability of Confidentiality Requirement With Respect to 
Visa Records.--The President shall publish the list required by 
subsection (a) without regard to the requirements of section 222(f) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1202(f)) with respect to 
confidentiality of records pertaining to the issuance or refusal of 
visas or permits to enter the United States.

SEC. 5. INADMISSIBILITY OF CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS.

    (a) Ineligibility for Visas and Admission to the United States.--An 
individual who is a foreign person on the list required by section 4(a) 
is ineligible to receive a visa to enter the United States and 
ineligible to be admitted to the United States.
    (b) Current Visas Revoked and Removal From United States.--The 
Secretary of State shall revoke, in accordance with section 221(i) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), the visa or 
other documentation of an individual who would be ineligible to receive 
such a visa or documentation under subsection (a), and the Secretary of 
Homeland Security shall remove from the United States such an 
individual.
    (c) Waiver for National Security Interests.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of State and the Secretary 
        of Homeland Security, in consultation with the President, may 
        waive the application of subsection (a) or (b), as the case may 
        be, in the case of an individual if--
                    (A) the Secretaries determine that such a waiver--
                            (i) is necessary to permit the United 
                        States to comply with the Agreement between the 
                        United Nations and the United States of America 
                        regarding the Headquarters of the United 
                        Nations, signed June 26, 1947, and entered into 
                        force November 21, 1947, or other applicable 
                        international obligations of the United States; 
                        or
                            (ii) is in the national security interests 
                        of the United States; and
                    (B) before granting the waiver, the Secretaries 
                provide to the appropriate congressional committees 
                notice of, and a justification for, the waiver.
            (2) Timing for notice of certain waivers.--In the case of a 
        waiver under subparagraph (A)(ii) of paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
        submit the notice required by subparagraph (B) of such 
        paragraph not later than 15 days before granting the waiver.
    (d) Regulatory Authority.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State and the Secretary 
of Homeland Security shall prescribe such regulations as are necessary 
to carry out this section.

SEC. 6. 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 Act, including--
                    (A) the number of foreign persons added to or 
                removed from the list required by section 4(a) during 
                the year preceding the report, the dates on which those 
                persons were added or removed, and the reasons for 
                adding or removing those persons; and
                    (B) an analysis that compares increases or 
                decreases in the number of such persons year-over-year 
                and the reasons for those increases or decreases; and
            (2) efforts by the executive branch to coordinate with the 
        governments of other countries to, as appropriate, impose 
        sanctions that are similar to the sanctions imposed under this 
        Act.

SEC. 7. DISCRIMINATION RELATED TO SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GENDER 
              IDENTITY.

    (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 a senior officer or 
officers of the Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor 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 or gender identity.
    (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'' at 
                the end;
                    (B) in paragraph (12)(C)(ii), by striking the 
                period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(13) wherever applicable, 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 or 
        gender identity.''; and
            (2) in section 502B(b) (22 U.S.C. 2304(b)), by inserting 
        after the ninth sentence the following: ``Wherever applicable, 
        such report shall also include information regarding 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 or gender identity.''.
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