Global Respect Act

117TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 3485 AN ACT To impose sanctions on foreign persons responsible for viola- tions 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 Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 2 •HR 3485 EH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Global Respect Act’’. 2 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 3 Congress finds the following: 4 (1) The dignity, freedom, and equality of all 5 human beings are fundamental to a thriving global 6 community. 7 (2) The rights to life, liberty, and security of 8 the person, the right to privacy, and the right to 9 freedom of expression and association are funda- 10 mental human rights. 11 (3) An alarming trend of violence directed at 12 LGBTQI individuals around the world continues. 13 (4) Approximately one-third of all countries 14 have laws criminalizing consensual same-sex rela- 15 tions, and many have enacted policies or laws that 16 would further target LGBTQI individuals. 17 (5) Every year thousands of individuals around 18 the world are targeted for harassment, attack, ar- 19 rest, and murder on the basis of their sexual ori- 20 entation or gender identity. 21 (6) Those who commit crimes against LGBTQI 22 individuals often do so with impunity, and are not 23 held accountable for their crimes. 24 (7) In many instances police, prison, military, 25 and civilian government authorities have been di- 26 3 •HR 3485 EH rectly complicit in abuses aimed at LGBTQI citi- 1 zens, including arbitrary arrest, torture, and sexual 2 abuse. 3 (8) Celebrations of LGBTQI individuals and 4 communities, such as film festivals, Pride events, 5 and demonstrations are often forced underground 6 due to inaction on the part of, or harassment by, 7 local law enforcement and government officials, in 8 violation of freedoms of assembly and expression. 9 (9) Laws criminalizing consensual same-sex re- 10 lations severely hinder access to HIV/AIDS treat- 11 ment, information, and preventive measures for 12 LGBTQI individuals and families. 13 (10) Many countries are making positive devel- 14 opments in the protection of the basic human rights 15 of LGBTQI individuals. 16 SEC. 3. SANCTIONS ON INDIVIDUALS RESPONSIBLE FOR 17 VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AGAINST 18 LGBTQI PEOPLE. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 20 date of the enactment of this Act and biannually there- 21 after, the President shall transmit to the appropriate con- 22 gressional committees a list of each foreign person the 23 President determines, based on credible information, in- 24 cluding information obtained by other countries or by non- 25 4 •HR 3485 EH governmental organizations that monitor violations of 1 human rights— 2 (1) is responsible for or complicit in, with re- 3 spect to persons based on actual or perceived sexual 4 orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics— 5 (A) torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrad- 6 ing treatment or punishment; 7 (B) prolonged detention without charges 8 and trial; 9 (C) causing the disappearance of such per- 10 sons by the abduction and clandestine detention 11 of such persons; or 12 (D) other flagrant denial of the right to 13 life, liberty, or the security of such persons; or 14 (2) acted as an agent of or on behalf of a for- 15 eign person in a matter relating to an activity de- 16 scribed in paragraph (1). 17 (b) FORM; UPDATES; REMOVAL.— 18 (1) FORM.—The list required by subsection (a) 19 shall be transmitted in unclassified form and pub- 20 lished in the Federal Register, except that the Presi- 21 dent may include a foreign person in a classified, 22 unpublished annex to such list if the President— 23 (A) determines that— 24 5 •HR 3485 EH (i) it is vital for the national security 1 interests of the United States to do so; and 2 (ii) the use of such annex, and the in- 3 clusion of such person in such annex, 4 would not undermine the overall purpose of 5 this section to publicly identify foreign per- 6 sons engaging in the conduct described in 7 subsection (a) in order to increase account- 8 ability for such conduct; and 9 (B) not later than 15 days before including 10 such person in a classified annex, provides to 11 the appropriate congressional committees notice 12 of, and a justification for, including or con- 13 tinuing to include each foreign person in such 14 annex despite the existence of any publicly 15 available credible information indicating that 16 each such foreign person engaged in an activity 17 described in subsection (a). 18 (2) UPDATES.—The President shall transmit to 19 the appropriate congressional committees an update 20 of the list required by subsection (a) as new infor- 21 mation becomes available. 22 (3) REMOVAL.—A foreign person may be re- 23 moved from the list required by subsection (a) if the 24 President determines and reports to the appropriate 25 6 •HR 3485 EH congressional committees not later than 15 days be- 1 fore the removal of such person from such list 2 that— 3 (A) new, credible information is discovered 4 confirming that such person did not in fact en- 5 gage in the activity for which the person was 6 included in such list; 7 (B) such person has been prosecuted ap- 8 propriately for the activity in which such person 9 engaged; or 10 (C) such person has credibly demonstrated 11 a significant change in behavior, has paid an 12 appropriate consequence for the activities in 13 which such person engaged, and has credibly 14 committed to not engage in an activity de- 15 scribed in subsection (a). 16 (c) PUBLIC SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION.—The 17 President shall issue public guidance, including through 18 United States diplomatic and consular posts, setting forth 19 the manner by which the names of foreign persons that 20 may meet the criteria to be included on the list required 21 by subsection (a) may be submitted to the Department 22 of State for evaluation. 23 (d) REQUESTS FROM CHAIR AND RANKING MEMBER 24 OF APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.— 25 7 •HR 3485 EH (1) CONSIDERATION OF INFORMATION.—In ad- 1 dition to the guidance issued pursuant to subsection 2 (c), the President shall also consider information 3 provided by the Chair or Ranking Member of each 4 of the appropriate congressional committees in de- 5 termining whether to include a foreign person in the 6 list required by subsection (a). 7 (2) REQUESTS.—Not later than 120 days after 8 receiving a written request from the Chair or Rank- 9 ing Member of one of the appropriate congressional 10 committees with respect to whether a foreign person 11 meets the criteria for being included in the list re- 12 quired by subsection (a), the President shall trans- 13 mit a response to such Chair or Ranking Member, 14 as the case may be, with respect to the President’s 15 determination relating to such foreign person. 16 (3) REMOVAL.—If the President removes from 17 the list required by subsection (a) a foreign person 18 that had been included in such list pursuant to a re- 19 quest under paragraph (2), the President shall pro- 20 vide to the relevant Chair or Ranking Member of the 21 appropriate congressional committees any informa- 22 tion that contributed to such decision. 23 (4) FORM.—The President may transmit a re- 24 sponse required by paragraph (2) or paragraph (3) 25 8 •HR 3485 EH in classified form if the President determines that it 1 is necessary for the national security interests of the 2 United States to do so. 3 (e) INADMISSIBILITY OF CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS.— 4 (1) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS AND ADMISSION 5 TO THE UNITED STATES.—A foreign person on the 6 list required by subsection (a), and each immediate 7 family member of such person, is— 8 (A) inadmissible to the United States; 9 (B) ineligible to receive a visa or other doc- 10 umentation to enter the United States; and 11 (C) otherwise ineligible to be admitted or 12 paroled into the United States or to receive any 13 other benefit under the Immigration and Na- 14 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq.). 15 (2) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, 17 or the Secretary of Homeland Security (or a 18 designee of one such Secretaries) shall, in ac- 19 cordance with section 221(i) of the Immigration 20 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), revoke 21 any visa or other entry documentation issued to 22 a foreign person on the list required by sub- 23 section (a) and to each immediate family mem- 24 9 •HR 3485 EH ber of such person regardless of when the visa 1 or other entry documentation is issued. 2 (B) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.—A revoca- 3 tion under subparagraph (A) shall— 4 (i) take effect immediately; and 5 (ii) automatically cancel any other 6 valid visa or entry documentation that is in 7 the foreign person’s possession. 8 (3) SENSE OF CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO 9 ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS.—It is the sense of Con- 10 gress that the President should impose additional 11 targeted sanctions with respect to foreign persons on 12 the list required by subsection (a) to push for ac- 13 countability for flagrant denials of the right to life, 14 liberty, or the security of the person, through the 15 use of designations and targeted sanctions provided 16 for such conduct under other existing authorities. 17 (4) EXCEPTIONS.— 18 (A) EXCEPTION WITH RESPECT TO NA- 19 TIONAL SECURITY.—This section shall not 20 apply with respect to— 21 (i) activities subject to the reporting 22 requirements under title V of the National 23 Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3091 et 24 seq.); or 25 10 •HR 3485 EH (ii) any authorized intelligence or law 1 enforcement activities of the United States. 2 (B) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH INTER- 3 NATIONAL OBLIGATIONS.—Sanctions under 4 paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply with re- 5 spect to a person if admitting or paroling the 6 person into the United States is necessary to 7 permit the United States to comply with the 8 Agreement regarding the Headquarters of the 9 United Nations signed at Lake Success June 10 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 11 1947, between the United Nations and the 12 United States or other applicable international 13 obligations. 14 (C) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN IMMEDIATE 15 FAMILY MEMBERS.— 16 (i) IN GENERAL.—A covered indi- 17 vidual shall not be subject to sanctions 18 under this section if the President certifies 19 to the appropriate congressional commit- 20 tees, in accordance with clause (ii), that 21 such individual has a reasonable fear of 22 persecution based on— 23 11 •HR 3485 EH (I) actual or perceived sexual ori- 1 entation, gender identity, or sex char- 2 acteristics; 3 (II) race, religion, or nationality; 4 or 5 (III) political opinion or member- 6 ship in a particular social group. 7 (ii) DETERMINATION AND CERTIFI- 8 CATION.—A certification under clause (i) 9 shall be made not later than 30 days after 10 the date of the determination required by 11 such clause. Any proceedings relating to 12 such determination shall not be publicly 13 available. 14 (iii) COVERED INDIVIDUAL.—For pur- 15 poses of this subparagraph, the term ‘‘cov- 16 ered individual’’ means an individual who 17 is an immediate family member of foreign 18 person on the list required by subsection 19 (a). 20 (5) WAIVER.—The President may waive the ap- 21 plication of sanctions or restrictions imposed with 22 respect to a foreign person under this section if the 23 President certifies to the appropriate congressional 24 committees, not later than 15 days before such waiv- 25 12 •HR 3485 EH er is to take effect, that the waiver is vital to the 1 national interest of the United States. 2 (f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than one year 3 after the date of the enactment of this Act and annually 4 thereafter, the President, acting through the Secretary of 5 State, shall submit to the appropriate congressional com- 6 mittees a report on— 7 (1) the actions taken to carry out this section, 8 including— 9 (A) the number of foreign persons added 10 to or removed from the list required by sub- 11 section (a) during the year preceding each such 12 report, the dates on which such persons were so 13 added or removed, and the reasons for so add- 14 ing or removing such persons; and 15 (B) an analysis that compares increases or 16 decreases in the number of such persons added 17 or removed year-over-year and the reasons 18 therefor; and 19 (2) any efforts by the President to coordinate 20 with the governments of other countries, as appro- 21 priate, to impose sanctions that are similar to the 22 sanctions imposed under this section. 23 (g) FORM; PUBLICATION.—The report required by 24 subsection (f) shall be submitted in unclassified form but 25 13 •HR 3485 EH may include a classified annex. The unclassified portion 1 of such report shall be published on a publicly available 2 website of the Department of State. 3 (h) REPORT ON PREVENTION.—Not later than 180 4 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec- 5 retary of State shall submit to the appropriate congres- 6 sional committees a report describing steps the Depart- 7 ment can take to improve coordination with foreign gov- 8 ernments, civil society groups, and the private sector, to 9 prevent the commission of the human rights violations de- 10 scribed in section 3(a)(1) against persons based on actual 11 or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex 12 characteristics. 13 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 14 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 15 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 16 mittees’’ means— 17 (A) the Committee on Armed Services, the 18 Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee 19 on Homeland Security, and the Committee on 20 the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; 21 and 22 (B) the Committee on Armed Services, the 23 Committee on Foreign Relations, the Com- 24 mittee on Homeland Security and Govern- 25 14 •HR 3485 EH mental Affairs, and the Committee on the Judi- 1 ciary of the Senate. 2 (2) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER.—The term 3 ‘‘immediate family member’’ has the meaning given 4 such term for purposes of section 7031(c) of division 5 K of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. 6 (j) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 7 tion may be construed to allow the imposition of sanctions 8 with respect to, or otherwise authorize any other action 9 against, any foreign person based solely upon religious be- 10 lief. 11 SEC. 4. DISCRIMINATION RELATED TO SEXUAL ORIENTA- 12 TION, GENDER IDENTITY, OR SEX CHARAC- 13 TERISTICS. 14 (a) TRACKING VIOLENCE OR CRIMINALIZATION RE- 15 LATED TO SEXUAL ORIENTATION OR GENDER IDEN- 16 TITY.—The Assistant Secretary of [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]