International Human Rights Defense Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1857 To establish in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the Department of State a Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Peoples, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 25, 2019 Mr. LOWENTHAL (for himself, Mr. CONNOLLY, Ms. NORTON, Ms. SCHA- KOWSKY, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. POCAN, Ms. MOORE, Ms. ESHOO, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mr. SOTO, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. SCHIFF, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Mr. COOPER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. PALLONE, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. AGUILAR, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsyl- vania, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. PETERS, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. MENG, Mr. RYAN, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. KILMER, Mr. HAS- TINGS, Mr. RUSH, Mr. WELCH, Mr. MOULTON, Ms. OMAR, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. TONKO, Ms. SHALALA, Ms. WILD, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. HIGGINS of New York, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. SWALWELL of California, Ms. HOULAHAN, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mrs. MURPHY, Ms. HAALAND, Ms. TITUS, Mr. LAWSON of Florida, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. HIMES, Ms. DELBENE, Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. SHERMAN, Ms. SCANLON, and Mr. MCEACHIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs A BILL To establish in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the Department of State a Special Envoy VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6652 E:\BILLS\H1857.IH H1857 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1857 IH for the Human Rights of LGBTI Peoples, 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘International Human 4 Rights Defense Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 8 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 9 mittees’’ means— 10 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 11 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 12 Senate; and 13 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 14 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 15 of Representatives. 16 (2) GENDER IDENTITY.—The term ‘‘gender 17 identity’’ means the gender-related identity, appear- 18 ance, or mannerisms or other gender-related charac- 19 teristics of an individual, regardless of the individ- 20 ual’s designated sex at birth. 21 (3) LGBTI.—The term ‘‘LGBTI’’ means les- 22 bian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or intersex. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1857.IH H1857 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1857 IH (4) INTERSEX.—The term ‘‘intersex’’ means in- 1 dividuals born with sex characteristics (including 2 genitals, gonads, or chromosome patterns) that vary 3 from typical binary notions of male or female bodies 4 and is an umbrella term used to describe a wide 5 range of natural bodily variations. 6 (5) SEXUAL ORIENTATION.—The term ‘‘sexual 7 orientation’’ means actual or perceived homosex- 8 uality, heterosexuality, or bisexuality. 9 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 10 Congress makes the following findings: 11 (1) Around the world, LGBTI people face vio- 12 lence, discrimination, hatred, and bigotry. 13 (2) Sixty-nine countries criminalize same-sex re- 14 lations and at least three countries prohibit the pub- 15 lic support of the LGBTI community. That is equal 16 to 35 percent of United Nations member states. 17 (3) In several countries, homosexuality is a 18 crime that is punishable by death. 19 (4) Intersex people experience prejudice and 20 discrimination because their bodies do not conform 21 to other people’s expectations about sex and gender, 22 including the common performance of medically un- 23 necessary surgeries without the consent or approval 24 of intersex individuals. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1857.IH H1857 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1857 IH (5) Violence and discrimination based on sexual 1 orientation and gender identity are documented in 2 the Department of State’s annual Human Rights 3 Report to Congress. The 2017 report continues to 4 show a clear pattern of human rights violations in 5 every region of the world based on sexual orientation 6 and gender identity. These violations include mur- 7 der, rape, torture, death threats, extortion, and im- 8 prisonment, as well as loss of employment, housing, 9 access to health care, and other forms of societal 10 stigma and discrimination. The report further docu- 11 ments LGBTI-specific restrictions on basic freedoms 12 of assembly, press, and speech in every region of the 13 world. 14 (6) In Jamaica and other countries, discrimina- 15 tion against LGBTI people, including ‘‘corrective 16 rape’’ of lesbian women, occurs all too frequently 17 and with relative impunity. 18 (7) In 2013, the Russian Duma passed a law 19 banning so-called ‘‘homosexual propaganda’’, which 20 effectively makes it a crime to publicly support 21 LGBTI equality or even discuss homosexuality. This 22 pernicious law is the basis for similar so-called 23 ‘‘antipropaganda’’ legislation in countries across 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1857.IH H1857 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1857 IH Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including in 1 Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus. 2 (8) In December 2013, the Government of Ni- 3 geria adopted a law that further criminalized same- 4 sex relations and support for LGBTI people, endan- 5 gering neighbors, friends, doctors, and landlords of 6 LGBTI people. 7 (9) Several countries in South Asia continue to 8 have draconian laws that criminalize homosexual 9 acts, which place LGBTI people in danger and un- 10 dermine their ability to live free from persecution. 11 (10) In February 2014, the Government of 12 Uganda adopted a law making ‘‘aggravated homo- 13 sexuality’’ a crime punishable with life imprisonment 14 and concurrently, the Government of Uganda also 15 passed laws severely limiting the basic freedoms of 16 speech and assembly for LGBTI citizens. While the 17 Constitutional Court overturned the Anti-Homosex- 18 uality Act on a technicality in August 2014, LGBTI 19 Ugandans continue to be subjected to discrimination 20 and violence, and their government has in recent 21 years forcibly shut down even private Pride celebra- 22 tions in Kampala. 23 (11) On April 1, 2017, the Russian newspaper 24 Novaya Gazeta reported that the government of the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1857.IH H1857 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1857 IH autonomous republic of Chechnya had been arrest- 1 ing, detaining, and torturing gay and bisexual men 2 in secret prisons since early 2017. International 3 human rights groups and Russian LGBTI rights ac- 4 tivists estimate that as many as 20 people may have 5 been murdered thus far and potentially over 200 6 people were detained during the purge. An OSCE 7 factfinding report released in December 2018 con- 8 firmed the atrocities, documenting ‘‘several waves of 9 violations of human rights abuses of persons based 10 on their sexual orientation and gender identity’’. Re- 11 ports from early 2019 suggest the purge has contin- 12 ued. 13 (12) On May 23, 2017, and again on July 13, 14 2018, gay men were publicly caned in the Indo- 15 nesian province of Aceh, while thousands of spec- 16 tators snapped pictures outside a mosque as the bru- 17 tal punishment was meted out. Several times in 18 2017, police in Indonesia have arrested men at pri- 19 vate parties, sometimes releasing their photographs 20 to the news media, endangering their lives. 21 (13) In September 2017, reports emerged from 22 Azerbaijan that authorities had begun a crackdown 23 on gay men and transgender women, arresting more 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1857.IH H1857 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1857 IH than 60 and subjecting them to beatings, harass- 1 ment, torture, and blackmail. 2 (14) From September through December 2017, 3 over 70 LGBTI individuals were arrested in Egypt, 4 with dozens receiving prison sentences of up to six 5 years. In late 2017, authorities in Egypt instructed 6 local media to delete any positive references to 7 LGBTI people, and lawmakers proposed a bill that 8 would criminalize LGBTI people and their allies. 9 The arrests continued in 2018, with a Cairo-based 10 LGBTI rights organization documenting 76 arrests 11 for alleged same-sex conduct in 2018. 12 (15) Anti-LGBTI laws not only endanger all 13 LGBTI individuals, but also pose serious risks for 14 those associated with or caring for LGBTI people. 15 Studies have shown that when LGBTI people, espe- 16 cially LGBTI youth, face discrimination, they are 17 less likely to seek HIV testing, prevention, and 18 treatment services. 19 (16) According to the Trans Murder Monitoring 20 Project, which monitors homicides of transgender in- 21 dividuals, there were at least 369 cases of reported 22 killings of trans and gender-diverse people between 23 October 2017 and September 2018, an increase over 24 previous years. The organization reports that a ‘‘ma- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1857.IH H1857 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1857 IH jority of the murders occurred in Brazil (167), Mex- 1 ico (71), the United States (28), and Colombia (21), 2 adding up to a total of 2982 reported cases in 72 3 countries worldwide between 1st of January 2008 4 and 30th of September 2018’’. 5 (17) According to the International Guidelines 6 on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, as published by 7 the United Nations High Commissioner for Human 8 Rights, and according to the July 2017 report of the 9 Independent Expert on protection against violence 10 and discrimination based on sexual orientation and 11 gender identity, countries should review and reform 12 criminal laws and correctional systems to ensure 13 that they are consistent with international human 14 rights obligations and are not misused or targeted 15 against vulnerable groups. 16 (18) Removing institutionalized discrimination 17 and targeted persecution against LGBTI people 18 around the world is a critical step in the promotion 19 of human rights and global health internationally. 20 (19) Anti-LGBTI laws and discrimination pose 21 significant risks for LGBTI youth who come out to 22 their family or community and often face rejection, 23 homelessness, and limited educational and economic 24 opportunities. These factors contribute to increased 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1857.IH H1857 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1857 IH risks of substance abuse, suicide, and HIV infection 1 among LGBTI youth. 2 (20) On December 6, 2011, President Barack 3 Obama released the ‘‘Presidential Memorandum— 4 International Initiatives to Advance the Human 5 Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender 6 Persons’’. The memorandum directed all Federal 7 agencies engaged abroad to ensure that United 8 States diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and 9 protect the human rights of LGBTI persons. 10 (21) On February 23, 2015, Secretary of State 11 John Kerry appointed senior diplomat Randy Berry 12 as the Department of State’s first-ever Special 13 Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTI Persons. 14 Secretary Pompeo pledged to re-fill that position 15 during his April 2018 confirmation hearing, but has 16 yet to do so. 17 (22) On June 30, 2016, the United Nations 18 Human Rights Council passed a resolution cospon- 19 sored by the United States that established an inde- 20 pendent expert on violence and discrimination based 21 on sexual orientation and gender identity to help 22 monitor and track discrimination and violence expe- 23 rienced by LGBTI persons around the world. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1857.IH H1857 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1857 IH (23) In November 2016, the Government of 1 Tanzania placed a ban on all HIV and AIDS out- 2 reach projects aimed at gay men, including those 3 funded by the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS 4 Relief. This forced the closure of United States- 5 funded programs providing testing, condoms, and 6 care to gay men, exacerbating the health needs of 7 gay men in Tanzania, about 30 percent of whom are 8 HIV positive. In 2018, various government officials 9 have announced crackdowns on the LGBTI commu- 10 nity, including a threat by the governor of the larg- 11 est city, who announced a purge on LGBTI individ- 12 uals and asked the public to report them. Reports 13 suggest that many people have been arrested and 14 more are in hiding. 15 (24) In February 2017, three transgender 16 women were murdered in El Salvador with impunity, 17 leading the United Nations to call for an investiga- 18 tion into crimes against sexual and gender minorities 19 in that country. A 2016 report noted that 20 transgender women in El Salvador have an average 21 life expectancy of less than 35 years due to violence, 22 discrimination, and femicide. 23 (25) Extreme violence in El Salvador, Nica- 24 ragua, Guatemala, and Honduras has driven LGBTI 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:42 Apr 05, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1857.IH H1857 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1857 IH people to flee their countries or origin to the United 1 States for protection. LGBTI people were among the 2 first asylum seekers in the migrant ‘‘caravans’’ ar- 3 riving at the United States-Mexico border. 4 (26) At the annual Summit of Commonwealth 5 Nations in April 2018, United Kingdom Prime Min- 6 ister Theresa May issued an apology for discrimina- 7 tory laws criminalizing same-sex relationships that 8 were imposed on British colonies around the world. 9 She also announced the creation of a fund to sup- 10 port legal reform efforts. 11 (27) In April 2018, Trinidad and Tobago’s 12 High Court of Justice issued a landmark ruling de- 13 claring that laws which criminalize same-sex rela- 14 tionships between consentin [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]