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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3426 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3426
To establish in the Department of State a Special Envoy for the Human
Rights of LGBTQI+ People, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 10, 2025
Mr. Markey (for himself, Ms. Alsobrooks, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Bennet, Mr.
Blumenthal, Mr. Booker, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Coons, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms.
Duckworth, Mr. Fetterman, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Heinrich, Mr.
Hickenlooper, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Kelly, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Merkley,
Mr. Murphy, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Padilla, Mr. Peters, Ms. Rosen, Mr.
Sanders, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Schiff, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Smith, Mr. Van
Hollen, Mr. Welch, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Warren, and Mr. Durbin) introduced
the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee
on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish in the Department of State a Special Envoy for the Human
Rights of LGBTQI+ People, 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 2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Around the world, LGBTQI+ people face criminalization,
violence, discrimination, and stigma based on their sexual
orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics.
(2) Sixty-four countries have national laws that
criminalize same-sex relations and at least 42 United Nations
member states have legal barriers for freedom of expression on
issues related to sexual and gender diversity. That is equal to
roughly 35 percent of United Nations member states.
(3) Eleven countries have jurisdictions in which the death
penalty can be imposed for private, consensual, same-sex sexual
activity.
(4) Despite recent progress made toward decriminalization,
marriage equality, and legal gender recognition, several
countries have introduced anti-LGBTQI+ legislation that would
further criminalize or stigmatize LGBTQI+ people. This includes
a draconian bill under review in Ghana that would outlaw
LGBTQI+ relationships and identities, but also advocacy on
behalf of the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons.
(5) Human Rights Watch and other human rights organizations
have documented the use of the forensically discredited
practice of forced anal exams to try to substantiate
allegations of same-sex sexual activity. This humiliating
practice is typically conducted by law enforcement officials
working in tandem with medical personnel. The United Nations
Special Rapporteur on Torture has described forced anal
examinations as a form of torture or cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment, and the United Nations Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report in 2015 calling
for governments to ban the practice.
(6) Around the world, freedom of association is
increasingly under attack, with the passage and enforcement of
laws that prevent or revoke the registration of nongovernmental
organizations, particularly those working to advance and defend
the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons.
(7) Extreme violence and insecurity in Latin America has
driven LGBTQI+ people to flee their countries of origin to the
United States for protection. Yes, LGBTQI+ asylum seekers are
routinely denied entry and face additional violence, and many
have been returned to face persecution in their home countries
or in third countries that are not safe.
(8) Laws, policies, and practices that criminalize and
stigmatize LGBTQI+ people deter individuals and communities
from seeking health care. Gay, bisexual, and other men who have
sex with men and transgender people are particularly vulnerable
to discrimination and exclusion in health care settings,
thereby increasing the risk of HIV transmission.
Decriminalization and stigma reduction are necessary to achieve
global targets for epidemic control of HIV.
(9) The Trans Murder Monitoring Project, which monitors
homicides of transgender individuals, documented at least 350
trans and gender-diverse people killed between October 1, 2023,
and September 30, 2024. Of these cases, 73 percent of murders
occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean, with 30 percent of
the total occurring in Brazil.
(10) Intersex people are subject to medically unnecessary
surgeries, often without prior and informed consent, leading to
lifelong medical complications and increased mistrust of health
care providers. Intersex people experience widespread
discrimination and lack of understanding about their medical
needs.
(11) Violence and discrimination based on sexual
orientation, gender identity (including gender expression), and
sex characteristics are documented in the Department of State's
annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. The report
covering 2023 continues to show a clear pattern of human rights
violations or abuses in every region of the world based on
sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics.
These violations or abuses 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 reports further
document LGBTQI+-specific restrictions on basic freedoms of
assembly, press, and speech in every region of the world.
(12) 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
LGBTI+ persons.
(13) On February 4, 2021, President Joe Biden issued a
similar memorandum, the ``Memorandum on Advancing the Human
Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and
Intersex Persons Around the World'', to promote and protect the
human rights of LGBTQI+ persons and establish that it is the
``policy of the United States to pursue an end to violence and
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender
identity or expression, or sex characteristics, and to lead by
the power of our example in the cause of advancing the human
rights of LGBTQI+ persons around the world''.
(14) 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.
(15) On June 25, 2021, President Joe Biden announced the
appointment of Jessica Stern to serve as the United States
Special Envoy to Advance the Human Rights of LGBTQI+ Persons.
She joined the Department of State on September 27, 2021.
(16) 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.
(17) 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 concluded that such practices represent significant
violations of rights to personal autonomy, health, and free
expression and are ``by their very nature degrading, inhuman
and cruel and create a significant risk of torture''. The
Independent Expert noted ``the psychological pain and suffering
inflicted by practices of `conversion therapy' are deep and
long-lasting and often exacerbate the risk of suicide,'' and
called for a global ban on conversion therapy.
SEC. 3. 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, violence, 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,
gender identity, and sex characteristics;
(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 recipients of Federal funding,
including all contractors, grants, and cooperative agreements
for both acquisition and assistance, establish appropriate
nondiscrimination policies that are inclusive of sexual
orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics, among
other characteristics and protected statuses, and take
effective measures to ensure the protection and safety of
employed and contracted staff, as well as the protection of the
program beneficiaries;
(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 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;
(12) to work with governments and nongovernmental
organizations around the world to develop and implement
regional strategies to decriminalize homosexuality and to
counteract other restrictions on the human rights of LGBTQI+
people, including restrictions on LGBTQI+ organizations and so-
called LGBTQI+ propaganda laws; and
(13) to ensure that individuals 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. 4. SPECIAL ENVOY FOR THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF LGBTQI+ PEOPLE.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of State shall establish in the
Department of State a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of
LGBTQI+ People (referred to in this section as the ``Special Envoy''),
who shall be appointed by the President at the rank of Ambassador, by
and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(b) Purpose.--In addition to the duties described in subsection (c)
and those duties determined by the President and 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
President and 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.--The Special Envoy shall--
(1) serve as the principal advisor to the Secretary of
State regarding the human rights of LGBTQI+ people
internationally; and
(2) at the direction of the Secretary of State--
(A) notwithstanding any other provision of law--
(i) direct activities, policies, programs,
and funding relating to the human rights of
LGBTQI+ people and the advancement of LGBTQI+
human rights and social inclusion initiatives
internationally, for all bureaus and offices of
the Department of State; and
(ii) lead the coordination of relevant
United States Government policies and
international programs for all other Federal
agencies relating to such matters;
(B) represent the United States in diplomatic
matters, including in bilateral and multilateral
forums, relevant to the human rights and social
inclusion of LGBTQI+ people, including addressing
criminalization, discrimination, and violence against
LGBTQI+ people internationally;
(C) 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;
(D) lead interagency coordination on the foreign
policy, humanitarian, and development priorities
related to the human rights of LGBTQI+ people
internationally; and
(E) conduct regular consultations with
nongovernmental organizations working to prevent and
respond to criminalization, discrimination, and
violence against LGBTQI+ people internationally.
(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 provide a briefing to the appropriate congressional
committees on the status of--
(1) the human rights and social inclusion of LGBTQI+ people
internationally; and
(2) programs and response strategies of the United States
Government to address criminalization, discrimination, and
violence against LGBTQI+ people internationally.
(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 biannually
thereafter, the Special Envoy shall--
(A) develop or update a United States global
strategy to prevent and respond to criminalization,
discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI+ people
internationally; and
(B) 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 and social inclusion 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.--In each global strategy submitted
pursuant to subsection (e)(2), the Special Envoy shall include an
analysis of promising practices for preventing and addressing
criminalization, discrimination, and violence against LGBTQI+ people
and communities internationally, including--
(1) 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;
(2) recommendations related to promising practices,
effective strategies, and improvements to enhance the impact of
such prevention and response efforts; and
(3) the impact of activities funded by the global strategy
in preventing and reducing criminalization, discrimination, and
violence against LGBTQI+ people and communities
internationally.
SEC. 5. DOCUMENTING AND RESPONDING TO BIAS-MOTIVATED VIOLENCE AGAINST
LGBTQI+ PEOPLE ABROAD.
(a) Information Required To Be Included in Annual Country Reports
on Human Rights Practices.--
(1) Section 116.--Section 116(d) of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n(d)) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (11)(C), by striking ``; and'' and
inserting a semicolon;
(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, the nature and extent of
criminalization, discrimination, and violence by state and non-
state actors based on sexual orientation or gender identity (as
such terms are defined in section 7 of the International Human
Rights Defense Act of 2025) or sex characteristics, including
an identification of those countries that have adopted laws or
constitutional provisions that criminalize or discriminate
based on such sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex
characteristics, including descriptions of such laws and
provisions.''.
(2) Section 502b.--Section 502B of the Foreign Assistance
Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2304) is amended--
(A) by redesignating the second subsection (i)
(relating to child marriage status) as subsection (j);
and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(k) Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, and Sex
Characteristics.--The report required under subsection (b) shall
include, wherever applicable, the nature and extent of criminalization,
discrimination, and violence by state and non-state actors based on
sexual orientation or gender identity, as those terms are defined in
section 7 of the International Human Rights Defense Act of 2025, or sex
characteristics, including an identification of those countries that
have adopted laws or constitutional provisions that criminalize or
discriminate based on such sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex
characteristics, including 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 is authorized to provide assistance to
prevent and respond to criminalization, discrimination, and violence
against LGBTQI+ people internationally by--
(1) developing and implementing assistance programs that
respond to human rights abuses against, and the social and
economic exclusion of, LGBTQI+ people;
(2) supporting and capacity building for the development
and enforcement of the laws of foreign governments pertaining
to relevant civil and criminal legal and judicial sanctions,
protection, and training;
(3) enhancing health sector capacity--
(A) to detect, prevent, and respond to violence
against LGBTQI+ people and communities internationally;
and
(B) 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; and
(4) developing a leadership program for international
LGBTQI+ activists that will foster collaboration and knowledge
sharing around the world.
SEC. 7. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate;
(B) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives; and
(D) 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.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
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