House Passes Global Respect Act, First Global LGBTQI Bill

February 9, 2022 – The Council for Global Equality (CGE) congratulates Rep. Cicilline, Rep. Fitzpatrick and the House of Representatives for passing the Global Respect Act (H.R. 3485), a bipartisan bill to sanction those who persecute LGBTQI individuals and report on global human rights abuses. The bill revokes U.S. visas for those who commit gross violations of human rights targeting LGBTQI individuals, including acts of murder, torture, or prolonged arbitrary detention. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi recognized the historic significance of this first global LGBTQI bill to reach the House floor, noting that the “House took a bold step forward in protecting the fundamental rights and dignities of the global LGBTQ community.”

Under the provisions of the bill, the President must submit and regularly update a list of perpetrators subject to visa sanctions, and that list should include both government officials and non-state actors, such as gang leaders or militia members who target LGBTQI individuals for violence or arbitrary detention. The fact that private actors can be sanctioned is important, because in Central America, gangs are responsible for much of the violence, and in places like Chechnya, informal militia and self-designated morality police drive much of the violence at the direction of government officials.

The bill also requires that the perpetrator list must generally be made public, with only some national security limitations. And in compiling the list, the President should consider reports from foreign governments and human rights organizations. Provisions also are included to remove anyone who is designated in error, or who has demonstrated contrition, which is ultimately the point of the bill.  

It is important to note that the bill sanctions violence not speech, despite overblown concerns from some Republicans that it could be used to target religious figures. Indeed, an amendment was adopted on the floor of the House today to clarify that the bill only sanctions violent actions, not religious belief.

The bill has been debated in Congress since 2014, but this is the first time it has received a full vote on the House floor. It was approved by a vote of 227 – 206, with 6 Republicans voting in favor. Given the partisanship in Congress today, that qualifies as a rare bipartisan vote for human rights.

Compared with earlier versions of the bill, two new provisions stand out in the version that was adopted today. First, the definition of LGBTQI persecution now specifically covers violations targeting intersex individuals, with the addition of “sex characteristics” to the list of protected grounds. In addition, the mandatory sanctions are extended to immediate family members of designated perpetrators, with exceptions for family members who are themselves facing persecution, potentially at the hands of their own relative.

The history of U.S. sanctions policies in other contexts suggests that adding immediate family members to the list can have considerable deterrent effect. The worst perpetrators rarely try to come to the United States, or if they are senior government officials, they receive necessary diplomatic exemptions to travel to the United Nations in New York.  But their spouses and children often want to study at U.S. universities, or visit Disney World, or go on NY shopping sprees, or visit world-renowned medical clinics in the United States. Denying loved ones of perpetrators access to those perks can have a surprising impact on otherwise callous dictators.

Some opponents of the bill also note that existing sanctions authorities already can be deployed to target the same LGBTQI persecutors. While that is technically true, many of those other sanctions authorities are voluntary, which means the President can chose to ignore them at his discretion. The Global Respect Act, in contrast, is mandatory, and the very fact that the administration must compile and regularly update a list of LGBTQI persecutors will undoubtedly ensure more robust use of sanctions to respond to LGBTQI abuses. To date, only one designation under existing authorities has ever specifically targeted an individual based on LGBTQI persecution – and that was based on a 2018 request by CGE in response to shockingly egregious cases of torture in Chechnya.  An earlier 2017 CGE request to sanction Kenyan officials for subjecting LGBTQI prisoners to torture and forced anal exams in that country was ignored.

The Global Respect Act now heads to the U.S. Senate, where it also enjoys bipartisan support. CGE looks forward to working with Senators Shaheen and Portman to secure its first hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and then a vote on the Senate floor. Let’s hope both can be delivered in time for the annual Pride celebrations in Congress in June.