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Ranking Member Shaheen, Senator Murkowski Lead Bipartisan Legislation to Impose Sanctions on Perpetrators of Global Violence against LGBTQI Communities

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) led a bipartisan group of lawmakers in reintroducing the Global Respect Act. The legislation would impose sanctions on foreign actors responsible for human rights violations against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) individuals abroad. Additional cosponsors of the bill include Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Peter Welch (D-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Edward Markey (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR). 

“I am re-introducing this legislation because the risk of personal harm for LGBTQI individuals for publicly identifying who they are or expressing who they love has tragically increased in recent years,” said Ranking Member Shaheen. “Human rights, as defined by the Universal Declaration of Human rights, recognizes that global freedom, justice and peace depend on ‘the inherent dignity’ and ‘the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family.’  LBGTQI human rights are universal human rights. We must ensure that we hold all violators of those rights accountable.” 

“Around the world, individuals who are part of the LGBTQ+ community are in danger for simply existing,” said Senator Murkowski. “Hate and violence cannot and should not be tolerated. I’m hopeful that this legislation will establish actionable consequences for these inexcusable human rights violations, and create a safer world for all people— regardless of who they are or who they love.” 

Specifically, the Global Respect Act would:  

  • Require the Executive Branch to biannually send Congress a list of foreign persons responsible for, or complicit in, cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment of an individual; prolonged detention of an individual without charges or trials; causing the disappearance of an individual by abduction and clandestine detention of an individual; other flagrant denials of the right to life, liberty or the security of an individual; 

  • Authorize the Administration to deny or revoke visas to individuals placed on the list; 

  • Require the annual State Department Report on Human Rights to include a section on LGBTI international human rights, as well as an annual report to Congress on the status of the law’s effectiveness; and  

  • Require the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor to designate a senior officer responsible for tracking violence, criminalization and restrictions on the enjoyment of fundamental freedoms in foreign countries based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Ranking Member Shaheen first introduced the Global Respect Act in the 114th Congress. The legislation has been endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign, the Council for Global Equality, American Jewish World Service and Human Rights First. 

Full text of the bill is available HERE. 

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