[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 173 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 173

 Expressing the concern of Congress regarding human rights violations 
    against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgendered (LGBT) 
                     individuals around the world.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 26, 2001

   Mr. Lantos (for himself, Mrs. Morella, Mr. Shays, Mr. Wexler, Mr. 
McGovern, Ms. Lee, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Allen, Mr. Engel, Mr. 
   Abercrombie, Mr. Delahunt, Mr. Wynn, Ms. Rivers, Mr. Weiner, Mr. 
 Crowley, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Frank, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, 
 Mr. Pallone, Ms. Pelosi, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Jefferson, 
    Mr. Stark, and Ms. Woolsey) submitted the following concurrent 
   resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the concern of Congress regarding human rights violations 
    against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgendered (LGBT) 
                     individuals around the world.

    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This concurrent resolution may be cited as the ``International 
Human Rights Equality Resolution''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Treaties, conventions, and declarations to which the 
        United States is a party address government obligations to 
        combat human rights violations, and the overall goals and 
        standards of these treaties, conventions, and declarations in 
        promoting human rights of all individuals have been found to be 
        consistent with, and in support of, the aspirations of the 
        United States at home and globally, as well as consistent with 
        the Constitution of the United States.
            (2) Articles 3 and 5 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of 
        Human Rights and Articles 6, 7, and 9 of the 1966 International 
        Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantee all 
        individuals the right to life, liberty, and security of person, 
        and guarantee that no one shall be subjected to torture or to 
        cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and the 
        1984 Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or 
        Degrading Treatment or Punishment reinforces the commitment of 
        countries to prevent torture within their jurisdictions.
            (3) The fundamental human right not to be arbitrarily 
        deprived of life is violated when those convicted of homosexual 
        acts in Afghanistan are sentenced to be executed and are 
        crushed by having walls toppled over them, and there remain a 
        number of other countries around the world that call for the 
        possible execution of those convicted of homosexual acts, 
        including Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Kuwait, Mauritania, and Iran.
            (4) The fundamental right not to be subjected to torture or 
        other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment is violated when, 
        because of their real or perceived sexual identity, gay men, 
        lesbians, bisexuals, and transgendered individuals (hereafter 
        referred to as ``LGBT individuals'') are subjected to severe 
        beatings while in police custody in Argentina and Uganda, and 
        individuals in these groups are also routinely the victims of 
        human rights abuses, such as extortion, entrapment, physical 
        assaults, and rape, committed by the police in Mexico and 
        Ecuador, among other countries.
            (5) A number of LGBT individuals are targeted and tortured 
        or killed because of their real or perceived sexual identity by 
        paramilitary groups in Guatemala and El Salvador, which collude 
        with the military, police, and other government officials in 
        those countries.
            (6) Articles 2 and 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human 
        Rights and Articles 2, 14, and 26 of the International Covenant 
        on Civil and Political Rights guarantee all individuals freedom 
        from arbitrary discrimination and equal protection before the 
        law.
            (7) Individuals in many countries, such as Romania, are 
        convicted pursuant to penal laws which criminalize sexual 
        conduct between same-sex partners, and these individuals are 
        subjected to torture, including rape, in prison, for which they 
        have no legal recourse for redress.
            (8) In Pakistan and Saudi Arabia the sentence for sexual 
        conduct between same-sex partners who are consenting adults 
        includes flogging, and in Singapore and Uganda the sentence for 
        sexual conduct between same-sex partners who are consenting 
        adults can extend to life in prison.
            (9) Many governments, on the basis of vague laws, may 
        target and persecute LGBT individuals because of their real or 
        perceived sexual identity, including in Egypt where individuals 
        in these groups may be imprisoned under laws that penalize 
        offenses against public morals, and in Venezuela where 
        individuals in these groups are imprisoned under the laws 
        against vagrants and crooks, and the vagueness of these laws 
        makes it difficult to monitor governmental persecution.
            (10) Articles 19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of 
        Human Rights and Articles 19 and 22 of the International 
        Covenant on Civil and Political Rights guarantee all 
        individuals freedom of expression and freedom of association.
            (11) The fundamental rights of freedom of expression and 
        association are violated when governments deny the right of 
        LGBT individuals to form organizations or advocate for rights 
        under international humanitarian laws, such as in Zimbabwe 
        where members of Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ) have been 
        threatened and brutally assaulted for mobilizing around issues 
        of concern to LGBT individuals.
            (12) In some countries, agents of the government are 
        directing or are complicitous in abuses committed on the basis 
        of sexual orientation and gender identity, and investigation 
        and prosecution of those agents for these violations of 
        international law often do not occur.
            (13) Due to the failure by governments to investigate and 
        prosecute human rights violations based on sexual orientation 
        and gender identity, private individuals feel encouraged to 
        attack violently LGBT individuals with impunity, contributing 
        to an atmosphere of fear and intimidation for LGBT individuals.
            (14) The human rights violations that lesbian and bisexual 
        women suffer because of their real or perceived sexual identity 
        are particularly vitriolic because of their gender, and, 
        moreover, the aggravated abuse of these women often goes 
        unreported because of their gender.
            (15) Violations of internationally recognized human rights 
        norms are to be considered crimes regardless of the real or 
        perceived sexual identity of the victims and are to be punished 
        without discrimination.
            (16) Fundamental access to legal protection from violations 
        of internationally recognized human rights norms is often 
        unavailable to the victims.
            (17) Lesbians and bisexual women face additional obstacles 
        in these countries when seeking assistance from police, judges, 
        and other officials due to pervasive gender bias.
            (18) The preceding clauses constitute only a few examples 
        of the violations suffered by LGBT individuals because of their 
        real or perceived sexual identity, the full range and extent of 
        such violations are not known because governments create 
        atmospheres of immunity for those perpetrating such human 
        rights violations and prevent victims from seeking effective 
        protection and just redress, and, thus, their suffering remains 
        undocumented and unremedied.
            (19) Many nongovernmental human rights organizations, 
        including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the 
        International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, as well 
        as the United States Department of State and the United 
        Nations, have documented, and are continuing to document, the 
        ongoing violations of the human rights of LGBT individuals.

SEC. 3. DECLARATION OF POLICY.

    Congress--
            (1) condemns all violations of internationally recognized 
        human rights norms based on the real or perceived sexual 
        orientation or gender identity of an individual;
            (2)(A) recognizes that human rights violations abroad based 
        on sexual orientation and gender identity should be punished 
        without discrimination between these and other crimes, 
        regardless of the real or perceived sexual identity of the 
        victims, and that such violations should be given the same 
        consideration and concern as human rights violations based on 
        other grounds in the formulation of policies to protect and 
        promote human rights globally; and
            (B) further recognizes that the protection from human 
        rights abuses, such as torture and other cruel, inhuman, or 
        degrading treatment or punishment, is fully embedded in 
        international humanitarian law, regardless of the sexual 
        orientation and gender identity of the victim; and
            (3) commends nongovernmental human rights organizations, 
        including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the 
        International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, as well 
        as the United States Department of State and the United 
        Nations, for documenting the ongoing abuse of human rights on 
        the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
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