[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 174 (Tuesday, November 25, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2455-E2456]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    INTRODUCTION OF H. CON. RES. 330

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 25, 2003

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, yesterday my good friend from Connecticut, 
Rep. Christopher Shays, and I introduced H. Con. Res. 330, The 
International Human Rights Equality Act. I would like to specially 
thank my good friend from Massachusetts, Rep. Barney Frank, and my good 
friend from Ohio, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, for their support at our press 
conference yesterday on the occasion of the introduction.

[[Page E2456]]

   Our landmark legislation shines a bright light on one of the most 
underreported and unrecognized areas of egregious human rights 
violations, the international persecution of individuals based on their 
real or perceived sexual or gender identity.
   Supported by 44 of our colleagues, we believe very strongly that we 
must send a clear message that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered 
people must be treated with the same dignity and respect as every human 
being, and not with hatred and violence that they face in all too many 
places in the world.
   Ongoing persecutions against the LGBT community include arbitrary 
arrests, rape, torture, imprisonment, extortion, and even extra 
judicial executions.
   The scope of these human rights violations is staggering, and for 
the victims, there are few avenues for relief. Some countries create an 
atmosphere of impunity for rapists and murderers of gays and lesbians 
by failing to prosecute or even to investigate violence targeted at 
these individuals because of their sexual orientation. Not only do some 
countries refuse to sanction these abuses, but often, agents of the 
State perpetrate them. And believe it or not, at the outset of the 21st 
Century there are still countries that advocate the death penalty for 
people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered.
   We simply cannot ignore the number and frequency of such grievous 
crimes any longer. As our legislation makes clear, the international 
community has long established a legal framework for the protection of 
international human rights, based on the individual human being. The 
world community voluntarily agreed upon these legal instruments, and we 
have to demand vigorously that the parties to those treaties fulfill 
their obligations. We must demand that all countries obey international 
norms, particularly those countries that have become a party to 
international human rights treaties. None of these instruments, which 
are the foundation for a peaceful and civilized world community, exempt 
anybody from the protection of their human rights because of gender, 
race, origin or age, and most certainly there are no exceptions from 
full protection on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
   Our legislation urges the Administration to develop a new strategy 
in our foreign policy to directly combat these outrageous violations, 
and tear away the veil of silence or ignorance on those tragic 
developments all over the world, which have a devastating impact on the 
lives of each individual affected.
   Our Resolution details just a few examples of violence against gay, 
lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals in countries as wide 
ranging as Mexico, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Nepal, 
among others.
   My colleagues and I are committed to protecting human rights 
wherever they come under attack. I will work hard to create a broad 
bipartisan coalition to support this legislation in this Congress and 
beyond.
   Our legislation has the wide support of the human rights community, 
and I would particularly like to thank Amnesty International, the Human 
Rights Campaign, Human Rights Watch and the International Gay and 
Lesbian Human Rights Commission, as well as National Latina/o Lesbian, 
Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Organization (LLEGO), for their input and 
support.

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