HR 4245119th CongressIntroduced

GLOBE Act of 2025

Introduced: Jun 27, 2025

Civil Rights & JusticeDefense & National SecurityHealthcare

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

The GLOBE Act of 2025 (Greater Leadership Overseas for the Benefit of Equality Act) is a comprehensive foreign affairs bill aiming to advance LGBTQI rights globally through diplomacy, development, and targeted sanctions. It establishes a high-level framework within the State Department and USAID to document abuses, coordinate interagency responses, and elevate LGBTQI protections in U.S. policy, foreign assistance, and international forums. Key components include a permanent Special Envoy for LGBTQI rights, an interagency group to respond to urgent threats, expanded reporting requirements on violence and discrimination, a sanctions regime targeting violators, and new funding mechanisms (Global Equality Fund and LGBTQI Global Development Partnership) to support civil society, leadership development, and inclusive development overseas. The bill also seeks to ensure LGBTQI inclusivity within major U.S. health aid programs (notably PEPFAR) and requires training and accountability measures for implementing partners. Overall, the bill would formalize and broaden the United States’ leadership role in promoting LGBTQI rights as part of foreign policy and international development.

Key Points

1Global LGBTQI rights framework and leadership
2- Establishes the GLOBE Act as a policy framework to protect LGBTQI human rights worldwide, including through diplomatic engagement, multilateral participation, and inclusion in trade and development policy.
3- Creates a permanent Special Envoy for the Human Rights of LGBTQI Peoples within the State Department, with ambassadorial rank optional, who directs U.S. policy, coordinates international programs, and represents the U.S. in bilateral and multilateral fora on LGBTQI rights.
4Reporting, documentation, and strategic diplomacy
5- Requires expanded reporting in annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices and the Foreign Assistance Act reports to document the criminalization, discrimination, and violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics.
6- Establishes an interagency group (chaired by the Secretary of State) to coordinate responses to urgent LGBTQI threats abroad and develop longer-term policy approaches; includes involvement from DoD, Treasury, DOJ, USAID, and other relevant agencies.
7Sanctions and accountability for violators
8- Mandates a biannual list of foreign individuals found responsible for or complicit in serious human rights abuses against LGBTQI people (torture, extrajudicial detention, killings, etc.) and provides for visa/admission prohibitions and possible visa revocation for those on the list and their immediate family members.
9- Allows for limited use of classified annexes for listing when national security requires, with congressional notification requirements; provides procedures for updating and removing individuals from the list, including criteria for removal and potential waivers.
10Global Equality Fund and LGBTQI development partnerships
11- Creates the Global Equality Fund to provide grants, emergency assistance, and technical support to civil society and human rights defenders working on LGBTQI rights, including protections against violence and discrimination.
12- Establishes the LGBTQI Global Development Partnership to leverage private and philanthropic resources for capacity-building, leadership development, research, and inclusive economic development for LGBTQI communities worldwide.
13- Requires consultation between State and USAID, annual reporting on fund/partnership progress, and monitoring of compliance with non-discrimination in U.S. global assistance.
14Health, inclusion, and programmatic safeguards
15- States a sense of Congress that foreign aid contractors and partners should not discriminate on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation; requires non-discrimination conditions for program participation and quarterly monitoring reports.
16- Directs PEPFAR and related health programs to ensure LGBTQI-inclusive implementation, including training for partner entities and reporting obstacles to Congress.
17- Includes additional reporting mandates on issues such as the use of HIV-related commodities in prosecutions of sex work or consensual sex, and the impact of worldwide “global gag rule” policies on LGBTQI health services.
18Oversight and definitions
19- Provides definitions for terms like “foreign person,” “immediate family member,” and “person” to clarify who is covered by sanctions and reporting provisions.
20- Requires annual reporting to Congress on sanctions actions, coordination with other countries, impact on behavior, and potential improvements in coordination with civil society and the private sector.

Impact Areas

Primary affected group- LGBTQI individuals and communities worldwide, including those facing criminalization, discrimination, violence, and barriers to health, education, housing, and employment.Secondary affected groups- U.S. government agencies: Department of State, USAID, Department of Justice, Department of Defense, Treasury, and related offices; also influences U.S. diplomatic staff, development programs, and international health initiatives (e.g., PEPFAR).- Civil society organizations, LGBTQI rights advocates, health providers, and researchers working on LGBTQI inclusion and protection.- Foreign governments and international institutions engaged in human rights advocacy and LGBTQI policy discussions.Additional impacts- Potentially broader sanctions-based leverage against violators, with accompanying due process and transparency mechanisms.- Increased integration of LGBTQI rights considerations into foreign assistance, development programming, and global health strategies.- Changes in training and staffing at international law enforcement academies and greater emphasis on documenting hate crimes and bias-motivated violence abroad.

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