Global Respect Act Targets Human Rights Abusers with Visa Bans and Mandatory Reporting

This legislation, the Global Respect Act, sets up a new sanctions program aimed at foreign individuals responsible for severe human rights violations against people based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics. Essentially, it uses U.S. visa power to punish those who torture, arbitrarily detain, or cause the disappearance of LGBTQI people abroad.

Within 180 days of enactment, the President must start compiling and regularly updating a public list of foreign persons credibly found to be involved in these abuses (Sec. 3). If you’re on this list, you’re automatically inadmissible to the United States—meaning no visa, no entry, and any existing visa gets immediately revoked. This is a direct shot at government officials, police, or agents in countries where such violence is state-sanctioned or ignored, aiming to strip them of the freedom to travel to the U.S.

The Sanctions List: Who Gets Named and Shamed?

The core of the bill is the sanctions list, which must be published every six months. The President must consider information from NGOs and other countries to identify perpetrators of abuses like prolonged, unjustified detention or severe denials of life and liberty (Sec. 3). The goal here is accountability: making sure that people who commit these acts face real consequences beyond their home country’s borders. The bill specifically notes that this list cannot be used against someone solely based on their religious belief, attempting to draw a line between belief and action.

There’s a mechanism for the public and diplomatic posts to submit names for review, ensuring that civil society groups on the ground have a direct line to the State Department. Congress also gets a say: if a Chair or Ranking Member of a relevant committee requests a determination on a specific person, the President has 120 days to respond (Sec. 3).

The National Security Catch-22

While the list is meant to be public, there is a catch: the President can place a listed person into a classified, unpublished annex if doing so is deemed “vital for U.S. national security interests” (Sec. 3). This prevents the public naming and shaming, giving the executive branch flexibility to protect sensitive operations or diplomatic ties. However, this provision could also be used to shield high-ranking officials who committed abuses if their public exposure is deemed inconvenient. The President must notify Congress and justify this decision, but ultimately, the call is theirs.

Removal from the list is also possible, though the criteria are tough. A person can be removed if they are successfully prosecuted for the crime, if new information clears them, or if they have “clearly changed their behavior” and paid a consequence (Sec. 3). The last point is the most subjective, relying on the President’s determination of sincere reform.

Making Human Rights Reporting Mandatory

Beyond sanctions, the bill mandates a significant change in how the U.S. tracks global human rights. It requires the State Department to assign senior officers dedicated to tracking violence, criminalization, and restrictions on fundamental freedoms based on sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics (Sec. 4). This information must then be explicitly included in the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices.

This is a major step for transparency. Currently, human rights reports cover a lot of ground, but this amendment ensures that violence against LGBTQI people—such as the criminalization of assembly for Pride events or systemic discrimination in housing or employment—gets mandatory, detailed coverage. For human rights advocates, this means better data and a clear diplomatic tool to pressure governments that are currently ignoring or perpetrating these abuses.