1. Short title This Act may be cited as the International Human Rights Defense Act of 2023 . 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) Around the world, LGBTQI+ people face violence, stigma, and discrimination based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or sex characteristics. (2) Sixty-seven countries have national laws that criminalize same-sex relations and at least 42 United Nations member states have legal barriers for freedom of expression on issues related to sexual and gender diversity. That is equal to roughly 35 percent of United Nations member states. (3) Eleven countries have jurisdictions in which the death penalty can be imposed for private, consensual same-sex sexual activity. (4) Despite recent progress made toward decriminalization, marriage equality, and legal gender recognition, several countries have introduced anti-LGBTQI+ pieces of legislation that would further criminalize or stigmatize LGBTQI+ peoples. This includes a draconian law under review in Ghana that would outlaw LGBTQI+ relationships or identities, as well as actions by community allies, and bills that ban so-called LGBTQI+ propaganda , such as those in Russia and Hungary. (5) In anti-LGBTQI+ prosecutions, law enforcement officials, working in tandem with medical personnel, use the forensically discredited practice of forced anal exams to try to prove same-sex sexual activity or otherwise to torture or intimidate detainees. The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture has described forced anal examinations as a form of torture or cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a report in 2015 calling for governments to ban the practice. Human Rights Watch has documented several cases in which forced anal examinations have been used to sentence individuals for same-sex sexual conduct, including in Uzbekistan and Egypt. (6) The closing of civil society space, particularly with the increased passage or enforcement of laws that prevent