International outcry after the enactment of an anti-homosexuality law in Uganda

2023-05-30 07:31:00

New anti-LGBT regulations in the African country have created widespread outrage on the international stage.

By HR with AFP

A law creates new sanctions against homosexuality in Uganda, causing concern among some NGOs.
© PHILL MAGAKOE / AFP

Published on 05/30/2023 at 07:31

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L’Uganda creates a real controversy on the international scene. This country ofAfrica de l’Est has announced that it is enacting a new law establishing heavy penalties for any homosexual relationship, as well as for what is considered to be the “promotion” of homosexuality. This new measure outrages and worries on several levels, from local NGOs to the White House.

The head of state, Yoweri Museveni, “approved” the text, which “now becomes the 2023 anti-homosexuality law”, announced the presidency. The news reignited fears sparked in March by the passing of the bill, which the head of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Volker Türk, described at the time as “discriminatory text – probably the worst in the world of its kind”

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The OHCHR said on Monday it was “dismayed” to see this “draconian and discriminatory” bill come into force, “contrary to the Constitution and international treaties”, which opens the way to “systematic violations of the rights of LGBT people “. The American President Joe Bidendenouncing a “tragic attack” on human rights, studies the consequences of this law on “all aspects of cooperation between UNITED STATES and Uganda,” including aid and investment, according to a White House statement.

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“Uganda’s failure to protect the rights of LGBTQI+ people is part of a broader breakdown of human rights protections” in the country, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. who mentioned visa restrictions. The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, speaks of a “deplorable” and “contrary to human rights” law in a press release, citing “compromised” relations with Kampala. A former colonial power, the United Kingdom “is appalled that the Ugandan government has signed the deeply discriminatory anti-homosexuality law”, according to a statement from Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell.

The text had been amended on the margins by the parliamentarians, at the request of President Museveni. The elected officials had clarified that being homosexual was not a crime, but that sexual relations between people of the same sex were. In this East African country where homosexuality is illegal, “acts of homosexuality” are punishable by life since a law dating from British colonization.

The parliamentarians maintained a provision making “aggravated homosexuality” a capital crime, which means that repeat offenders can be sentenced to death. In Uganda, however, the death penalty has not been applied for years. An NGO has announced that it has seized the High Court of Uganda on this “openly unconstitutional” law. The criminalization of activity between consenting adult homosexuals “runs against key provisions of the Constitution, including the right to equality and non-discrimination”, judged Adrian Jjuuko, executive director of the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF).

Uganda wants to stay “firm”

A Ugandan MP who initiated the text said on Monday that he expected Western sanctions. “They are going to cut off aid to Uganda,” declared Asuman Basalirwa, believing that new “development partners” had to be found, particularly in the Arab world. The President of Parliament, Anita Among, welcomed the promulgation of the text by Mr. Museveni, who himself describes homosexuality as “deviance”

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“We have heeded the concerns of our people and legislated to protect the sanctity of the family […]. We have stood firm in defending the culture, values ​​and aspirations of our people,” she said in a statement. The law enjoys broad popular support and opposition reactions have been rare in the country, ruled with an iron fist since 1986 by Yoweri Museveni.

Homophobia is widespread in Uganda, as in the rest of East Africa. While there have been no recent prosecutions for homosexual acts, harassment and intimidation are daily occurrences for homosexuals in Uganda, where a evangelical christianity vehement towards the LGBT+ movement.