The announcement of the promulgation of a new law providing for heavy penalties for homosexual relations and the “promotion” of homosexuality in Uganda arouses indignation and concern on Monday, 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 then head of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Volker Türk, described as “discriminatory text – probably the worst in the world of its kind”.
The OHCHR said on Monday it was “appalled” 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 “.
US President Joe Biden, denouncing a “tragic violation” of human rights, is studying the consequences of this law on “all aspects of cooperation between the United States and Uganda”, in particular aid and investments, according to a statement from the White House.
The deputy director for Africa of the NGO Human Rights Watch, Ashwanee Budoo-Scholtz, deplored a “discriminatory law” and “a step in the wrong direction”. Amnesty International blasted “a deeply repressive law” and “a serious attack on human rights”.
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. Former colonial power, the United Kingdom “is appalled that the Ugandan government has signed the deeply discriminatory anti-homosexuality law”, according to a press release from the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Andrew Mitchell.
The text had been amended at the margin 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.
Parliamentarians maintained a provision making “aggravated homosexuality” a capital offence, meaning that repeat offenders could 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 over this “blatantly 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”, ruled Adrian Jjuuko, executive director of the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum. (HRAPF).
A provision on the “promotion” of homosexuality is of particular concern to NGOs. According to the text, anyone – individual or organization – “knowingly promotes homosexuality” faces up to 20 years in prison. If it’s an organization, it faces a 10-year ban.
“We feel so, so, so worried. This law is going to do a lot of harm to the LGBTQ community in Uganda,” the executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, a gay rights organization whose activities were suspended by the authorities last year. He fears “popular justice and mass arrests”.
This law also raises the concern of humanitarian organizations.
“Uganda’s progress in its response to HIV is now severely compromised,” three aid organizations, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the US humanitarian agency USAID, said in a statement. The text “will hinder health education and awareness that can help end AIDS as a threat to public health”.
A Ugandan MP who initiated the text said on Monday that he expected Western sanctions. “They are going to cut 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”.
“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 press release.
The law enjoys broad popular support and opposition reactions have been rare in the country, which has been 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 the daily life of homosexuals in Uganda, where an evangelical Christianity has developed which is vehement towards the LGBT movement.
29/05/2023 21:52:02 – Kampala (AFP) © 2023 AFP