The Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014 (previously called " Kill Gays bills " in western mainstream media due to a proposed original death sentence clause) was passed by Parliament Uganda, on December 20, 2013 with life imprisonment replaced by a death sentence.
The bill was signed into law by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on February 24, 2014. On August 1, 2014, however, the Ugandan Constitutional Court ruled the law unlawful under the procedure.
The law, if that applies, would extend criminalization of same-sex relations in Uganda domestically. It also includes provisions on people outside Uganda who are accused of violating the Act, stating that they can be extradited to Uganda to be punished there. The law also includes penalties for individuals, corporations, and non-governmental organizations that assist or engage in same-sex sexual acts, including gay marriage. Furthermore, the Act allows the Ugandan government to cancel international and regional commitments that are considered outside the interests of the Acts provisions.
Same-sex relationships have been illegal in Uganda since British colonial rule - as they are in many African countries - and before this law is passed, they can be sentenced to imprisonment for up to 14 years. The law was introduced as a private member's bill by MP David Bahati on October 14, 2009. A special move to introduce the bill was passed a month after a two-day conference was held in which three Christians from the United States affirmed that homosexuality was a direct threat against African family cohesion.
Several sources have noted that the Act has aggravated endemic homophobia in Uganda and related discussions about it. Others more specifically claim that such legislative acts are the result of politicized homophobia, a rhetorical tool used to advance the interests of political leaders in the form of gaining popularity and/or distracting from corrupt behavior.
Video Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014
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Some gay rights advocates claim that about 500,000 people in Uganda or 1.4 percent of the population are gay. The Ugandan government, however, has characterized the claims of over 500,000 people as designed to increase the popularity of homosexuality, and the British Broadcasting Company in 2009 confirmed the impossibility to determine the true number of gay people living in Uganda.
The existing law criminalizes homosexual behavior with imprisonment lasting up to 14 years. This law is a remnant of British colonialism designed to punish what the colonial government considers to be "unnatural sex" among the local Ugandans. In some areas, male homosexuality is age-stratified, similar to the ancient Greeks in which soldiers bought boys as brides, common when women were not available, or manifested as encounters at a glance as in prostitution. Human rights groups have demanded law reform and decriminalization of homosexuality and affirmed that the law reinforces prejudice and encourages violence against LGBT.
According to a reporter in Africa, "Africans see homosexuality as non-African and non-Christian." Thirty-eight of the 53 African countries criminalize homosexuality in several ways. The 2013 poll found that the majority of Ugandans did not approve of homosexuality. In sub-Saharan Africa, only the governments of South Africa and Namibia support gay rights. But South Africa's support for LGBT rights did not prevent the rape and murder of LGBT rights activist Eudy Simelane in 2008. And violence is sometimes filled with police inaction and apathy. As is the case in many other African countries, gays in Uganda face an atmosphere of physical violence, vandalism towards their property, extortion, death threats, and "corrective rape".
From 5 to 8 March 2009, a workshop organized by the Family Life Network, led by Uganda's Stephen Langa, and entitled "Seminar on Exposing the Homosexual Agenda" took place in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. The workshop featured three evangelical Christian Americans: Scott Lively, a writer who has written several books against homosexuality; Caleb Lee Brundidge, a self-confessed gay man who conducts sessions to cure homosexuality; and Don Schmierer, board member of Exodus International, an organization devoted to promoting "freedom from homosexuality through the power of Jesus Christ". The theme of the conference, according to The New York Times , is "gay agenda": "how to make gay people straight, how gay men often sodomize teenage boys and how 'gay movement is an evil institution' whose goal is 'to defeat a marriage-based society and replace it with a culture of sexual intercourse'.'T Kapya Kaoma, an Anglican priest from Zambia, was present and reported at the conference.Lively asserts in his workshops that legalizing homosexuality would be the same as accepting child molestation and animalism. also claims that gays threaten society by causing higher divorce rates, child abuse, and HIV transmission, saying that US homosexuals are out to recruit young people into homosexual lifestyles.According to Kaoma, one of thousands of Ugandans present that was announced during the conference, "[Parliament] felt the need to draft a new law which relate comprehensively to the issue of homosexuality and... consider the international gay agenda..... There are currently proposals to be drafted by the new law. "
Also during March 2009, Lively met with several Ugandan MPs and the Minister of Ethics and Integrity James Nsaba Buturo. Lively later wrote on his blog that Langa was "very excited by the results of our efforts and predicted with confidence that the coming weeks would see significant improvements in the nation's moral climate, and a substantial increase in pro-family activism in every social field." He said that an observer a respected community in Kampala has told him that our campaign is like a nuclear bomb on the 'gay' agenda in Uganda, I pray that this, and the predictions, are true. "
In April 2009, a local Ugandan newspaper printed suspected homosexual names, other printed tips on how to identify gay to the general public, and, in October 2010, another named Rolling Stone (not affiliated with United States Rolling Stone ) published a story featuring gays and lesbians "100" and their photos and addresses. Next to the list is a yellow strip with the words "hang it". Julian Pepe, program coordinator for Uganda's Sexual Minority, said the people mentioned in the story live in fear and that attacks have begun, prompting many to leave their jobs and others to move. The newspaper editor confirmed the list to expose gays and lesbians so authorities could capture them while Buturo rejected complaints from gay people and sympathizers by stating that protests about the outing were part of a campaign to mobilize support and sympathy from abroad. Uganda's high court ordered Rolling Stone to stop publishing images of gay and lesbians after David Kato and several others sued the paper.
Langa specifically quotes unlicensed conversion therapist Richard A. Cohen, who states in the Coming Out Straight, a book given to Langa and other prominent Ugandan people,
Homosexuals are at least 12 times more likely to abuse children than heterosexuals; homosexual teachers are at least 7 times more likely to abuse students; homosexual teachers are estimated to have committed at least 25 percent of pupil abuse; 40 percent of persecution attacks are perpetrated by those involved in homosexuality.
These statements are based on a false study by Paul Cameron, who has been excluded from the American Psychological Association, the Canadian Psychological Association, and the American Sociological Association, and Cohen confirms their weakness, stating that when the book is reprinted, these statistics will be eliminated.
Maps Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2014
Overview
Bill when introduced
In April 2009, Uganda's Parliament passed a resolution allowing lawmaker David Bahati to file a private member's bill in October to strengthen the law against homosexuality. Bahati proposed the bill on October 13, 2009.
In his official memorandum summarizing the objectives and principles of the bill, Bahati says that they are as follows:
- "protect traditional families by prohibiting (i) all forms of sexual intercourse between persons of the same sex, and (ii) promotion or acknowledgment of sexual relationships in public institutions and other places through or with support from any Government entity in Uganda or non-governmental organizations inside or outside the country. "
- "strengthens the country's capacity to deal with internal and external threats that arise against traditional heterosexual families."
- "same-sex attraction is not a congenital and unchanging characteristic."
- "protecting a cherished culture of Ugandans, laws, religions and traditional values ​​of Ugandan family homes on the efforts of sexual rights activists who seek to impose their values ​​of sexual intercourse on Ugandans."/li>
- "protects Ugandan children and adolescents vulnerable to sexual harassment and deviation as a result of cultural change, information technology without censorship, parent-child development settings and increased efforts by homosexuals to raise children in homosexual relations through adoption, help the development of care, or vice versa. "
The bill provides a specific definition of "violation of homosexuality", in which an offender can receive life imprisonment, and "aggravated homosexuality", who can accept the death penalty for an offender. "Abuse of homosexuality" is defined to include a variety of same-sex sexual acts. "Homosexuality exacerbated" is defined to include same-sex sexual acts: with a person under the age of 18; done by someone who is HIV positive; by the parent or guardian of the person performing the act; by a person authorized by the person conducting the action; the victim is a person with disabilities; by serial actors; or by any person who administers any drugs, materials, or objects in order to discredit or exclude others to enable same-sex behavior to take place. A person accused of "aggravated homosexuality" will be forced to undergo an HIV test. A person who attempted to commit "a violation of homosexuality" could receive a seven-year prison sentence. A person who tries to commit "aggravated homosexuality" can receive life imprisonment.
Among other things, the bill would also criminalize someone who "helps, conspires, counsels, or seeks others to engage in homosexual acts" and provides a possible sentence of seven years in prison. A person who "intends to contract marriage with another person of the same sex" will commit "homosexuality violations" and may be sentenced to life imprisonment. Anyone who promotes or supports homosexuality, as broadly defined by the bill, can be fined and jailed for five to seven years except that if the person is a corporate body, business, association or non-governmental organization, the registration will be canceled and "director, owner or promoter "can get seven years in prison. An "authorized person" who becomes aware of an offense under the law may be fined and jailed for up to three years unless the person reports a violation within 24 hours. The bill, in its sole discretion, will apply to any violation committed under the law by a person who is a citizen or permanent resident of Uganda, regardless of whether the offense is committed in Uganda, and may be extradited to Uganda.
When the bill was introduced, an independent lawmaker stated that he thought it had about 99 percent chance of passing. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni publicly expressed his support for the bill, stating "We used to say Mr and Mrs, but now it is Mr. and Mr. What is it now?"
Parliamentary considerations on the bill in 2009-11
After facing intense international reaction and promises from Western countries to cut financial aid to Uganda, Ugandan Minister Buturo said on December 9, 2009 that Uganda would revise the bill to impose the death penalty and replace life sentences for gay people with various violation. But initially Buturo stated that the government was determined to pass the bill "even if it meant withdrawing from international treaties and conventions such as the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and donor funding", according to an interview in The Guardian . Bahati, sponsor of the bill, later and repeatedly denied the report. On December 23, however, Reuters reported that Buturo again said that the death penalty would be dropped from the bill. He claims, however, that protests from western countries do not affect this decision. He stated, "There has been much discussion in the government... on the proposed law, but we now think the life sentence could be better because it gives room for the offenders to be rehabilitated, killing them might not help.
On 8 January 2010, Bahati once again insisted that he would not delay or rule out the bill, even after State Minister for Investments, Aston Kajara stated that the Ugandan government would ask Bahati to withdraw it and President Museveni insisted it was too harsh. Bahati said, "I will not pull it in. We have our children at school to protect themselves from being recruited into homosexuality." The process of legislation to protect our children against homosexuality and defending our family values ​​must continue. "
On 12 January 2010, President Museveni told the news media that there was a need for "extreme vigilance" and that his cabinet members would speak with Bahati to reach a compromise to satisfy Bahati's concerns and weigh well the demands on the bill that Museveni had received from around the world. The bill was held for further discussion for the remainder of 2010.
Parliament was postponed in May 2011 without vote on the bill. Bahati states, however, that he intends to reintroduce the bill in the next parliament.
Considerations and subsequent sections by parliament
In August 2011, the Uganda cabinet voted unanimously that current law makes illegal homosexuality sufficient.
Parliament, however, voted in October 2011 to reopen the debate, with Parliament Speaker Rebecca Kadaga stating that the bill would be sent to the committee. According to Bloomberg News at the end of 2011, President Museveni may veto the bill due to international pressure. Speaker Kadaga promised to legalize the bill in 2012.
Bahati re-introduced the bill in February 2012. In November 2012, the Chairman agreed to pass a new law against homosexuality in late 2012 as a "Christmas present" for his supporters. The bill, however, did not pass in 2012.
The bill is listed as number eight under "Business to Follow" for 2013. At that stage, no changes to the bills have been presented. It has been reported that Ugandan Parliament members are looking to hold a debate behind closed doors. The National Youth MP Monica Amoding told The Observer that some MPs in the Legal Affairs and Parliamentary Committee proposed the move because of the sensitive nature of the bill. "This subject is very sensitive and some of us are afraid if discussed in public view, we will be persecuted for having a certain view," said Amoding.
On December 20, 2013, Parliament passed a bill with violations of "homosexuality" and "aggravated homosexuality" punished by life imprisonment.
Consideration of Bill by President Museveni
In a letter dated December 28, 2013 to Ugandan speaker and MP, President Museveni expressed his disappointment that the bill had been passed without a quorum requested. "Recently, we have anti-homosexuality bill, this is, again, something we suggest to be postponed until we have studied it in depth, but some elements insist and, without even a Parliament quorum," graduate. "How can you 'passes' the law without a Parliamentary quorum after it is affirmed? What kind of parliament is this? How can Parliament become a person who violates the Constitution and the law over and over? "Regarding the substance of the bill, Museveni said in his letter,
Who is homosexual? My answer is that homosexuals are abnormal people because normal people are created to be interested in the opposite sex... to produce and perpetuate the human race.... [M] y bishop of North Ankole, Rt. Pdt. Muhanguzi... asks the following question:... How can God contradict the saying in Genesis that Adam should be given a wife, Eve, and then also create a homosexual?... However, now I have been forced to concentrate my mind on this issue by the actions of a small group of our MPs led by Rt. Hon Kadaga, I can see the wrong position Bishop Muhanguzi.... Does Albinos create themselves? No. Simply put, nature becomes wrong in a few cases.... The question that is at the core of the homosexual debate is: "What do we do with an abnormal person? Do we kill him? Are we imprisoning him? Or are we holding him/her?" ? "... Regardless of people who are born abnormally, there appears to be a larger group of those who are homosexual for mercenary reasons - they are recruited for financial inducement... What about lesbian women? people who are born abnormal and people who may become lesbians for mercenary reasons, there may be people who go to practice because of sexual hunger when they fail to get married.More women are usually more than men.... Di past, this imbalance can be overcome by polygamy.... Groups that can be saved... are those who are homosexual or lesbian for mercenary reasons or because... a failure to get a legal partner.The salvation for this mercenary aberration is , first and foremost, the economy - quickly industrialize Uganda, modernize agriculture, etc... In addition... we must make laws that eras against people with money, from within and outside, who take advantage of our teenage desires to lure them into this abnormal and perverted behavior. I will support a life sentence... On this one I agree with the bill passed by Parliament. The unanswered question is: What do you do with people who are really abnormal?... Just a few days ago, I watched on television that Dr. Allan Turing, the genius mathematician who broke the German Enigma code for the anti-Hitler alliance... was a homosexual. This man... allowed them to win the war. However, chemically the British castrated him in 1952, in which he committed suicide, apparently. Is the British right in handling such a problem? The English no longer think so. Just on another day, the Queen should apologize to... this person... [that] is far more useful to society than to millions of sexually normal people.... [T] he challenges is how to properly deal with sexual abnormalities on the one hand and those who use money or other influences to recruit normal people sexually into this abnormal and disgusting behavior. When we meet in the NRM caucus, we will, I believe, find a scientifically correct position.
On 14 February 2014, President Museveni announced that he would sign the bill into law. According to the government, his decision was based on reports by "medical experts" who say "homosexuality is not genetic but social behavior."
A few days later, he revoked this announcement and asked the US to seek scientific advice on whether homosexuality is genetically determined or elective. He suggests he needs to know "is there anyone who was born homosexual", in which case it would be wrong to punish them. He said that he would not sign the bill until the issue had been clarified.
Museveni publicly signed the bill into law on 24 February and afterwards said that, based on the scientific research he was assigned, people were not born homosexual.
Act as signed to law
The law provides specific definitions of "violations of homosexuality" and "aggravated homosexuality". A person who commits an offense may receive life imprisonment. "Abuse of homosexuality" is defined as including various same-sex sexual acts. "Homosexuality exacerbated" is defined to include same-sex sexual acts: with a person under the age of 18; done by someone who is HIV positive; by the parent or guardian of the person performing the act; by a person authorized by the person conducting the action; the victim is a person with disabilities; by serial actors; or by any person who administers any drugs, materials, or objects in order to discredit or exclude others to enable same-sex behavior to take place. A person accused of "deteriorating homosexuality" is forced to undergo an HIV test. Someone who tries to commit "a violation of homosexuality" can receive a seven-year prison term. A person who tries to commit "aggravated homosexuality" can receive life imprisonment.
Among other things, the Act also criminalizes someone who "helps, conspires, counsels, or seeks others to engage in homosexual acts" and provides a possible sentence of seven years in prison. A person who "contracts marriage with another person of the same sex" commits "a violation of homosexuality" and can be imprisoned for life. A person who carries out a marriage ceremony between persons of the same sex can be imprisoned for a maximum of seven years. Institutions that engage in this type of marriage may be subject to licensing. Anyone who promotes or supports homosexuality, as broadly defined by the bill, may be fined and jailed for five to seven years except that if the person is a corporate body, business, association or non-governmental organization, the registration may be canceled and "director, owner or promoter "can get seven years in prison. A person accused of a violation under the Act may be extradited to Uganda, as provided for in the existing extradition law.
Review by Uganda Constitutional Court
On August 1, 2014, the Ugandan Constitutional Court ruled that the Act was invalid because it was not ratified with the required quorum. Bahati then announced that the government would appeal to the Supreme Court of Uganda to overturn the decision. A news report on August 13, 2014, however, said that Uganda's attorney general had dropped all plans to appeal, per direction from President Museveni who worried about foreign reaction to the Act and who also said that any newly introduced bill should not criminalize equally the relationship between an approved adult.
Reaction
Amnesty International reported in October 2009 that the arrest of people suspected of having homosexual relationships was arbitrary and that the authorities tortured and tortured the detainees.
Religious leaders
At first, Lively said that the bill was a reaction to the efforts of people from the US and Europe to "homosexual" Ugandan society. He further claimed that the Ugandan leaders who created the bill were worried about "many homosexual men coming to the country and abusing boys who are on the streets". Life then disagreed with the bill, saying "I agree with the general purpose but this law is too hard.... The public must actively prevent all sex outside of marriage and that includes homosexuality.... Families are under threat.... [Gay people] should not walk in the streets. "
Cohen condemned the bill and stated that his punishment was "incomprehensible".
Schmierer expressed his surprise at the bill, told The New York Times that, although he outlines how homosexuals can turn into heterosexuals in a March 2009 conference, his involvement was limited to giving seminars to Africans about better parenting skills: "[The bill] is terrible , really awful... Some of the nicest people I've ever met are gay people. "
Rick Warren publicly denounced the bill, calling it "not Christian".
Martin Ssempa, a Ugandan pastor and former Warren affiliate, endorsed the bill. In February 2010, to oppose the opposition to the bill, Ssempa showed gay pornography to 300 members of his church, shocking them with images of explicit sexual acts and implying that all gay people were involved in it, but straight people did not.
Some Christian organizations oppose the bill, including the Anglican Church of Canada, Uganda's Integrity, Exodus International, Receiving Evangelicals, Changing Attitudes, Courage, Ekklesia, Fulcrum, Inclusive Church, and Lesbian and Gay Christian Movements. Exodus International sent a letter on November 16, 2009 to President Museveni stating, "The Christian Church... should be allowed to extend the love and affection of Christ to all.We believe that this law will make this mission a difficult task if not maybe to implement. "
Canon Anglican Priest Canon Gideon Byamugisha said that the bill "will become a genocide passed by the state".
Following a private discussion with the Anglican Church of Uganda, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said in a public interview that he did not see how the Anglican could support him: "Overall, the proposed legislation is a shocking severity and I can not see how it can be supported by the Anglican committed to what Communion has said in recent decades.Apart from applying the death penalty, it makes the pastoral care impossible - it seeks to turn the pastor into an informant. "
However, divisions appear in the Anglican community. In response to Canadian Anglican Church intervention, Bishop Joseph Abura of Karamoja diocese wrote an editorial statement, "Uganda Parliament, our legal guard dog, please continue and put anti-Gay laws in place." That's when we become completely responsible to our young people and to this country, not to Canada or the UK We are responsible! "Although the Anglican Church in Uganda is opposed to the death penalty, his archbishop, Henry Luke Orombi, did not take a position on the bill.
The evangelical organization Andrew Wommack Ministries expressed support for the bill. "I know this information is wrong and the punishment is greatly exaggerated as is often the case.I met with lawmakers responsible for this bill and he gave me the reason for introducing this law Uganda has just tried the United Nations. pressuring them to pass a pro-homosexual law to get the large sums of money offered to them (bribery) They respond by legislation to stop the powerful arms tactics of western pro-homosexual influences American leaders have enough integrity to not bribed or humiliated.While I know the situation is misunderstood, I do not feel qualified to handle this matter personally, but Leland Shores who runs our office in Kampala, Uganda is well aware of the details and has written a proper response for all interested people in this reading.He has entered a letter from more than 200 Ugandan Christian leaders who explain the situation. "
The Ugandan Catholic Archbishop of Kampala Cyprian Kizito Lwanga stated in December 2009 that the bill was unnecessary and "contrary to the core values" of Christianity, expressed particular concern about the terms of the death penalty. Lwanga argues that homosexuals should instead be encouraged to seek rehabilitation.
Pope Benedict XVI received the Ugandan ambassador in Rome in December 2009 and praised the country's climate of freedom and respect for the Catholic Church. During this meeting, no mention of the bill. However, three days earlier, the Vatican's legal standing to the United Nations declared that "Pope Benedict opposes 'unfair discrimination' against gay and lesbian men".
As of December 31, 2012, a number of events took place in Uganda where mainline churches and evangelical pastors united to condemn homosexuality and called for the bill to be issued, saying that passing the bill would save the nation's children from being recruited. Among those present was the English evangelical preacher Paul Shinners, who praised Uganda for the law, saying it was clear to God. He said, "No other country in the world has such a plan and through this, Uganda will be blessed."
According to news media reports Aug. 4, 2014, Uganda's highest Anglican leader, Archbishop Stanley Ntagali, called the Constitutional Court's decision a disappointment for the Ugandan Church, religious leaders and many Ugandans. He said, "The 'public opinion court' has clearly shown its support of the Act, and we urge Parliament to consider voting again to Bill with the right quorum in place... I appeal to all those who fear God and all Ugandans remain committed to support for homosexuality. "
Criticism of US evangelicals
Certain US evangelists active in Africa have been accused of being responsible for inspiring the bill by inciting hatred by comparing homosexuality with pedophilia and influencing public policy with donations from US religious organizations. Among the critics are The Times, Jeffrey Gettleman at The New York Times, The Time, The Guardian, a pan -Africa internet news journal for social justice named Pambazuka News, and an international organization with a similar purpose called Inter Press Service.
Kaoma says that some American evangelicals, such as Lively and pastor Warren, have a history of missionary work in Uganda and have become influential in shaping public policy in Uganda and other countries. Kaomas characterize their attempts to portray homosexuals as a threat to African families especially frightening, putting people's lives in jeopardy: "When you talk like that, Africans will fight to the death."
Pambazuka News states, "It should be noted that the cost is considerable, the time and the process for managing private member bills, raising questions about how MP from the Kabale District [Bahati] is funding this process? for pastors and churches mushrooming to use homophobic attacks on opponents as a way to discredit each other and influence its adherents. "
US television host Rachel Maddow runs an ongoing segment of the bill, entitled "Uganda Be Kidding Me" on The Rachel Maddow Show . Maddow insists that Cohen has "blood in [his] hand" to provide fake inspiration for the bill. He also questioned the truth in Warren's remarks when he said in an interview "... it is not my political calling, as a pastor in America, to comment on or disrupt the political processes of other countries". Maddow highlighted his actions in favor of Uganda's break with the Anglican Church for being "pro-gay" and asserting that Warren had contradicted his criticism of his anti-homosexuality bill.
Lisa Miller at Newsweek also threw a suspicion on Warren's actions.
Public reactions
On December 22, 2009, several hundred people gathered in Kampala to show their support for the bill, protesting homosexuals. Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported, "The protesters, led by the born-again scholars, cultural leaders, and university students, march to the parliament where they petitioned."
Ugandan government reaction
John Nagenda, Senior Advisor to President of Uganda, said he did not think the bill should be passed.
On January 11, 2010, Uganda Media Center, a government-sponsored website, released a statement entitled "Uganda is being considered too hard", reacting to the worldwide media attention the country has received about the bill, stating that, in response to negative press they received, it is clear that "Uganda (read Africans) has no right to discuss and has no right to sovereignty". The message affirmed "It is unfortunate that Uganda is now being judged for opportunistic acts whose ideas are based on violence and extortion and even worse, on the aid actions attached to the ropes." It is regrettable that the government knowingly to observe the ' human rights', but, by their own actions, they have surrendered their right to human rights. "
Governments and international organizations
A US diplomat, whose communiqué communique was unveiled via Wikileaks, writes that the political and economic problems in Uganda are channeled to "violent hatred" against gay people and that Bahati, Ssempa, and Buturo are primarily responsible for promoting a wave of intolerance. The diplomat further stated that, even if the bill did not pass, "homophobia rampant in Uganda will not disappear".
On November 27, 2009, during the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, declared his opposition to the bill to President Museveni. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper also expressed his opposition personally to Museveni during this meeting. Canadian Transport Minister John Baird told The Globe and Mail, "The current law before Parliament in Uganda is cruel, it is disgusting, it is offensive, it alludes to Canadian values, it alludes to decency."
The Australian Government reiterated its opposition to the criminalization of homosexuality in the Sydney Morning Herald.
The French government also criticized the bill, citing "deep concern".
On 3 December 2009, the Swedish government, which has long-term relations with Uganda, said it would revoke US $ 50 million ($ 31 million) in development assistance to Uganda if it is passed, calling it "appalling". Swedish Development Assistance Minister Gunilla Carlsson stated that he "thought and wished we had started sharing shared values ​​and understanding".
In December 2009, neighboring countries of Rwanda and Burundi also discussed a law that would criminalize homosexuality.
The European Parliament on December 16, 2009 passed a resolution against the bill, with a resolution threatening to cut financial aid to Uganda.
Dirk Niebel, the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development in Germany, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur that financial aid to Uganda will be cut, with a gradual plan for this to have been made.
The White House released a statement in December 2009, to The Advocate, stating that US President Barack Obama "strongly opposes attempts, such as the delayed bill in Uganda, which would criminalize homosexuality and move against the current.". Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also expressed her opposition to the bill, and US Senator Tom Coburn, Russ Feingold, Tammy Baldwin, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen also declared them.
In December 2009, Minneapolis city council, Minnesota, the twin cities of Kampala, issued a resolution against the bill.
On October 8, 2011, Andrew Mitchell, Secretary of State for International Development of the United Kingdom, announced that African countries that persecute homosexuals will face financial aid cuts from the British government. Mitchell specifically warned Museveni that his country faced a reduction in aid unless it left the bill.
In response to the law, Western donors have suspended or transferred more than $ 140 million worth of aid to Museveni's government. The lion's share of the aid being withheld is a planned $ 90 million loan from the World Bank to improve Uganda's health care system. The US, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden have collectively cut back $ 50 million in aid to various Ugandan government services.
Human rights and non-governmental organizations
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, urged Uganda to waive laws and decriminalize homosexuality. Elizabeth Mataka, UN Special Envoy for AIDS in Africa, said the bill would prevent people from testing if they could be punished by death.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch condemned the bill, calling it a campaign product by evangelical churches and anti-gay groups that have caused death threats and physical attacks on Ugandans suspected of being gay.
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria states that excluding marginalized groups will compromise efforts to halt the spread of AIDS in Uganda where 5.4 percent of the adult population is infected with HIV.
16,000 members of the HIV Doctor Society in South Africa sent a letter to the Ugandan president saying, "Encouraging openness and fighting stigma is widely recognized as a key component of Uganda's successful campaign to reduce HIV infection" and the bill threatens to impose "a very negative impact on Uganda's efforts to fight HIV ".
News media
One of the first newspaper editorials condemning the bill was from the South African newspaper The Sunday Times, warning that Uganda was in danger of being "dragged back to the dark and evil days of Idi Amin".
British newspaper The Guardian said the bill affirms the country's status as "unfair and unfounded", calling the law "poor legislation". The London-based newspaper The Times also criticized the proposed law and the BBC for sponsoring a debate entitled "Should homosexuals face execution?" The Times states that the anti-homosexuality bill "... should be seen for what it is: a fanatic and inhuman bill that will cause suffering for thousands of innocent people".
The Irish Times similarly characterized the bill as "medieval and witch hunt" and stated that even with the change from the death penalty to life imprisonment, the bill "will remain utterly disgusting".
An editorial at The New York Times stated, "The United States and others need to explain to the Ugandan government that such barbarism (in the bill) is intolerable and will make it an international pariah" and punished by evangelicals for mobilizing hatred: "You can not preach hatred and accept no responsibility for the way hate manifests."
The Washington Post writes that the bill is "ugly and stupid", "barbaric", and "(t) the hat is even considered to put Uganda outside the borders of a civilized country".
Douglas A. Foster, writing at The Los Angeles Times, focuses on the paradoxical majority of African beliefs that homosexuality is a Western influence while simultaneously influenced by the US conservative evangelical dogma. He wrote that gay Africans face the "impossible, insulting, cruel, cruel and very wrong" choice of having to choose between being gay and being African.
An editorial in The Australian, said, "It would be wrong... to believe that the Ugandan case is only a matter of national self-determination that clashes with Western sensitivity", and states that it is a culture of relativism while playing in Uganda, not pluralism which is at the root of human rights abuses such as those proposed there. "
The Australians say, "It's easy to defend the universal values ​​of freedom to the small states in East Africa, but we are ready to do so against the more powerful forces that abuse the human rights of their citizens."
The Observer , Uganda's biweekly newspaper, printed a response to the international attention received by the bill. The newspaper said that homosexuality is not a right, not included in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and in the US, where much media attention originated, remains controversial. This further criticizes the different reactions to other human rights violations and genocide in Ugandan history that do not attract the same amount of attention. He went on to state "... this is my main inconvenience with homosexuality - it does not come naturally but as a result of an intense campaign at school, luring people with money and all sorts of lies.... Gays targets other kids because they have no children of their own.The advocates of homosexuality must think of the wider impact of their struggle, Homosexuality destroys human capacity to produce offspring, the taste of human life, and ultimately life itself. "
Killings of leading Ugandan gay activist
On January 26, 2011, the most prominent Ugandan gay activist, David Kato, was found beaten to death by his brute trade, Sidney Nsubuga Enoch, who was later sentenced and sentenced to 30 years in jail by forced labor.
Photo of David Kato has been published in Rolling Stone. Kato had spoken at a UN-sponsored conference on the bill in December 2009, although his words were barely audible because he was nervous. Information in US embassy cables revealed that Ugandan human rights activists and anti-homosexual supporters of the bill verbally mocked her during her presentation.
Impact
According to a report by Uganda's Sexual Minorities:
AHA's approval has granted permission for extreme and violent homophobic culture in which both state and non-state actors are free to persecute Uganda LGBTI with immunity.
This contributes to an increase of between 750% and 1,900% in homophobic incidents compared to previous years. A large number of medical personnel from the United Nations and other countries have gone in protest against the bill.
See also
- LGBT Rights in Uganda
- LGBT history in Uganda
- God Loves Uganda
- Human Rights in Uganda
- HIV/AIDS in Uganda
- Mark Kiyimba
- Call Me Kuchu
Note
References
External links
- Sharlet, Jeff (September 2010). "Human Straight Burden: The American Roots of the Ugandan Anti-gay Persecution". Harper's . The Harper Magazine Foundation. 321 (1.924): 36-48.
- Uganda, the United States and Europe: Anti-Gayosexual Act 2014, a brief history of the passing of Western laws and reactions by M L Stevens
- Making Unlucky Laws: Uganda's Parliament and Anti-Homosexuality Act 2014 - an academic article, published in Parliamentary Affairs, of the parliamentary process through which the Anti-Homosexuality Act was passed with the analysis of some of its key provisions, by Paul Johnson at University of York.
- Play morality and money issues: toward a well-located understanding of homosexuality politics in Uganda - an academic analysis of Ugandan homosexuality and support for the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, by Joanna Sadgrove, Robert Vanderbeck, Gill Valentine, Johan Andersson, and Kevin Ward in University of Leeds.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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