Uganda's new anti-gay law lls for life prison for those who are nvicted : NPR

Contents:

• A NEW ANTI-GAY LAW UGANDA LLS FOR LIFE PRISON FOR THOSE WHO ARE NVICTED
• UGANDA ANTI-HOMOSEXUALY BILL: LIFE PRISON FOR SAYG YOU'RE GAY
• UGANDA’S ANTI-GAY LAWS ARE A NEW APARTHEID. I URGE PRINT MEVENI TO THK AGA
• LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• UGANDA PASSED ONE OF THE WORLD’S HARSHT ANTI-GAY LAWS. LGBTQ PEOPLE SCRIBE LIVG THERE AS ‘HELL’
• UGANDA LAWMAKERS AMEND NTROVERSIAL ANTI-GAY LAW BUT ATH PENALTY FOR HIV POSIVE SEX REMAS
• LGBTQ ACTIVISTS UGANDA ' SHOCK' OVER ANTI-GAY LEGISLATN, FEARG MASS ARRTS
• UGANDA PASS STRICT ANTI-GAY BILL THAT IMPOS DEATH PENALTY FOR SOME
• UGANDA'S LGBTQ MUNY IS ' SHOCK' OVER NEW MEASURE, GAY ACTIVIST SAYS

A NEW ANTI-GAY LAW UGANDA LLS FOR LIFE PRISON FOR THOSE WHO ARE NVICTED

But this new law builds on existg laws and go even further to crimalise LGBTI dividuals - lengtheng sentenc for adults found 'guilty' of same-sex relatnships, and extendg punishments to people volved 'promotg' homosexualy. STORY HIGHLIGHTS Human rights groups: Bill would spur a wch hunt of homosexuals Uganda Print blam foreign fluence promotg and fundg homosexualy Media outlets have flamed sentiments by publicly potg out gays and lbians Canadian PM tells Ugandan print bill is plorable, nsistent wh human rights (CNN) -- As a gay man Uganda, Frank Mugisha is ed to the tnts, the slurs and the daily harassment of neighbors and iends. The Anti-Homosexualy Bill featur several provisns that human rights groups say would spur a wch hunt of homosexuals the untry: • Gays and lbians nvicted of havg gay sex would be sentenced, at mimum, to life prison • People who tt posive for HIV may be executed • Homosexuals who have sex wh a mor, or engage homosexual sex more than once, may also receive the ath penalty • The bill forbids the "promotn of homosexualy, " which effect bans anizatns workg HIV and AIDS preventn • Anyone who knows of homosexual activy takg place but do not report would risk up to three years prison "Who will go to HIV ttg if he knows that he will suffer the ath sentence?

"Regardls of the diverse theologil views of our relig tradns regardg the moraly of homosexualy, our church, muni and fai, we seek to embrace our gay and lbian brothers and sisters as God's children, worthy of rpect and love, " the statement read. "This draft bill is clearly an attempt to divi and weaken civil society by strikg at one of s most margalized groups, " said Stt Long, director of the Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr Rights Program at the New York-based Human Rights Watch. Homosexual acts are already illegal Uganda but this bill troduc many new crimal well as makg merely intifyg as gay illegal for the first time, iends, fay and members of the muny would have a duty to report dividuals same-sex relatnships to the was passed wh wispread support Uganda's parliament on Tuday eveng.

The bill's backers say they are tryg to protect children but Ms Byagaba said: "Whether you're heterosexual or homosexual, the ernment and parliament should troduce laws, or at least implement existg laws that protect all children - boys, girls om filement. The fal versn has yet to be officially published but elements discsed parliament clu: A person who is nvicted of groomg or traffickg children for purpos of engagg them homosexual activi fac life prisonIndividuals or stutns which support or fund LGBT rights' activi or anisatns, or publish, broadst and distribute pro-gay media material and lerature, also face prosecutn and imprisonmentMedia groups, journalists and publishers face prosecutn and imprisonment for publishg, broadstg, distributn of any ntent that advot for gay rights or "promot homosexualy"Death penalty for what is scribed as "aggravated homosexualy", that is sexual abe of a child, a person wh disabily or vulnerable people, or s where a victim of homosexual asslt is fected wh a life-long illnsProperty owners also face risk of beg jailed if their premis are ed as a "brothel" for homosexual acts or any other sexual mori rights' activiA small group of Ugandan MPs on a mtee sctisg the bill disagreed wh s premise.

UGANDA ANTI-HOMOSEXUALY BILL: LIFE PRISON FOR SAYG YOU'RE GAY

They argue the offenc seeks to crimalise are already vered the untry's Penal Co 2014, Uganda's nstutnal urt nullified another act which had toughened laws agast the LGBT clud makg illegal to promote and fund LGBT groups and activi, as well as reeratg that homosexual acts should be punished by life imprisonment, and was wily nmned by Wtern urt led that the legislatn be revoked bee had been passed by parliament whout the required quom. Law uld be the first to crimalise intifyg as lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer (LGBTQ): Rights WatchUganda’s parliament has passed sweepg antigay legislatn that propos tough new penalti for same-sex relatnships and crimalis anyone intifyg as LGBTQ. While more than 30 Ain untri, cludg Uganda, already ban same-sex relatnships, the new law passed on Tuday appears to be the first to outlaw merely intifyg as lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer (LGBTQ), Human Rights Watch said.

Frank Mugisha, executive director of Sexual Mori Uganda, a leadg gay rights anisatn whose operatns were spend by thori last year, told the AFP news agency earlier this month that he had already been undated wh lls om LGBTQ people over the new bill. Apartheid tried to rob black South Ains of their humany and their digny bee of the lour of their sk; homophobia tri to rob people of their humany and their digny bee of who they I married 2015, the South Ain Anglin church, which I had grown up, revoked my licence to officiate as a prit. “Wtern untri are puttg prsure on pennt untri by attackg the fay foundatn, promotg the ugly phenomenon of homosexualy, the spread of extremism and terrorism, and the e of human rights as a tool, for which the velopment of cultural teractns and cultural operatn between Iran and Uganda will be very effective nontg the plots of the enemi of the two natns, ” said Raisi.

A broadst reporter based eastern Uganda feels empowered to vtigate sexual crim by a sectn of the law requirg the public to report “reasonable spicn” of the “offense of homosexualy, ” the reporter told CPJ.

UGANDA’S ANTI-GAY LAWS ARE A NEW APARTHEID. I URGE PRINT MEVENI TO THK AGA

The Ugandan law is regard as one of the harsht anti-LGBTQ laws the propos life imprisonment for anyone nvicted of homosexualy, and the ath penalty for so-lled aggravated s, which clu havg gay sex wh someone below the age of 18 or where someone be fected wh a life-long illns such as the other si of the ntent, MPs Ghana earlier this month unanimoly voted favour of amendments to the untry's anti-gay legislatn, phg closer to beg enacted to law.

Though ls harsh than Uganda's new law, the Promotn of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Fay Valu Bill propos a three-year prison sentence for anyone who intifi as LGBTQ and a 10-year sentence for anyone who promot homosexualy. Gay sex is already illegal Kenya, but the ernment n also be tolerant of gay people - for example, has given asylum to people om other Ain untri, cludg Uganda, who faced persecutn their home untri bee of their sexual orientatn.

LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?

Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Many Kenyans believe that gay rights are agast their relign - whether Christian or MlimAlthough the meetg Uganda was billed as an attempt to protect the "sovereignty" of Ain stat, was actually -sponsored by an Amerin Christian right-wg anisatn, Fay Watch Internatnal (FWI) Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian prit the Anglin Church and an amic at Boston Universy the US, says Ain untri are beg targeted by FWI and siar US-based anisatns, and that the impact of s lobbyg has been "horrible and humane" parts of Ai, fuellg what he lls "ant homophobia".

UGANDA PASSED ONE OF THE WORLD’S HARSHT ANTI-GAY LAWS. LGBTQ PEOPLE SCRIBE LIVG THERE AS ‘HELL’

"It is one thg to say: 'I don't agree wh you beg gay', but we didn't have the ant one, where policians now are sayg: 'You go to jail for life, you go to jail for talkg about beg gay, you go to jail bee you're livg wh your fellow woman', " Dr Kaoma says.

The act outlaws gay marriage Uganda, punish same-sex acts wh life imprisonment, and lls for the ath penalty for “aggravated homosexualy” – which clus sex wh a mor or otherwise vulnerable person, havg sex while HIV posive and ct. WorldMembers of Uganda's LGBTQ muny are shock and fear beg arrted after parliament passed a new law that mak a crime to intify as gay, and impos tough sentenc that clu the ath penalty certa s, an activist said on Wednday. Ll for Ugandan ernment to rensirUgandan Member of Parliament John Mira drsed an anti-LGBTQ gown gtur as he leav the chambers durg the bate of the Anti-Homosexualy bill, which impos tough new penalti for same-sex relatns durg a stg at the Parliament buildgs Kampala, Uganda, on Tuday.

UGANDA LAWMAKERS AMEND NTROVERSIAL ANTI-GAY LAW BUT ATH PENALTY FOR HIV POSIVE SEX REMAS

(Abubaker Lubowa/Rters)Members of Uganda's LGBTQ muny are shock and fear beg arrted after parliament passed a new law that mak a crime to intify as gay, and impos tough sentenc that clu the ath penalty certa s, an activist said on "Anti-Homosexualy Bill, 2023" was passed wh a near-unanimo majory by lawmakers the east Ain untry where anti-LGBTQ sentiment ns Mugisha, one of a few Ugandans who live openly as gay, told Rters he was sred the law will trigger "mass arrts of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer (LGBTQ) persons and mob vlence toward LGBTQ muni. A Ugandan transgenr woman who was recently attacked and currently beg sheltered watch a TV screen showg the live broadst of the ssn om the Parliament for the anti-gay bill, at a lol chary supportg the LGBTQ Communy near Kampala on Tuday. (Stuart Tibawwa/AFP via Getty Imag)Law nmned ternatnallySame-sex relatns were already illegal Uganda, but supporters of the new law say is need to punish a broar array of LGBTQ activi, which they say threaten tradnal valu the nservative and relig East Ain clus steep sentenc that clu ath for "aggravated homosexualy" and life prison for same-sex relatns.

Aggravated homosexualy appli to same-sex activi wh people unr the age of 18 or when the perpetrator is HIV posive, among other tegori, acrdg to the pass bill crimalizg people for intifyg as LGBTQAS IT HAPPENSUgandan activist vows to keep speakg out spe new law that bans intifyg as LGBTQU. "The law vlat fundamental nstutnal rights like privacy and ee speech, so purely based on the law, I thk will be a strong se, " said lawyer Adrian | LGBTQ activist Uganda endur threats:Day 69:14Ugandan LGBTQ activist says threats and vlence won't stop the fight for civil rightsUgandan LGBT activist Pepe Julian Onziema helped shut down a 2014 law that lled for the ath penalty for homosexual acts. SummaryCompaniLaw punish 'aggravated homosexualy' wh athWispread nmnatn om WtLGBTQ activists vow urt challengeKAMPALA, May 29 (Rters) - Uganda's Print Yoweri Meveni signed one of the world's tought anti-LGBTQ laws, cludg the ath penalty for "aggravated homosexualy", drawg Wtern nmnatn and riskg sanctns om aid relatns were already illegal Uganda, as more than 30 Ain untri, but the new law go stipulat pal punishment for "serial offenrs" agast the law and transmissn of a termal illns like HIV/AIDS through gay sex.

"The Ugandan print has today legalised state-sponsored homophobia and transphobia, " said Clare Byagaba, a Ugandan rights Stat Print Joe Bin lled the move "a tragic vlatn" of human rights and said Washgton would evaluate the implitns of the law "on all aspects of U. Existg Ugandan law lls for a maximum 10-year sentence for tentnally transmtg HIV and do not apply when the person who ntracted the fectn was aware of their sexual partner's HIV ntrast, the new law mak no distctn between tentnal and untentnal transmissn and ntas no exceptn based on awarens of HIV amend versn of the bill, adopted earlier this month after Meveni returned to parliament, stipulated that merely intifyg as LGBTQ is not a crime and revised a measure that obliged people to report homosexual activy to only require reportg when a child is volved. A ls rtrictive 2014 anti-LGBTQ law was stck down by a Ugandan urt on procral grounds, after Wtern ernments had ially spend some aid, imposed visa rtrictns and curtailed secury 2009, a bill dubbed "kill the gays" for ially proposg executg homosexuals was troduced after a nference Kampala drew reprentativ om the Uned Stat cludg proment anti-gay evangelil Stt well as relig mpaigng, Ai's anti-LGBTQ attus also have their roots the lonial era, cludg an anti-sodomy sectn of Bra's penal .

LGBTQ ACTIVISTS UGANDA ' SHOCK' OVER ANTI-GAY LEGISLATN, FEARG MASS ARRTS

The AHA clus the ath sentence for some nsensual same-sex acts, prohibs anizatns om “normalizg” sexual diversy through clive programmg and requir everyone Uganda, cludg health workers, to report people who might be lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr or queer (LGBTQ) to the police. ” Bee the law, the Anti-Homosexualy Act, 2023, stat that anyone who has rmatn that a person has mted or tends to m an offense “shall report the matter to the police for appropriate actn, ” health provirs are still required by law to turn LGBTQ patients. On June 7, durg his State of the Natn addrs, Print Yoweri Meveni reerated the claims the health circular: “Therefore, those who say that the homosexuals will be arrted if they go for medil re, etc., are wrong.

Office Geneva, Arthur Kafeero, claimed that the act was a rponse to “a wispread mpaign to promote homosexualy amongst children schools was disvered” and that “s methods and ntent too difficult and graphic to expla. While not specific to health, asserted that the AHA was “misterpreted” by velopment partners, that only tend to prevent the “open promotn of homosexualy, pecially among children and vulnerable groups”; that “no activi of dividuals, groups, pani or anizatns” would be affected by the AHA; and that the ernment was mted to the provisn of servic to all Uganda, whout discrimatn.

UGANDA PASS STRICT ANTI-GAY BILL THAT IMPOS DEATH PENALTY FOR SOME

• June 10: Followg the arrt of two gay men his area, the client, who is a [key populatns] ordator at a ernment health facily, was threatened wh vlence by their lleagu at work and people the muny, who said he was rponsible for the actns of the two who had been arrted bee he was always the one supportg them and givg them treatment. It passed by a vote of 387 to Lubowa/RtersLawmakers Uganda have passed a sweepg anti-gay law that n brg punishments as severe as the ath penalty — the culmatn of a long-nng mpaign to crimalize homosexualy and target L. Even tryg to have same-sex relatns would be met wh a seven-year prison ath penalty would be applied to people nvicted of “aggravated homosexualy, ” a sweepg term fed the law as homosexual acts mted by anyone fected wh H.

Most of the acts are already crim regardls of genr unr the Ugandan penal , but the ath penalty has been add to this bill to target s which the perpetrator and victim are of the same parliamentary vote ps a stggle over gay rights Uganda that has drawn ternatnal attentn for nearly 15 years. It as anti-gay polici and discrimatn have been on the rise several Ain natns, cludg Kenya, Ghana and legislatn Uganda, lled the Anti-Homosexualy Bill, also impos a penalty of up to 1 billn Ugandan shillgs, about $264, 000, on any enty nvicted of promotg homosexualy. ”“This hoe will ntue to pass laws that regnize, protect and safeguard the sovereignty, morals and cultur of this untry, ” Ana An Among, the speaker of the Ugandan Parliament, said after legislators fished bill will now go to Print Yoweri Meveni, Uganda’s lear for nearly four s, who has been an outspoken driver of anti-gay measur.

Katumba/Agence France-Prse — Getty ImagThe bill’s passg was sharply cricized by rights groups and by a few lawmakers Uganda who said that ged on the eedoms of Ugandans and further erod the rights of gay Türk, the Uned Natns human rights chief, lled the anti-gay law “probably among the worst of s kd the world” and said that uld “serve to ce people agast each other. Around the world, a ath penalty sentence for same-sex relatns is imposed only a handful of untri, cludg Iran and Mrania, acrdg to a survey by Human Rights bill was troduced early March by the lawmaker Asuman Basalirwa, who has said that homosexualy threatens fay valu and the safety of Ugandan children. Basalirwa doubled down, sayg the law was need bee there was a “public outcry” over a plot to rec schoolchildren to homosexualy — an allegatn that rights advot have said is Uganda, a untry of about 46 ln people — about 85 percent Christian and 15 percent Mlim — relig lears have jotly veighed agast homosexualy and what they say is s impact on the sancty of fay and children.

UGANDA'S LGBTQ MUNY IS ' SHOCK' OVER NEW MEASURE, GAY ACTIVIST SAYS

Many relig lears say that homosexualy is a Wtern import and have held protts and ralli urgg legislators to troduce laws that would harshly penalize gay even as anti-gay sentiment Uganda has bee pervasive, L. The new laws, activists say, will aggravate the challeng already facg gay thori have recent years regularly round up people whom they spect of beg gay or lbian and arrtg people at gay-iendly bars on what rights groups say are fabrited dg charg, subjectg some to vasive physil examatns. ImageGay Ugandan refuge who fled om their untry to neighborg Kenya returned om food shoppg Nairobi Inganga/Associated PrsWhile the vote happened quickly, the drive to outlaw homosexualy Uganda has been long-nng, drawg enuragement om evangelil Christians the Uned Stat and ternatnal outrage om gay people and human rights advot.

Meveni that punished “aggravated homosexualy” wh life the Ugandan Constutnal Court nullified the law that same year, sayg that had been passed Parliament whout the necsary ntrast, for the vote on Tuday night, lawmakers filled parliamentary chambers.