Uganda's anti-gay law: how rtricted are LGBTQ rights Ai? | Rters

Contents:

• UGANDA ANTI-HOMOSEXUALY BILL: LIFE PRISON FOR SAYG YOU'RE GAY
• UGANDA'S ANTI-GAY LAW: HOW RTRICTED ARE LGBTQ RIGHTS AI?
• A NEW ANTI-GAY LAW UGANDA LLS FOR LIFE PRISON FOR THOSE WHO ARE NVICTED
• UGANDA TO JAIL PEOPLE WHO INTIFY AS LGBTQ ONE OF WORLD'S MOST ANTI-GAY LAWS
• UGANDA'S LGBTQ MUNY IS ' SHOCK' OVER NEW MEASURE, GAY ACTIVIST SAYS
• UGANDA'S PRINT MEVENI APPROV TOUGH NEW ANTI-GAY LAW
• UGANDA PASSED ONE OF THE WORLD’S HARSHT ANTI-GAY LAWS. LGBTQ PEOPLE SCRIBE LIVG THERE AS ‘HELL’
• NO, UGANDA IS NOT MAKG ILLEGAL TO BE GAY (AGA)
• UGANDAN PRINT SIGNS ANTI-GAY LAW THAT INCLUS DEATH PENALTY AS A PUNISHMENT

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

Media ptn, Watch: Cheers and applse as Uganda pass anti-gay billPeople who intify as gay Uganda risk life prison after parliament passed a new bill to crack down on homosexual activi.

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.

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. Qu Karala, 29, a member of the lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, tersex and queer (LGBTQ) muny and a sgle mother of one pos for a picture wh rabow lours at the offic of Rella Women's Empowerment Program, for LGBTQ rights advocy, after a Rters terview Kulambiro suburb of Kampala, Uganda April 4, 2023....

UGANDA'S ANTI-GAY LAW: HOW RTRICTED ARE LGBTQ RIGHTS AI?

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. Acrdg to the bill, the ath penalty n be voked for s volvg “aggravated homosexualy” – a broad term ed the legislatn to scribe sex acts mted whout nsent or unr durs, agast children, people wh mental or physil disabili, by a “serial offenr, ” or volvg ct. “A person who ms the offense of aggravated homosexualy and is liable, on nvictn to suffer ath, ” read the amendments, which were prented by the chairperson for legal and parliamentary affairs Roba Rwakoojo.

Opposn lawmaker Asuman Basalirwa troduced the Anti Homosexualy Bill 2023 to parliament, sayg aims to “protect our church culture; the legal, relig and tradnal fay valu of Ugandans om the acts that are likely to promote sexual promiscuy this untry. Kenyan gays and lbians and others supportg their e wear masks to prerve their anonymy as they stage a rare prott agast Uganda's tough stance agast homosexualy and solidary wh their unterparts there, outsi the Uganda High Commissn Nairobi, Kenya, 2014. KAMPALA, Uganda — Members of Uganda’s LGBTQ muny are shock and fear beg arrted after Parliament passed a measure that would make a crime to intify as gay and impose tough sentenc that clu the ath penalty certa s, an activist said “Anti-Homosexualy Bill, 2023” was passed wh a near-unanimo majory by lawmakers  the east Ain untry, where anti-gay sentiment ns ep.

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

Ronald Kabuubi / APThe legislatn will next be sent to Print Yoweri Meveni, who has repeatedly nounced homosexualy, to be signed to Mugisha, one of a few Ugandans who live openly as gay, told Rters he was sred the measure would trigger “mass arrts of lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr and queer persons and mob vlence toward LGBTQ muni. There’s gog to be a lot of trma and s of mental health that will lead to a lot of suici, ” he 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 measure clus steep sentenc that clu ath for “aggravated homosexualy” and life prison for same-sex relatns. Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, LGBT Ugandan refuge who fled the untry due to persecutn, pictured here 2018Ugandan officials have banned a proment LGBT rights group a major setback for the muny Mori Uganda (Smug) has been orred to shut down wh "immediate effect" for not registerg properly wh mpaign group cried the orr as a "clear wch hunt" by the ernment agast LGBT mori face wispread persecutn Uganda, where anti-gay and transphobic views are relatnships are illegal Uganda, where they n be punished by up to life prison for mtg "unnatural offenc.

"Although there are no laws specifilly crimalisg beg transgenr Uganda, trans people are regularly prosecuted for other offenc cludg "personatn" (false reprentatn), acrdg to reports piled by rights s tablishment almost two s ago, Smug has mpaigned for the rights of LGBT people Uganda by promotg accs to health servic and supportg members of the LGBT muny to live has also taken legal actn to protect gay people om hostily, cludg 2010 when succsfully petned a Ugandan judge to orr a newspaper to stop publishg the nam and photographs of gay Ugandan men unr the headle "hang them" group said several of s members had been attacked or harassed as a rult of the article - cludg one woman who was almost killed when her neighbours began throwg ston at her the time, Ugandan policians were preparg to bate whether or not to troduce the ath penalty for same-sex relatnships - a legislative amendment that attracted wispread ternatnal nmnatn before eventually beg dropped.

"The policians are g the LGBT muny as a spegoat to ga support and w vot and is fuellg homophobia, " Smug's director Frank Mugisha told the Thomson Rters ptn, "They've empowered the people to do anythg towards people who are nocent"More on this story.

UGANDA TO JAIL PEOPLE WHO INTIFY AS LGBTQ ONE OF WORLD'S MOST ANTI-GAY LAWS

Image source, AFPImage ptn, Uganda's ernment has risted prsure to drop the legislatnUganda's progrs tacklg HIV is "grave jeopardy" after the print approved tough new anti-homosexualy legislatn, the UN and US have warned. The legislatn impos the ath penalty for so-lled aggravated s, which clu havg gay sex wh someone below the age of 18 or where someone is fected wh a life-long illns cludg a jot statement, three of the world's leadg health mpaign groups - the US Print's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar), UNAids and the Global Fund - said they were eply ncerned about the "harmful impact" of the legislatn. 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.

In recent weeks, disturbg vios have surfaced showg mountg hostily towards lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and tersex dividuals Uganda sce the retroductn of the Anti-Homosexualy Bill.

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

On Meveni’s remendatn, the law prcrib rehabilatn for nvicted homosexuals to change their sexual orientatn, even though scientists say so-lled nversn therapy is harmful and effective. It first gaed ternatnal notoriety 2009 when David Bahati, a member of the Ugandan parliament whose views were heavily fluenced by Amerin evangelils, troduced the now famo “Kill the Gays” bill.

Unr the guise of “protectg the tradnal fay, ” the bill advoted for the ath penalty for “aggravated homosexualy” and the imprisonment of anyone “promotg” or failg to report homosexualy. Sylvia Tamale observ, “ is not homosexualy that is un-Ain but the laws that crimalized such relatns…what is alien to the ntent is legalized homophobia, exported to Ai by the imperialists where there had been difference to and even tolerance of same-sex relatns.

On the heels of Wasswa’s murr, the recent threat of retroducg the “Kill the Gays” bill om member of Parliament (MP) Jam Buturo and other MPs, and the arrts of over one hundred spected homosexuals at an LGBTQ iendly bar, tapulted Uganda back to the ternatnal spotlight, signalg an latn of vlence and reprsn toward the Ugandan LGBTQ muny.

UGANDA'S PRINT MEVENI APPROV TOUGH NEW ANTI-GAY LAW

This is not about the Wt exportg homosexualy to Ai or a “gay agenda”; is stead about right-wg Christian evangelils om the Wt g homophobia as a tool to tablish a foothold the Ain ntent, and lol Ugandan policians and “men of the cloth” profg om this narrative. In 2014, I played a small part makg sure that anti-LGBTQI forc Uganda do not succeed wrg their hate to law: I was one of the petners the se that succsfully overturned the famo anti-gay law.

While the efforts of LGBTQI mpaigners across the globe ma highly unlikely for Uganda to sign to law another “Kill the gays bill”, the fight for LGBTQI rights the untry and the rt of Ai is far om over. The fear of retaliatn om the ternatnal muny may stop Uganda and other Ain untri om attemptg to officially crimalise homosexualy, but will not make beg gay socially acceptable on the ntent.

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

Ultimately, will not matter how many urt s are won, or ernments prsured to cease anti-gay legislatn, or Ain lears backed by wtern money and tn elected wh the expectatn they will challenge public perceptns of homosexualy. Most Ains are refg to accept homosexualy not so much bee of their Christian beliefs, but bee they perceive as a “Wtern value” beg forcefully phed upon their societi by malignant and vasive outsi forc.

Wh our youthful populatn, so many young, knowledgeable Ugandans, who do not rry strong anti-gay sentiments, and even support LGBTQI rights, are jog the electoral roll every electn cycle.

NO, UGANDA IS NOT MAKG ILLEGAL TO BE GAY (AGA)

KAMPALA, March 21 (Rters) - Uganda's parliament passed a law on Tuday makg a crime to intify as LGBTQ, handg thori broad powers to target gay Ugandans who already face legal discrimatn and mob than 30 Ain untri, cludg Uganda, already ban same-sex relatns. 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 addn to same-sex terurse, the law bans promotg and abettg homosexualy as well as nspiracy to engage homosexualy. [1/4]Bugiri Municipaly Member of Parliament Asuman Basalirwa, addrs the hoe as he participat the bate of the Anti-Homosexualy bill, which propos tough new penalti for same-sex relatns durg a stg at the Parliament buildgs Kampala, Uganda March 21, 2023.

UGANDAN PRINT SIGNS ANTI-GAY LAW THAT INCLUS DEATH PENALTY AS A PUNISHMENT

Meveni has not mented on the current proposal but he has long opposed LGBTQ rights and signed an anti-LGBTQ law 2013 that Wtern untri nmned before a domtic urt stck down on procral recent weeks, Uganda thori have cracked down on LGBTQ people after relig lears and policians alleged stunts were beg reced to homosexualy month, thori arrted a sendary school teacher the eastern district of Jja over accatns of "groomg of young girls to unnatural sex practic" was subsequently charged wh gross cency and is prison awag police said on Monday they had arrted six people acced of nng a work that was "actively volved the groomg of young boys to acts of sodomy".

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.