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

Contents:

• UGANDA'S ANTI-GAY LAW: HOW RTRICTED ARE LGBTQ RIGHTS AI?
• UGANDA ANTI-HOMOSEXUALY BILL: LIFE PRISON FOR SAYG YOU'RE GAY
• A NEW ANTI-GAY LAW UGANDA LLS FOR LIFE PRISON FOR THOSE WHO ARE NVICTED
• UGANDA'S LGBTQ MUNY IS ' SHOCK' OVER NEW MEASURE, GAY ACTIVIST SAYS
• IS IT NOW LEGAL TO BE GAY UGANDA?
• UGANDA TO JAIL PEOPLE WHO INTIFY AS LGBTQ ONE OF WORLD'S MOST ANTI-GAY LAWS
• NO, UGANDA IS NOT MAKG ILLEGAL TO BE GAY (AGA)
• UGANDA PASS STRICT ANTI-GAY BILL THAT IMPOS DEATH PENALTY FOR SOME
• ‘WE WILL HUNT YOU’: UGANDANS FLEE AHEAD OF HARSH ANTI-GAY LAW

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

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.... 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. 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.

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

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.

When Uganda's Constutnal Court clared the notor Anti-Homosexualy Act "null and void" on Augt 1, the untry's lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and tersex (LGBTI) muny and human rights activists breathed a llective sigh of relief.

" World lears who nmned the Anti-Homosexualy Act, and some s whheld or redirected aid while asssg the law's impact, did the right thg -- but failg to nmn other ser human rights ab by Meveni's regime, such as torture by the police and ary, the killgs of unarmed prottors 2009 and 2011, and ongog threats to civil society, they leave the imprsn of prrizg the rights of LGBTI people over other ncerns. A 2011 BBC documentary sensatnally labeled Uganda "the world's worst place to be gay, " but many LGBTI Ugandans reject that pictn as oversimplifyg a plex lol ntext which activists have managed to hold hard-earned ground the face of hostily.

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

Certaly, there are plenty of other ntenrs for the moniker: Nigeria, spe havg passed an equally egreg anti-gay law that crimaliz acts such as "the public show of same-sex amoro relatnship directly or directly" has received only a actn of the ternatnal nmnatn directed at Uganda.

In Rsia, too, gays mt ntend wh btaly om vigilante groups while fightg legislatn that prohibs makg posive statements about homosexualy -- legislatn that is spillg over to nearby untri, such as Kyrgyzstan, which has proposed even harsher laws agast so-lled gay "propaganda. Succsfully challengg homophobia and transphobia, Uganda and beyond, requir an endurg mment to workg wh lol civil society activists to challenge myriad anti-LGBTI polici -- not simply fleetg attentn to a one-off e célèbre such as featg Uganda's Anti-Homosexualy Act. 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....

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

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". 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.

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. When Frank Mugisha me out two s ago, beg gay Uganda uld be lonely and unfortable, but was rarely a matter of life and then, as Mugisha has emerged as the untry’s most proment LGBTQ rights activist, the perils have multiplied.

“If I was 7, 9, 12, 14, I don’t thk I would tell anyone I am gay right now, ” he yet, Mugisha says he will not give an ch the face of the new bill, which is awag Print Yoweri Meveni’s bill passed wh near unanimo support parliament. If Meveni signs — as he is wily expected to — Mugisha’s work uld land him jail unr a provisn that punish the “promotn” of homosexualy wh up to 20 years Mugisha said he feels an obligatn to fight back on behalf of LGBTQ Ugandans, many of whom have left the untry or fled their hom for safe ho sce the bill was passed. “I gus I am gog to be trouble a lot, bee I am not gog to stop, ” Mugisha bill also impos the ath penalty for so-lled aggravated homosexualy, which clus havg gay sex while outA practicg Catholic typilly seen a blue su and whe shirt, Mugisha had what he lls a normal childhood, gog to school and playg soccer his Kampala realized he was gay as early as the age of seven but did not start to e out until he was 14.

IS IT NOW LEGAL TO BE GAY UGANDA?

Mugisha said he enuntered no overt hostily om iends about his sexualy, although some kept their distance for fear they would be spected of beg gay 2007, Mugisha took over learship of Sexual Mori Uganda (SMUG), an advocy group he had earlier joed as an the followg years, he saw a harng of anti-LGBTQ views, which he attribut to mpaigng by ultra-nservative Christian groups, some om the Uned Stat. 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.

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

Uganda is one of several Ain natns where is illegal to be queer; the natn enacted s Anti-Homosexualy Act 2014, which allowed for life imprisonment for some homosexual acts between nsentg adults, and dified the reprsn of LGBTQ Ugandans. The latt bill, ially passed by parliament March, tak Uganda’s anti-LGBTQ polici much further, punishg LGBTQ advocy wh up to 20 years prison and proposg the ath penalty for “aggravated homosexualy” — homosexual acts volvg children or members of other at-risk groups, or volvg a person who is HIV posive.

Uganda was already hostile to LGBTQ people, even before the 2014 Anti-Homosexualy Act; lonial fluence was baked to the penal , and a 2009 bill lloquially lled the “kill the gays” bill sparked ternatnal outrage for a provisn that would allow gay people to be hanged. The bill also required cizens to spy on their neighbors, iends, and fay members and report those they spected of beg LGBTQ or advotg for gay rights or face a three-year prison sentence, acrdg to a Human Rights Watch report at the time.

The 2023 bill also appli to trans and genr-nonnformg people, punishg wh up to 10 years prison anyone who “holds out as a lbian, gay, transgenr, a queer, or any other sexual or genr inty that is ntrary to the bary tegori of male and female. In realy, the US particular has fluenced or supported anti-LGBTQ polici and attus Uganda, particularly via evangelil groups like the Fellowship Foundatn, which had a hand craftg the 2009 “kill the gays” bill, acrdg to a 2020 report om Open Democracy.

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

KAMPALA, Uganda — Ugandan 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 other 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.

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

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.

‘WE WILL HUNT YOU’: UGANDANS FLEE AHEAD OF HARSH ANTI-GAY LAW

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 . GENEVA (29 March 2023) – Makg homosexualy punishable by ath is an egreg vlatn of human rights, UN experts said today, urgg Uganda’s print not to promulgate laws that take aim at and further crimalise people intifyg as lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr (LGBT), and those who support and fend their human rights.