The 55 Most Anti-Gay Countri At the UN - UN Dispatch

Contents:

• HOMOSEXUALY: THE UNTRI WHERE IS ILLEGAL TO BE GAY
• MAPPG ANTI-GAY LAWS AI
• UGANDAN PRINT SIGNS ANTI-GAY LAW THAT INCLUS DEATH PENALTY AS A PUNISHMENT
• UGANDA'S ANTI-GAY LAW: HOW RTRICTED ARE LGBTQ RIGHTS AI?
• LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• ADVOCY GROUPS: ETHPIAN ERNMENT’S ANTI-GAY RHETORIC SPURS ONLE ATTACKS
• UGANDA PASS STRICT ANTI-GAY BILL THAT IMPOS DEATH PENALTY FOR SOME
• THE 55 MOST ANTI-GAY COUNTRI AT THE UN

HOMOSEXUALY: THE UNTRI WHERE IS ILLEGAL TO BE GAY

Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Kamala Harris has been a vol supporter of LGBTQ rightsUS Vice-Print Kamala Harris who is on a tour of three Ain untri - Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia - has drawn cricism over her support for LGBTQ Ghana, a speech llg for "all people be treated equally" she appeared to cricise a bill before the untry's parliament which crimalis advocy for gay rights and propos jail terms for those that intify as lbian, gay, bisexual, or untry's Speaker Alban Bagb later lled her remarks "unmocratic" and urged lawmakers not to be "timidated by any person" Tanzania, a former mister spoke agast US support for LGBTQ rights ahead of the vis and Zambia some opposn policians have threatened to hold is homosexualy still outlawed? In the same month, the high urt Barbados stck out laws that crimalised gay July last year, the urts Antigua and Barbuda clared a law crimalisg same-sex acts between nsentg adults Febary 2021, Angola's Print Joao Louren signed to law a revised penal to allow same-sex relatnships and ban discrimatn on the basis of sexual 2020, Gabon reversed a law that had crimalised homosexualy and ma gay sex punishable wh six months prison and a large fe. Mozambique and the Seychell have also scrapped anti-homosexualy laws recent there are untri where existg laws outlawg homosexualy have been tightened, cludg Nigeria and 's parliament recently passed a law to crack down on homosexual activi, promptg wispread source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Campaign agast LGBTQ rights some Ain untri has tensified recent weeksAnd some untri, efforts to get the laws removed have May 2019, the high urt Kenya upheld laws crimalisg homosexual acts.

And many plac, breakg the laws uld be punishable by long prison of the 53 untri the Commonwealth - a loose associatn of untri most of them former Brish loni - 29 have laws that crimalise homosexualy.

Although the origal Brish laws applied only to men, untri that crimalise homosexualy today also have penalti for women who have sex wh Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn (Ilga) monors the progrs of laws relatg to homosexualy around the says the ath penalty is the legally prcribed punishment for same-sex sexual acts Bnei, Iran, Mrania, Sdi Arabia, Yemen and some northern stat of five untri - Afghanistan, Pakistan, Qatar, Somalia, and the Uned Arab Emirat - there is no legal clary and the ath penalty uld be source, AFPImage ptn, An Indian gay rights activist protts agast a urt lg 2013 upholdg a law which crimalis gay repealed the ath penalty for nsensual same-sex sexual acts observers note that the risk of prosecutn some plac is mimal. For example, a 2017 report on Jamai by the UK Home Office said that Jamai was regard as a homophobic society, but that the "thori do not actively seek to prosecute LGBT persons".

MAPPG ANTI-GAY LAWS AI

Many Ains hold strong objectns to gay rights, and even untri where lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) members have been accepted as a part of the society, ernments are still reluctant to rporate gay rights to law, exposg homosexuals to stigma, discrimatn, and attacks.

AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTThe legislatn is among the most rtrictive of s kd the world and was nmned by Wtern lears and the Uned Natns human rights Ugandan Parliament May durg the passage of an anti-gay bill. Lawmakers passed an earlier versn Lubowa/RtersThe print of Uganda signed a punive anti-gay bill on Monday that clus the ath penalty, enshrg to law an tensifyg crackdown agast L. People the nservative East Ain natn and dismissg wispread lls not to impose one of the world’s most rtrictive anti-gay law lls for life imprisonment for anyone who engag gay sex.

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

Anyone who tri to have same-sex relatns uld be liable for up to a law also cre the ath penalty for anyone nvicted of “aggravated homosexualy, ” a term fed as acts of same-sex relatns wh children or disabled people, those rried out unr threat or while someone is unnsc.

The offense of “attempted aggravated homosexualy” rri a sentence of up to 14 legislatn is a major blow to efforts by the Uned Natns, Wtern ernments, civil society and rights groups that had implored the print, Yoweri Meveni, not to sign . ”The sweepg anti-gay measure as a growg number of Ain untri — cludg Kenya and Ghana — nsir passg siar or even stricter Ugandan legislatn, known officially as the Anti-Homosexualy Act, was first passed by Parliament March. Lawmakers did add language makg clear that anyone spected of beg a homosexual would not be punished unls they engaged same-sex rt of the law remaed the same, cludg mandatg a prison term of up to 20 years for anyone who promot homosexualy, a vague provisn that activists fear uld be ed to target agenci supportg L.

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

The law, which also enurag the public to report any spected acts of homosexualy, ntas ambiguo language that mak difficult to who allows premis to be ed for same-sex relatns uld face up to seven years prison, and a person nvicted of homosexualy uld be sent for “rehabilatn.

Policians first drew up a siar measure 2009, but when was signed to law 2014, the urt stck down on procral over the past few years, polil lears, along wh domtic and ternatnal relig anizatns, began rampg up anti-gay mpaigns and warng about what they ll a threat to fay valu. 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.... The news has sparked ternatnal outrage, and lls for a boytt of the Bnei-owned Dorchter Hotel cha, but has also shed a spotlight on the realy that homosexualy and genr-nonnformg inti remas illegal dozens of untri all over the world.

While many untri that crimalize homosexualy have reputatns as reprsive regim, others are popular tourist statns wh Amerins unaware of the human-rights vlatns gog on beyond their rort walls:. (In Malaysia, where those nvicted face rporal punishment and up to 20 years prison, travel mister Mohamadd Ketapi recently sisted "I don't thk we have anythg like that our untry, " reference to gay people.

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

Image source, Getty ImagIn the latt sign of risg homophobia different Ain untri, a Kenyan opposn MP is leadg a mpaign for parliament to further crimalise the untry's small LGBTQ muny. Gee Peter Kaluma's move after neighbourg Uganda adopted a tough new anti-gay law, rejectg threats by US Print Joe Bin to impose sanctns and travel rtrictns on "anyone volved ser human rights ab".

"We want to prohib everythg to do wh homosexualy, " Mr Kaluma tells me, addg that his bill will be much broar than the legislatn passed by Uganda's parliament and approved by Print Yoweri Meveni May. 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.

ADVOCY GROUPS: ETHPIAN ERNMENT’S ANTI-GAY RHETORIC SPURS ONLE ATTACKS

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. 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". "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.

In 2014, Print Yoweri Meveni orred the tablishment of a Printial Scientific Commtee on Homosexualy to advise his ernment on whether on not to pass a ntroversial anti homosexualy law. My wner this year is Maddie Benr, a recent Yale graduate (the panmic layed our trip) — and wh that, I’m handg the rt of the lumn over to Maddie BenrFREETOWN, Sierra Leone — When Abdul was a teenager and g to terms wh beg gay, he was attacked by a group of men. They mocked him wh homophobic slurs and asslted him wh broken beer bottl, slicg his thumb reported the attack to the police and was told that an arrt uld be ma — of him, for Leone is one of more than 30 Ain natns (over half the ntent) that crimalize same-sex relatns.

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

People still suffer danger and discrimatn Ameri, travelg wh Nick Wt Ai offered a wdow to the immense adversy queer people experience here — and their rilience and urage the face of Ai is not uniformly homophobic, and I found some physil and virtual space emergg for L. A 2020 review of Ains’ attus toward homosexualy suggts that equent ter ers are more likely to be tolerant of gay teenagers the cy of Makeni northern Sierra Leone, Fatmata Bta Jalloh, 17, and Marie Kamara, 16, told me that while they believe homosexualy don’t exist their untry, they’ve seen plenty of gay people onle. People — but after talkg to people like Fatmata and Marie, I spect that our greatt tool for makg change is soft should be outraged by how far the Christian right has gone to support the persecutn of gay people Ain untri.

"Lokodo is "ethics and tegry" mister Uganda and a champn of the untry's swgeg anti-homosexualy bill, which looked set to bee law on Sunday until Print Yoweri Meveni halted , pendg scientific advice.

That news prompted Kenh Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, to tweet: "In name of Ai culture Uganda Pr will sign anti-gay law phed by US evangelists tougheng Brish lonial ban. " Homosexualy was already a crime there, but the new legislatn, shed through parliament December, broans the spe of life imprisonment for a range of "offenc" cludg suggtive touchg public.

THE 55 MOST ANTI-GAY COUNTRI AT THE UN

"Promoters of the bill Uganda, which gaed pennce om Bra 1962, appealed to populist notns of culture that ame homosexualy as an "un-Ain", alien behavur foisted on the ntent by wtern imperialists. Seen through this prism, a strike agast gay and lbian people is a strike agast lonialism and favour of Ain natnalism and as the scientists' report noted, homosexualy has existed throughout human history.