Is It Now Legal to Be Gay Uganda? | Human Rights Watch

Contents:

• UGANDA'S ANTI-GAY LAW: HOW RTRICTED ARE LGBTQ RIGHTS AI?
• UGANDAN PRINT SIGNS ANTI-GAY LAW THAT INCLUS DEATH PENALTY AS A PUNISHMENT
• UGANDA LAWMAKERS AMEND NTROVERSIAL ANTI-GAY LAW BUT ATH PENALTY FOR HIV POSIVE SEX REMAS
• LGBT RIGHTS AI: WILL KENYA BE THE LATT TO PASS ANTI-GAY LAW?
• UGANDA: NEW ANTI-GAY BILL FURTHER THREATENS RIGHTS
• 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
• IS IT NOW LEGAL TO BE GAY UGANDA?
• ‘WE WILL HUNT YOU’: UGANDANS FLEE AHEAD OF HARSH ANTI-GAY LAW
• UGANDA PASS STRICT ANTI-GAY BILL THAT IMPOS DEATH PENALTY FOR SOME
• OUTCRY AS UGANDA’S ANTI-GAY BILL SIGNED TO LAW
• UGANDA'S PRINT SIGNS ANTI-GAY BILL TO LAW THAT LLS FOR ATH PENALTY SOME S
• UGANDAN WHO SPOKE UP FOR GAYS IS BEATEN TO DEATH
• NO, UGANDA IS NOT MAKG ILLEGAL TO BE GAY (AGA)
• MEET THE LGBT ACTIVISTS FIGHTG UGANDA'S ANTI-GAY LAW
• THE UGANDAN MUM WHO WAS ONCE ASHAMED OF HER GAY SON

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

A member of the Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr (LGBT) seen reactg after Kenya's High Court led to uphold the Brish-era penal that crimalis gay sex (Photo: 24 May 2019)In 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 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" I met Mr Kaluma - a member of veteran Kenyan opposn polician Raila Odga's Orange Democratic Movement - he was stg behd his sk at his office the pal Nairobi, proof-readg and makg rrectns to a bill that he tends to table parliament soon. "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 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.

Gay paras, drag shows, wearg the lours, the flags, the emblems of the LGBTQ group, " Mr Kaluma 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 Kaluma tells me he wants their asylum to be revoked, and for them to leave a small, hidn church set up to offer fort and support to LGBTQ people central Nairobi, the female pastor says Mr Kaluma's bill is g "a lot of panic, anxiety, fear". It fuels some kd of vlence that now people are planng but holdg back on, " she tells 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".

"Fay Watch oppos legislatn that penalis a person for havg sexual attractns or for how they intify, " she says an emailed rponse to the Slater addrsed Ain lawmakers, clerics and mpaigners at their fom Uganda's laki cy of Entebbe March, and later appeared a group photo wh Print Meveni at his official more than 20 years, Mrs Slater has lobbied ernments on what she lls "fay valu" and has ma her missn to mpaign agast children and young people beg given Comprehensive Sexualy Edutn (CSE), a curriculum-based sex tn programme champned by the Uned Natns and other c a Uned Natns Populatn Fund (UNFPA) manual for out-of-school youths east and southern Ai, sayg promot homosexualy and is too explic. "It sensis children to sex, " she Slater also quot om the manual, cludg l which say that facilators of lsons should have "a ntral, acceptg attu towards homosexualy" I ntact Maria Bakaroudis, UNFPA's CSE specialist for east and southern Ai, for ment, she says she is not keen to talk about the "opposn", as she refers to adds that the manual is only a guile, and each untry n tailor to su their Bakaroudis fends CSE, sayg provis "life-savg rmatn" to curb high rat of untend pregnanci, HIV, and sexually transmted 's LGBTQ muny has been wagg a long-nng mpaign to mand equal rightsAlthough Mr Kaluma attend the meetg Uganda -sponsored by FWI, he ni workg wh the group on his bill, which he says will propose a ban on teachg CSE sayg is part of the "LGBTQ agenda". 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.

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

"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 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. 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".

“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. 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.

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

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.

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 .

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

" 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.

UGANDA: NEW ANTI-GAY BILL FURTHER THREATENS RIGHTS

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. 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.

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. 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. • 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.

‘(2) Although the Print and ernment officials have ma verbal attacks upon the liftyle of homosexuals and have exprsed disapproval of homosexualy the strongt terms, the evince falls well short of tablishg that such statements have been acted upon or would be provoked or should provoke themselv any physil hostily towards homosexuals Uganda. ‘(3) Although a number of articl have been published, particular the Red Pepper article intifyg areas where the gay and lbian muny meet and ed intifyg a number by name, the evince falls very short of tablishg that such articl have led to adverse actns om eher the thori or non-state actors and others the form, for example, of raids or persons arrted or timidatn. The anti-LGBTQ legislatn is one of the harsht the -- Ugandan Print Yoweri Meveni signed one of the world's harsht anti-LGBTQ bills to law on Anti-Homosexualy Act 2023, which was troduced Uganda's Parliament early March, lls for the ath penalty for "aggravated homosexualy, " which is fed as s of same-sex relatns volvg people who are HIV posive as well as wh mors and other tegori of vulnerable people.

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

"In this March 21, 2023, file photo, Ugandan MP John Mila wears cloth wh an anti-LGBTQ msage as he enters the Parliament to vote on a harsh new anti-gay Kabuubi/AP, FILEAn earlier draft of the legislatn also crimalized "the offence of homosexualy, " meang anyone who intifi as LGBTQ or "any other sexual or genr inty that is ntrary to the bary tegori of male and female" may be subject to imprisonment of up to 10 years if nvicted.

It was first crimalized the East Ain natn unr lonial laws, but there had never been a nvictn for nsensual same-sex sexual activy sce pennce om Bra rights advot had said they plan to challenge the legislatn urt if 's signed to this April 4, 2023, file photo, the Enomic Freedom Fighters (EFF) lear Juli Malema speaks durg their picket agast Uganda's anti-homosexualy bill at the Ugandan High Commissn Pretoria, South Habe/AP, FILEPrr to the bill's signg, members of Uganda's LGBTQ muny reported beg on the end of creasg discrimatn and vlence. "I will ask them to take me to vote for that, to kick them out, kick LGBT people out of Kenya pletely, " he after Uganda enacted one of the most dranian anti-LGBT laws on Earth, Kenya uld be poised to follow su wh a siarly formulated bill that punish gay sex wh prison or even ath some s, acrdg to a draft of the law and two lawmakers backg parliament. Some regnal lawmakers ame the issue as an almost existential battle to save Ain valu and sovereignty, which they say have been battered by Wtern prsure to pulate on gay draft of Kenya's Fay Protectn Bill, seen by Rters, mirrors many aspects of the Ugandan law, which was signed by Print Yoweri Meveni at the end of May to the dismay of the LGBT muny, human rights mpaigners and Wtern sex is punishable by at least 10 years jail unr the proposed Kenyan law, while "aggravated homosexualy", which clus gay sex wh a mor or disabled person or when a termal disease is passed on, brgs the ath penalty.

"The Uned Stat  advanc efforts around the globe to protect LGBTQI+ persons om vlence  and abe, crimalizatn, discrimatn, and stigma, and to empower lol  LGBTQI+  movements and  persons, " the spokperson said rponse to qutns about this REIGNS AT NAIROBI PRIDEThe Kenyan bill would toughen up a lonial-era statute unr which gay sex was already illegal, though the olr, ls tailed law was rarely proposed law would signal the ath knell for Kenya's stat as a place of relative refuge for gay people East Ai as the only untry the regn to host refuge fleeg persecutn bee they are draft bill stipulat that no one should be granted asylum on grounds of persecutn lked to sexual orientatn. Anticipatn of the new legislatn, and the anti-gay rhetoric polics and the media om public figur such as Ali and Kaluma that has acpanied , is already stg a chill over the LGBT muny, acrdg to anizers of the Pri event Nairobi this Kacha, one of the anizers, said that unlike prev years the lotn was not disclosed advance out of fear that anti-gay activists would target the event.

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

”At the same time, Amerin groups that fend gay rights have also poured money to Uganda to help the beleaguered gay October, a Ugandan newspaper lled Rollg Stone (wh a circulatn of roughly 2, 000 and no nnectn to the Amerin magaze) published an article that clud photos and the whereabouts of gay men and lbians, cludg several well-known activists like Mr. David Behati — who first troduced the Anti-Homosexualy Bill 2009 and was a key player the ensug mpaign — scribed to Sharlet the fluence of a ntroversial Amerin Christian nservative movement known lloquially as "The Fellowship" and "The Fay" visg and enuragg the legislatn, cludg at the early stag when still clud a ath penalty provisn.

IS IT NOW LEGAL TO BE GAY UGANDA?

Lawmakers did add language makg clear that anyone spected of beg a homosexual would not be punished unls they engaged same-sex relatns, before adoptg the bill 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. Sentiment, ” said Gillian Kane, a senr analyst at Ipas, a nonprof, who has studied anti-gay measur across swift passage of the Ugandan bill, she add, was partly driven by the support received om anizatns outsi the clu Fay Watch Internatnal, an Arizona-based anizatn that promot the bog practice of nversn therapy to change someone’s sexual orientatn. High missner for human rights, said a 's legislature passed the bill late Tuday a protracted plenary ssn durg which last-mute chang were ma to the legislatn that origally clud penalti of up to 10 years jail for homosexual holds "thanksgivg" event for anti-gay lawsIn the versn approved by lawmakers, the offense of "aggravated homosexualy" — a broad term which is ed to scribe same sex acts wh children or people wh disabili, or serial offenrs or people wh HIV — now rri the ath penalty.

”Mugisha is one of the activists who, together wh ne other petners, is seekg to overturn a tough anti-gay law that was signed by Uganda’s Print Yoweri Meveni Febary, threateng anyone nvicted of homosexualy wh a life sentence, and banng the promotn of gay mpaigners are argug that the law, which they scribe as dranian, is valid bee was passed parliament whout the necsary quom of lawmakers. They have acced homosexuals of beg a risk to children and of tryg to “rec” others to their e, and have nsistently lled on ernment to take more heavy-hand actn agast what they see as “immoral” and “un-Ain” tabloids have also got volved, most famoly October 2010 when Uganda’s Rollg Stone published the photos of 100 alleged homosexuals unr the headle “Hang Them!

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

In Febary, however, after half a of to-g and o-g, the ferrals fally me to an end and, the face of overwhelmg domtic support for the anti-gay bill, Meveni signed to this rnatn of the act, the ath penalty proposed the origal draft had been removed, but life sentenc were troduced for so-lled “aggravated homosexualy” and, what’s more, the “promotn of homosexualy” was outlawed for the first might have been expected, however, the specific legal ntent of the act was not as important as the basic msage sent out to society, and after the bill’s signg, homophobic cints skyrocketed by somewhere between 750% and 1, 900% acrdg to statistics gathered by SMUG.

When we read about the se, two aspects of stck : first, that there was an anized LGBT muny Uganda ready to take actn agast persecutn, and send, that Uganda's judicial system was pennt enough to allow LGBT people, or "kuch, " to reclaim their nstutnal rights and, so dog, ph for regnn as part of Ugandan, October 2009, the Anti-Homosexualy Bill was troduced Uganda's parliament.

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

OUTCRY AS UGANDA’S ANTI-GAY BILL SIGNED TO LAW

UGANDA'S PRINT SIGNS ANTI-GAY BILL TO LAW THAT LLS FOR ATH PENALTY SOME S

UGANDAN WHO SPOKE UP FOR GAYS IS BEATEN TO DEATH

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

MEET THE LGBT ACTIVISTS FIGHTG UGANDA'S ANTI-GAY LAW

THE UGANDAN MUM WHO WAS ONCE ASHAMED OF HER GAY SON