Uganda Signs Anti-LGBTQ Bill Into Law, Incorporates Death Penalty

The U.N. human rights body says they are “appalled.”

QUICK FACTS:
  • President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda signed one of the strictest anti-LGBTQ laws, incorporating the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality.”
  • The law calls for capital punishment for those to transmit the diseases HIV and AIDS and orders a 20-year prison sentence for “promoting” homosexuality.
  • Ugandans may also receive life in prison if they are caught engaging in gay intercourse.
  • Whereas a previous law imposed a 10-year sentence for LGBTQ individuals intentionally transmitting HIV to another, the new law does not differentiate between intentional and unintentional transmission of the disease.
  • “The Ugandan president has today legalized state-sponsored homophobia and transphobia,” said Ugandan rights activist Clare Byarugaba. “It’s a very dark and sad day for the LGBTQ community, our allies and all of Uganda.”
  • The law threatens the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (the Global Fund), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), and the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), according to a press release.
  • The organizations are “deeply concerned” about the law’s “harmful impact,” adding that “Uganda’s progress on its HIV response is now in grave jeopardy.”
  • Other leaders support the new law, with Kenyan parliament member George Kaluma tweeting, “What a leader we’ve in Africa!”
TIMELINE OF ANTI-LGBTQ LAWS:
  • One of Uganda’s first anti-LGBTQ bills came in 1950, criminalizing same-sex behavior.
  • A 2009 bill proposed executing individuals identifying with LGBTQ sexuality.
  • Another anti-LGBTQ bill was introduced in 2014 but was struck down after Western governments removed aid from the country, enacted visa restrictions, and changed security measures.
BACKGROUND:
  • The U.N. is to release a report on the relationship between the “right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB)” and “sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI).”
  • The purpose of the report is to protect the LGBTQ community’s involvement in religious settings.
  • The U.N.’s report will detail “recommendations to States and other relevant stakeholders to fully comply with their obligations under international human rights law to protect and empower LGBT+ persons to pursue happiness, exercise and enjoy all their human rights, and choose how to contribute to society on an equal footing with everyone, including through effective participation in religious, cultural, social, and public life.”

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