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Proposed genocidal law targeting GLB persons in Uganda
Responses to the proposed legislation: 2009
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"GLB" is an acronym referring to gays, lesbians,
and bisexuals. More commonly, the letter "T" is added to
refer to transgender persons and transsexuals. Sometimes "I" is added to refer
to intersexual persons.
Responses to the proposed legislation:
 | A coalition of 17 local and international human and GLBT rights organizations
and one religious group protested the proposed law. Included among the
sponsors of the protest were: |
Akina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA);
Amnesty International; ARC International; Article 19; Center for Women's
Global Leadership; COC Netherlands; Committee for the International Day
against Homophobia and Transphobia; Egale Canada; Human Rights Watch;
International Commission of Jurists; International Foundation for the
Protection of Human Rights Defenders (Front Line); International Gay and
Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC); LAMBDA Mozambique; Swedish
Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (RFSL); Uganda
Feminist Forum (UFF); the Unitarian Universalist Church, United Nations Office;
and the World AIDS Campaign] issued a statement saying that the bill would promote
discrimination and criminalize the activities of those advocating human
rights.
It is worth noting that no national Baha'i group, no Christian faith group, no Muslim tradition,
and only one religious group -- the Unitarian Universalists --
was sufficiently concerned about the genocide of GLBTs to sign onto this
statement. 1
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Scott Long, the director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, said: "This
draft bill is clearly an attempt to divide and weaken civil society by
striking at one of its most marginalizes groups." 2
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| David Kato of Sexual Minorities Uganda said: "This bill is a blow
to the progress of democracy in Uganda. It goes against the inclusive spirit
necessary for our economic as well as political development. Its spirit is
profoundly undemocratic and un-African."
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| Kate Sheill of Amnesty International said: "Certain provisions in
this bill are illegal; they are also immoral. They criminalize a sector of
society for being who they are, when what the government should be doing
instead is protecting them from discrimination and abuse."
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| The British Broadcasting Corporation [BBC] posted a discussion on
their "Africa Have Your Say" web site about the proposed law. It was
originally titled "Should homosexuals face execution?;" this was later changed
to "Should Uganda debate gay execution?" A number of British politicians said
that the BBC's discussion should not have been posted.:
 | Lawmaker Eric Joyce of the ruling Labour Party said: "We should be
looking at what is going on in Uganda with abhorrence. We should be
condemning it, and the BBC should be condemning it. ... Instead it seems to
have thought it appropriate to come up with something that suggests it's a
subject for discussion."
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| Lynne Featherstone, a lawmaker from the opposition Liberal Democrats,
said she has written to BBC executives seeking an apology and an end to the
Web discussion. She said: "Suggesting that the state-sponsored murder of gay
people is OK as a legitimate topic for debate is deeply offensive." |
The forum attracted more than 600 comments and triggered a lively Twitter
discussion. However, only 200 comments were judged to be suitable for
publishing. By DEC-17, it became the most popular forum on the BBC's website.
Some posts argued whether the question should be considered for discussion;
others agreed that sexually active homosexuals should be executed. Some of the
latter were:
| Chris: "Totally agree. Ought to be imposed in the UK too, asap.
Bring back some respectable family values. Why do we have to suffer 'gay
pride' festivals? Would I be allowed to organize a 'straight pride' festival?
No, thought as much!! If homosexuality is natural, as we are forced to
believe, how can they sustain the species? I suggest all gays are put on a
remote island and left for a generation ? after which, theoretically there
should be none left!"
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| Aaron: "Bravo to the Ugandans for this wise decision, a bright step
in eliminating this menace from your society. We hope other African nations
will also follow your bold step." |
David Stead, program editor of BBC's World Service Africa said that
editors had:
"... thought long and hard about using this question. ... We agree
that it is a stark and challenging question, but think that it accurately
focuses on and illustrates the real issue at stake. ... This issue has already
sparked much debate around the world and understandably led to us receiving
many e-mails and texts. We have sought to moderate these rigorously while
trying to reflect the varied and hugely diverse views about homosexuality in
Africa." 3,4
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| David Cato became a gay-rights activist in Uganda
after he was beaten up four times, arrested twice, fired from this teaching
job and outed in the press as a gay person. He commented on the widespread
belief that the Ugandan bill is a backlash to the increased presence of gays
seeking equality. He said: "It's a question of visibility. When we come out
and ask for our rights, they pass laws against us." 4
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The Ugandan ethics minister indicated that the death
sentence may be modified to a long prison term as the bill is debated in
Parliament. He believes that the bill is needed because of foreign influence.
He said that homosexuality is "not natural in Uganda."
4
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John Muwanguzi, a shopkeeper, is more moderate. He
said:
"I feel that the bill is good and necessary, but I don't think gays should be
killed. They should be imprisoned for about a year and warned never to do it
again. The family is in danger in Uganda because the rate at which vice is
spreading is appalling." 4
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The European Parliament called on the Uganda government to " not ... approve the bill and to review their laws so as to decriminalize homosexuality." They noted that same-sex sexual behavior is legal in only 13 countries in Africa and is a punishable offence in 38 others. They expressed concern that the proposed Ugandan law could have a domino effect on other nations "...where persons are or could be persecuted because of their sexual orientation."
Catherine Hankins, the chief scientific advisor for UNAIDS -- the Jiint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS -- said:
"Criminalizing adult consensual sex is not only a human rights issue, it goes against a good HIV strategy."
The Uganda bill was also criticized by the governments of Canada, France, the United States and other countries.
Ugandan lawmaker David Bahati, supports the bill. He said that: "homosexuality is not a human right. ... The fact that the moral fabric of America and Europe has been put under siege by the supporters of this creeping evil of homosexuality should not suggest that we follow suit." 5
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The American assistant secretary of state for African Affairs, Jonnie Carson, said on 2009-DEC-18 that he had twice urged the Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, "... to do everything he can to stop this particular legislation." Carson said that if the bill were passed, it would not only violate human rights, it would also "undermine the fight" against HIV and AIDS by stigmatizing homosexual acts. Under Ugandan law, he has the power to veto any bill passed by the government. 6 |
References used:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above
essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
- "Uganda: 'Anti-Homosexuality' Bill Threatens Liberties and Human Rights
Defenders," Human Rights Watch, 2009-OCT-15, at:
http://www.hrw.org/
- Evelyn Lirri, "Homosexuality bill rejected," AllAfrica.com, 2009-OCT-21,
at:
http://allafrica.com/
- "BBC Slammed For Debating Ugandan Bill To Kill Gays," Huffington Post,
2009-DEC-16, at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
- Jack Malvern, "BBC condemned for hosting web debate on execution for gays
in Uganda," Times Online, London (UK), 2009-DEC-17, at:
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/
- "EU slams Uganda's anti-gay law," News 24, 2009-DEC-18, at: http://www.news24.com/
- "Block anti-gay bill, US urges
," News 24, 2009-DEC-19, at:
http://www.news24.com/
Copyright © 2009 & 2010 by the Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2009-NOV-18
Latest update and review: 2010-MAY-03
Compiler: B.A. Robinson
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