Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has assented to the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill, after signing it into law on Monday 29 May 2023.
Click here to sign the statement
This new law characterises Ugandan LGBTQI+ people as perpetrators of illegal acts, including ‘aggravated homosexuality’, for which the punishment includes the death penalty. ‘Aggravated homosexuality’ places those who are convicted of homosexuality multiple times or who have a history of ‘multiple offenses’ (i.e., those who are convicted of having consensual same-sex relations on more than one occasion), those who engage in consensual same-sex sexual acts while HIV-positive, and those who engage in consensual same-sex sexual acts with those who are disabled or mentally ill in the same bracket as those who are convicted of same-sex sexual assault or coercion, rape, incest, and statutory rape.
This regressive and hateful legislation not only violates the fundamental rights of LGBTQI+ Ugandans, but also perpetuates discrimination, prejudice, and violence against the LGBTQ+ community, those who support and love them, and also organisations which provide critical services to those who are LGBTQI+ (including health services). This legislation helps to fuel a climate of fear, hatred and overt discrimination, putting the lives of LGBTQI+ Ugandans at risk. There has been evidence of an uptick in violence towards LGBTQI+ people in the country already.
This legislation also affects those who are not LGBTQI+, as the law extends to those who are supportive of any LGBTQI+ person with punishments for “promotion of homosexuality” (max. imprisonment for 20 years), performing or attending a same-sex marriage (max. imprisonment for 10 years), lessors who lease premises to people who are LGBTQI+ (max. imprisonment for 10 years), and those who ‘aid and abet’ homosexuality by failing to report an offence involving a ‘vulnerable person’ (max. imprisonment for 5 years). This law forces LGBTQI+ people and those who are supportive to live in secrecy and to face constant threats to their safety and well-being.
The Anti-Homosexuality Act has been fostered and supported by conservative groups and evangelical religious groups since the first failed iteration in 2014 – How U.S. Evangelicals Helped Homophobia Flourish in Africa, Exclusive: US Christian Right pours more than $50m into Africa, Christian fundamentalism lies behind harsh new anti-LGBTIQ bill in Uganda, The U.S. connection to Uganda’s ‘kill the gays’ bill. For the government of Uganda to perpetrate these grave human rights abuses in the name of religious beliefs is contrary to the very message of inclusion, love and acceptance that almost every religion espouses, and to claim that LGBTQI+ rights are a ‘Western Imposition’ while courting Western Evangelical mores and money is contradictory and hypocritical.
Convening For Equality (CFE), a community of LGBTIQ+ members, leaders and strategic allies for equality in Uganda, has shared a statement highlighting this law as “clearly designed to distract ordinary Ugandans from the fact that day to day, Parliamentarians offer no solution to the many crises they face attempting to support their families and loved ones. This includes pressing concerns such as rising commodity prices, significant unemployment, failing education and healthcare systems and other catastrophic effects of grinding and unrelenting poverty. Instead of addressing those pressing governance challenges, parliament and the President are choosing dangerous diversionary tactics to inflame hatred and sow division.”
We condemn the passing of this bill outright, and encourage all of our members, friends, and supporters to condemn this act. We stand in solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community in Uganda, and call upon the international community, including governments, organizations, and individuals, to stand with LGBTQI+ Ugandans and condemn the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Act unequivocally. We strongly urge the international community to exert diplomatic and economic pressure on the Ugandan government to reverse this harmful legislation, and to instead focus on fostering inclusion.
Signatories
GIN-SSOGIE | South Africa/Global
Equal Namibia (Namibia Equal Rights Movement) | Namibia
Marline Oluchi | Nigeria
Inclusive and Affirming Ministries (IAM) | South Africa
United for a purpose Brigade | Seychelles
African Queer Youth Initiative | Nigeria
Reverend Jide Macaulay, House of Rainbow | England, UK
Seipone Kefilwe Boitshwarelo | Botswana
GWHREI | Nigeria
Davis Mac-Iyalla | Ghana
Al-Ghurbaah Foundation | South Africa
Carou Labonne | Mauritius
Cape Town Unitarian Church | South Africa
African Focus For Youth Development (AFFYD) | Nigeria
TULINAM | Namibia
The People’s Matrix Association | Lesotho
Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ | Oregon, southern Washington, and southern Idaho, USA
Rev. Jan Bjarne Sødal | Norway
Evans | Norway
Shemah Koleinu | South Africa
Frank | Mozambique
Rabbi Greg Alexander | South Africa
Temple Israel Cape Town | South Africa
Teboho G. Klaas | South Africa
IQAMAH (Indonesia Queer Muslims and Allies) | Indonesia
KP Consortium of Kenya | Kenya
Universal Church of Love Inc | Australia
Negn Media | Ethiopia
Siosaia Joey Joleen Mataele | Tonga