AFRICA ( commonwealth Union ) _ Uganda’s harsh anti-LGBTQ+ law, which carries death and life penalties, is urged to be repealed by the UN and the US.
Volker Turk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights stated that the adoption of this discriminatory bill, which is likely among the worst of its kind in the world, is a highly worrying move.The bill was approved by Uganda’s legislature late after a drawn-out plenary meeting in which last-minute amendments were made to the law, which had previously called for jail terms of up to 10 years for gay conduct.
The crime of “aggravated homosexuality” now carries the death penalty in the version approved by Parliament. The term “aggravated homosexuality” refers to sex relationships involving HIV-positive individuals, minors, and other vulnerable groups of people.The bill stipulates that the maximum sentence for someone found guilty of “attempted aggravated homosexuality” is 14 years in prison and that the maximum sentence for someone found guilty of “attempted homosexuality” is 10 years.
Life in jail is the penalty for “homosexuality,” which is the same penalty outlined in a penal code from the colonial era that made sex acts “against the order of nature” illegal.An opposition member presented the legislation last month with the stated intention of punishing “promotion, recruitment, and funding” of LGBTQ activities in this East African nation.
Museveni will now decide whether to sign the bill into law or veto it. In a recent address, he implied that he agreed with the law, charging that certain Western countries were “trying to impose their practices on other people.”
Turk the U.N. rights head stated that if signed into law by the president, it will make lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in Uganda criminals simply for existing, for being who they are. It might give people free rein to violate almost all of their human rights on a regular basis and promote conflict amongst groups of people.
As a result of purported accusations of sodomy in boarding schools, including one renowned for boys where a parent accused a teacher, anti-gay sentiment in Uganda has increased recently.
Many people have been angered by the Church of England’s recent decision to sanction same-sex civil unions, especially those who believe homosexuality is an imported disease.Recent years have seen an increase in pressure on Uganda’s LGBTQ population from civilian officials who desired a strict new law prohibiting same-sex behaviour.
The largest LGBTQ organization in Uganda, Sexual Minorities Uganda, had its operations halted last year after being accused of violating the law by the body in charge of monitoring non-governmental organizations. But the group’s head claimed that the registrar of corporations had disqualified his organisation as undesirable. More than 30 nations out of 54 nations in Africa have laws against homosexuality.
