Uganda Enacts New Law with Heavy Penalties for Same-Sex Relations and Homosexuality Promotion

The announcement of the enactment of a new law providing for heavy penalties for same-sex relations and the “promotion” of homosexuality in Uganda on Monday drew widespread reactions. The Ugandan presidency announced that the head of state, Yoweri Museveni, had “approved” the text, which “now becomes the anti-homosexuality law 2023”.

The news reignited fears sparked in March by the bill’s initial vote, which the head of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Volker Türk, called at the time “discriminatory text – probably the worst of its kind in the world”. The same OHCHR said on Monday it was “dismayed” to see this “draconian and discriminatory” bill come into force, “contrary to the Constitution and international treaties”, which opens the way to “systematic violations of the rights of people LGBT”.

US President Joe Biden, denouncing a “tragic violation” of human rights, asked his services to study the consequences of this law on “all aspects of cooperation between the United States and Uganda”, in particular the aid and investments, according to a statement from the White House.

” Relationships […] will be compromised”

The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, considered the promulgation of this law “deplorable”. “Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s enactment of the anti-homosexuality law is deplorable. This law is against human rights,” Josep Borrell said on Twitter. “The Ugandan government has an obligation to protect all its citizens and uphold their basic rights. Failure to do so will jeopardize relations with international partners,” he added.

The deputy director for Africa of the NGO Human Rights Watch, Ashwanee Budoo-Scholtz, deplored a “discriminatory law” and “a step in the wrong direction”. Amnesty International has slammed “a deeply repressive law” which is “a serious attack on human rights”.

The text had been amended at the margin by the parliamentarians, at the request of President Museveni. The elected officials had notably specified that being homosexual was not a crime but that only sexual relations between people of the same sex were. In this East African country where homosexuality is illegal, “acts of homosexuality” are punishable by life imprisonment since a law dating from British colonization.

The country is already expecting sanctions

The parliamentarians maintained a provision making “aggravated homosexuality” a capital crime, which means that repeat offenders can be sentenced to death. In Uganda, however, the death penalty has not been applied for years.

An NGO has announced that it has seized the High Court of Uganda on this “openly unconstitutional” law. The criminalization of activity between consenting adult homosexuals “runs against key provisions of the Constitution, including the right to equality and non-discrimination”, judged Adrian Jjuuko, executive director of the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum (HRAPF).

A provision on the “promotion” of homosexuality is of particular concern to rights organizations. According to the text, anyone – individual or organization – “knowingly promotes homosexuality” faces up to 20 years in prison. If it is an organization, it risks a 10-year ban. “We feel so, so, so worried. This law is going to do a lot of harm to the Ugandan LGBTQ community,” said the executive director of Sexual Minorities Uganda, a gay rights organization whose activities were suspended by authorities last year. He fears “popular justice and mass arrests”.

A Ugandan MP who initiated the text said on Monday that he expected sanctions from Western countries. “They are going to cut off aid to Uganda,” Asuman Basalirwa told the press, believing that new “development partners” had to be found, particularly in the Arab world. The President of Parliament, Anita Among, welcomed the promulgation of the text by Mr. Museveni, who himself describes homosexuality as “deviance”.

“As the Parliament of Uganda, we have heeded the concerns of our people and legislated to protect the sanctity of the family… We have stood firm in defending the culture, values ​​and aspirations of our people,” she said in a statement. This law enjoys broad popular support and opposition reactions have been rare in this country ruled with an iron fist since 1986 by Yoweri Museveni.