Uganda's president signed a punitive anti-gay law Monday that includes the death penalty, enshrined into law an intensifying crackdown on LGBTQ people in the conservative East African country and rejected widespread calls not to impose any anti-gay laws. the strictest gay in the world. Measurement.
The law, which was introduced in Parliament in March, calls for life imprisonment for anyone who engages in same-sex sex. Anyone who attempts to enter into same-sex relations can be jailed for up to a decade.
The law also stipulates the death penalty for anyone convicted of “aggravated homosexuality,” a term defined as acts of same-sex relations with children or persons with disabilities, committed under threat or while a person is unconscious. The offense of “attempt to aggravate homosexuality” carries a penalty of up to 14 years.
The law is a major blow to efforts by the United Nations, Western governments, civil society and human rights groups who have pleaded with the president, Yoweri Museveni, not to sign it. On Monday, United States, the great Britain And European Union all condemned the adoption of the law, saying it undermines equality and the right of all Ugandans to live free from discrimination and abuse.
President Joe Biden called the law “a tragic violation of universal human rights” and said his administration would “evaluate the implications of this law on all aspects of the US engagement with Uganda.”
“We are considering additional steps, including the imposition of sanctions and restrictions on entry to the United States against anyone involved in serious human rights violations or corruption,” he said. said in a statement.
Speaker of the Ugandan Parliament, Anita Annet Among, first announced on Twitter owned by the president sign bills into law. “I thank my fellow Members of Parliament for withstanding all the pressure from bullies and doomsday conspiracy theorists for the benefit of our country,” he said.
The law, activists say, tramples on the rights of LGBTQ people and makes them vulnerable to discrimination and violence. Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, but the new law calls for much stricter penalties and expands the list of offences.
The passage of the law has sparked fear among LGBTQ people, many of whom have started to flee Uganda. Gay rights groups say hundreds of gay people – facing rejection from their families, discrimination at work or mob justice on the streets – have contacted them in recent weeks seeking help.
“There is fear that this law will embolden many Ugandans to take the law into their own hands,” said Frank Mugisha, Uganda's leading gay rights activist. “This law will harm many people. And that creates anxiety and fear.”
The law is also a major victory for the country's many religious groups, whose members have organized street protests urging lawmakers to protect children and what they describe as the sacredness of the traditional African family.
The Rev. Stephen Samuel Kaziimba, archbishop of the Church of Uganda, said in February that gay groups “recruit our children into homosexuality.”
The widespread anti-gay act comes as a growing number of African countries – including Kenya and Ghana – consider passing similar or even stricter laws.
Uganda's law, known officially as the Anti-Homosexuality Act, was first passed by Parliament in March. But instead of signing it right away, Mr. Museveni sent it back for amendment, seeking to clarify the difference between being gay and engaging in gay sex.
Lawmakers added language making it clear that anyone suspected of being homosexual would not be punished unless they were involved in a same-sex relationship, before adopting the bill again.
The rest of the law remains the same, including mandating prison terms of up to 20 years for anyone who promotes homosexuality, a vague provision that activists fear could be used to target agencies that support LGBTQ people, including those providing life-saving AIDS treatment.
Anyone younger than 18 years convicted of having gay sex faces up to three years in prison. This law, which also encourages the public to report suspected acts of homosexuality, contains ambiguous language that is difficult to interpret.
Anyone who allows premises to be used for same-sex relationships can face up to seven years in prison and someone convicted of homosexuality can be sent for “rehab”.
A team of lawyers and activists is currently drafting a lawsuit, the details of which have not been disclosed, challenging the law in Uganda's Constitutional Court.
The law follows a years-long campaign in Uganda to criminalize LGBTQ people and those who support them. Politicians first drafted a similar act in 2009, but when it was signed into law in 2014, courts overturned it for procedural reasons.
But over the past few years, political leaders, along with domestic and international religious organizations, have begun to step up anti-gay campaigns and warn about what they see as threats to family values.
Politicians also started making baseless claims about plots to promote gay activity and lure children in schools to homosexuality. Last year, authorities shut down Sexual Minorities Uganda, a leading gay rights advocacy group, citing it had not been officially registered with the government.
“What is especially troubling right now is how quickly the bill moved through Parliament and how thoroughly Ugandan institutions outside the legislature, such as the judiciary and police, have absorbed and fueled anti-LGBTQ sentiment,” said Gillian Kane, a senior analyst at Ipas, a non-profit organization, which has studied anti-gay action across Africa.
The rapid passage of the Uganda bill, he added, was driven in part by the support it was receiving from organizations overseas.
That includes Family Watch International, an Arizona-based organization that promotes the bogus practice of conversion therapy to change a person's sexual orientation. Just days after the bill was first passed in March, the American organization's founders helped organize a conference in Uganda among African lawmakers to promote anti-gay action across the continent.
“The passage of this bill has implications beyond LGBTQ rights,” said Ms. Kane. “By trampling on human rights and constitutional law, this bill is a political project for authoritarianism.”
Some analysts say the law is meant to scapegoat gay people and distract the public from rising domestic challenges, including rising unemployment and skyrocketing food prices. Mr Museveni, who has been in power for nearly four decades, has also faced increased scrutiny over his crackdown on the opposition and human rights activists.
“Homosexuality remains highly politicized in Uganda,” says Helen Epstein, author of a book explore the long power of the president. “This is the product of Museveni's sinister political genius.”