Highlights: The "Anti-Homosexuality 2023" law was signed into law on Monday, May 29 by President Yoweri Museveni. In the country and beyond, there is outrage for human rights NGOs. "This is a very dark and sad day for the LGBTIQ community and all of Uganda," says a human rights activist. The law could also have economic consequences for the U.S. and other Western countries, says the director of the Human Rights Watch in the United States.

The "Anti-Homosexuality 2023" law was signed into law on Monday, May 29 by President Yoweri Museveni. In the country and beyond, there is outrage for human rights NGOs.

Uganda: Homosexuality now punishable by death

The "Anti-Homosexuality 2023" law was signed into law on Monday, May 29 by President Yoweri Museveni. In the country and beyond, there is outrage for human rights NGOs.

[Illustrative image] A member of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTQ) community and single mother of a child poses for a rainbow-colored photo at the offices of the Rella Women's Empowerment Program, in defense of LGBTQ rights, after a Reuters interview in the Kulambiro suburb of Kampala, Uganda, April 4, 2023. REUTERS - ABUBAKER LUBOWA

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Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed into law a controversial anti-LGBT+ law on Monday (May 29th) with harsh penalties for same-sex relations. In this East African country where homosexuality is already illegal, "acts of homosexuality" are punishable by life imprisonment since a law dating back to British colonization.

The new law introduces the notion of "aggravated homosexuality". In other words, the sexual act between persons of the same sex is now considered a crime punishable by death in the event of a repeat offence. Another provision is of great concern to NGOs. According to the text, anyone – individual or organization – "knowingly promotes homosexuality" faces up to 20 years in prison. If it is an organization, it faces a ten-year ban. The president's promulgation of the law was first announced on Twitter by parliament speaker Anita Among before being confirmed by her spokesperson Yoweri Museveni.

Outcry

The passage of the bill in Parliament on 21 March sparked an international outcry. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, denounced a "discriminatory text – probably the worst of its kind in the world". After Western partners announced potential economic consequences if the law was enacted as is, President Yoweri Museveni asked Ugandan parliamentarians at the end of April to reconsider certain provisions. Thus, in the text adopted on Monday, there is no longer any question of criminalizing the sole fact of being homosexual, nor of denouncing the practices of one's neighbor.

The Ugandan president has now legalized state-sponsored homophobia and transphobia," said Clare Byarugaba, a Ugandan rights activist. "This is a very dark and sad day for the LGBTIQ community, our allies and all of Uganda," she added. In neighbouring DRC, Jason Mukoko, a member of an LBGT rights organisation in Kinshasa, is in dismay: "sister organisations there in Uganda will have to close. So what will be the fate of these LGBT people now? It really risks causing arrests, and deaths, and deaths... It is really a crime against humans.

The risk is that the Congolese government will follow the Ugandan government's lead. There have already been three proposed laws that criminalize homosexuality in the DRC.

Jason Mukoko

Joe Biden's veiled threats

Like its first draft, the text promulgated on Monday was condemned by the international community. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was "appalled" to see the entry into force of this "draconian and discriminatory" bill, "contrary to the Constitution and international treaties", which opens the way to "systematic violations of the rights of LGBT people". EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called the law "deplorable" and "contrary to human rights" in a statement, citing "compromised" relations with Kampala. Former colonial power, the United Kingdom "is appalled that the Ugandan government has signed the deeply discriminatory anti-homosexuality law," according to a statement from Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell.

But the strongest reaction came from Washington. "This is a tragic violation of universal human rights," Biden said. A moral condemnation that is probably addressed as much to the Ugandan people as to the voters of the American president, a year and a half before the next presidential election. They are sensitive to LGBT rights while some Republican politicians, such as Florida Governor and presidential candidate Rone DeSantis, are pushing them back.

The tenant of the White House also denounces the cases of violence and discrimination since the introduction of the text. He warns of the consequences of this law. For him, it endangers all those who reside in Uganda, including US government personnel, but also tourists and those who do business there. Because it could also have economic consequences. Joe Biden is therefore asking his National Security Council to study the implications of this law for relations between his country and Uganda. He cites aid in the fight against AIDS or partnerships related to Agoa, the American law on opportunity and growth in Africa. Joe Biden finally recalls, in an implicit warning, that the US government invests almost a billion dollars a year in Uganda. For one of the MPs promoting the law, Uganda should therefore turn to new development partners, especially in the Arab world.

"Am I not human?"

Uganda has been experiencing a rise in homophobia for several months. This is what drove Andrew, like other queer people, to seek refuge in Kenya. In this café in downtown Nairobi, he tells our correspondent Albane Thirouard about his shameless journey. And with a smile despite the difficulties crossed. Attracted to men, he fled his country, Uganda, three months ago when those around him discovered his sexual orientation.

« In Uganda, LGBT people are not tolerated at all. Everyone started hating me, I'll never forget those few days. I felt so ashamed, I was humiliated, I was insulted... I can't go back to my country anymore. Some people out there are convinced that as queer people, we will seek to so-called "recruit" their children. They want to get rid of us, I know some who were killed like that! There is such an injustice... Why are my rights not respected? Am I not human? But I am! »

As an asylum seeker in Kenya, Andrew was referred to Kakuma refugee camp. But he refuses to go, in part because he fears for his safety. Amnesty International and a Kenyan NGO have just published a report in which they describe life in this camp for LGBT refugees as "extremely dangerous". Both associations denounce homophobic acts against them. They point to harassment and physical attacks.

Instead, Andrew hopes to find refuge in a country where he can "be himself." Because in Kenya, even if convictions are rare, sexual relations between two men remain considered a crime in the penal code.

Uganda: Homosexuality now punishable by death

Uganda: Homosexuality now punishable by death

Outcry

Joe Biden's veiled threats

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