TOPLINE
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed a law Monday that threatens life sentences or the death penalty for those engaging in same-sex activities, renewing international concerns over human rights that could cause Western powers to cut off millions of dollars of aid to the African nation.
KEY FACTS
The Anti-Homosexuality Act—passed by Parliament in March—affirms an existing law that allows life sentences for people who engage in same-sex relations, and adds several more drastic measures, including allowing the death penalty for HIV-positive people who repeatedly have sex with someone of the same gender.
It also calls for prison sentences of up to 20 years for “promoting homosexuality” and up to five years for touching someone with the “intention of committing an act of homosexuality.”
Foreign aid providers like the United Nations and some Western nations have critiqued the law, arguing it violates human rights and could make it increasingly difficult to educate about and treat HIV.
Activist groups aiming to educate Ugandans about safe same-sex relations have expressed concern the law will hinder the fight against HIV, which affects 1.4 million Ugandans, according to the UN.
KEY BACKGROUND
The law builds on 2014 legislation that held similar stipulations and was signed by Museveni, but was ruled invalid on procedural grounds by Uganda’s Constitutional Court. Another similar law in 2019 was vetoed by Museveni, who cited adverse “foreign policy implications” for Uganda if it enacted drastic anti-LGBTQ legislation. Following its attempt to pass the Anti-Homosexuality Act in 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration sanctioned Uganda, redirecting and stopping some aid to the country’s government. President Joe Biden’s administration has said it will also consider sanctions on countries with anti-LGBTQ legislation, including Uganda. The United States alone provides roughly $950 million per year to Uganda, much of which goes toward health assistance, according to the State Department.
CHIEF CRITIC
The Anti-Homosexuality Act violates “the rights to freedom of expression and association privacy, equality, and nondiscrimination,” according to Human Rights Watch, which promotes LGBTQ protections globally. HRW is at risk of not being able to operate in Uganda, as the country has identified at least 26 nongovernmental organizations it is considering banning for “promoting homosexuality,” HRW reported.
CRUCIAL QUOTE
“The imposition of the death penalty for same-sex intimacy – including so-called ‘serial homosexuality’ – is an egregious violation of human rights,” the UN said in a March statement about Uganda’s bill, arguing the implementation of the death penalty constituted “arbitrary killing” that breaches the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
FURTHER READING
Ugandan Lawmakers Amend Anti-LGBT Bill Criticized by U.S. (Wall Street Journal)
Biden calls for expanded efforts to protect LGBTQ rights globally (Reuters)
Why Uganda’s LGBTQ Community is Under Renewed Fire (Washington Post)