February 25, 2014
– The Global Forum on MSM & HIV (MSMGF) harshly condemns the
enactment of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, passed by Uganda’s Parliament
in December of last year and signed into law by President Yoweri
Museveni at a public event on Monday. The Bill is an egregious violation
of basic human rights, creating new opportunities for anti-gay violence
and criminalizing all organizations that provide support to lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people, including organizations
that work to address HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM).
“This Bill is a travesty,” said MSMGF Executive Director Dr. George Ayala. “Signed at a large public media event as Museveni gathers endorsements for the next presidential election, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill is part of a broader ploy used by politicians from Africa to Eastern Europe to the Caribbean that leverages mainstream fear and ignorance about homosexuality to drum up support and draw attention away from government corruption, high unemployment, violence, and other failings of leadership. This tactic is as common as it is destructive, creating an environment where violence against LGBT people is implicitly justified and victims of violence cannot seek protection from the state.”
Ugandan activist Pepe Julian Onziema has stated that up to six LGBT people have been arrested since Parliament passed the Bill in December, and that more than a dozen others had fled the country over safety concerns. Following the President's signature on Monday, the popular Ugandan tabloid Red Pepper published the names of the country’s “200 top homosexuals,” including LGBT activists and community workers. In 2011, Ugandan LGBT activist David Kato was murdered in his home after his name appeared in a similar list published by the now-defunct tabloid Rolling Stone.
"Experience from other jurisdictions with similarly Draconian laws, such as Nigeria and Russia, indicates that their implementation is often followed by a surge in violence against individuals thought to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender," the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission said in a statement on Monday. "The Ugandan government has not indicated any plans to counter such violence or to investigate potential allegations of abuse."
In addition to imprisonment, violence, and other basic human rights violations, the Bill will make meaningful HIV prevention and treatment work among MSM nearly impossible.
“HIV prevention materials for MSM will be illegal under this law, MSM will be unable to access HIV testing or treatment without risking incarceration, and health service providers will be unable to engage MSM without risking legal sanctions themselves,” said Noah Metheny, Director of Policy at the MSMGF. “In a country where HIV prevalence among MSM has been documented at rates surpassing 20% in some communities, the international public health community should be outraged.”
“The new anti-homosexuality law is one of the harshest in the world and represents another step in the expansion of state-sanctioned homophobia,” said MSMGF Senior Policy Advisor Nadia Rafif. “As donor nations like Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States have begun reconsidering their aid packages in response to the Bill, we emphasize that donor countries and organizations should work directly with community-based advocates and organizations at the country level to develop strategies for supporting LGBT communities and community-based organizations working with the populations most affected by HIV.”
“We encourage donors to carefully scrutinize their aid packages to ensure that their funding does not actively undermine human rights, but rather that it supports and protects the rights of all people, including LGBT people,” Rafif continued. “This may include reprogramming funds to support community-led safe spaces, legal services, and community empowerment efforts as necessary for LGBT people, if requested to do so by local communities.”
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a statement on Monday calling for a review of the new law at the earliest opportunity in light of its fundamental conflicts with Uganda’s constitution and its international human rights obligations. The MSMGF joins the OHCHR and stands with Ugandan activists in calling upon Uganda to repeal this Draconian law and to honor its international obligations to protect the human rights of all of its citizens, including those of LGBT Ugandans.
“This Bill is a travesty,” said MSMGF Executive Director Dr. George Ayala. “Signed at a large public media event as Museveni gathers endorsements for the next presidential election, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill is part of a broader ploy used by politicians from Africa to Eastern Europe to the Caribbean that leverages mainstream fear and ignorance about homosexuality to drum up support and draw attention away from government corruption, high unemployment, violence, and other failings of leadership. This tactic is as common as it is destructive, creating an environment where violence against LGBT people is implicitly justified and victims of violence cannot seek protection from the state.”
Ugandan activist Pepe Julian Onziema has stated that up to six LGBT people have been arrested since Parliament passed the Bill in December, and that more than a dozen others had fled the country over safety concerns. Following the President's signature on Monday, the popular Ugandan tabloid Red Pepper published the names of the country’s “200 top homosexuals,” including LGBT activists and community workers. In 2011, Ugandan LGBT activist David Kato was murdered in his home after his name appeared in a similar list published by the now-defunct tabloid Rolling Stone.
"Experience from other jurisdictions with similarly Draconian laws, such as Nigeria and Russia, indicates that their implementation is often followed by a surge in violence against individuals thought to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender," the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission said in a statement on Monday. "The Ugandan government has not indicated any plans to counter such violence or to investigate potential allegations of abuse."
In addition to imprisonment, violence, and other basic human rights violations, the Bill will make meaningful HIV prevention and treatment work among MSM nearly impossible.
“HIV prevention materials for MSM will be illegal under this law, MSM will be unable to access HIV testing or treatment without risking incarceration, and health service providers will be unable to engage MSM without risking legal sanctions themselves,” said Noah Metheny, Director of Policy at the MSMGF. “In a country where HIV prevalence among MSM has been documented at rates surpassing 20% in some communities, the international public health community should be outraged.”
“The new anti-homosexuality law is one of the harshest in the world and represents another step in the expansion of state-sanctioned homophobia,” said MSMGF Senior Policy Advisor Nadia Rafif. “As donor nations like Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States have begun reconsidering their aid packages in response to the Bill, we emphasize that donor countries and organizations should work directly with community-based advocates and organizations at the country level to develop strategies for supporting LGBT communities and community-based organizations working with the populations most affected by HIV.”
“We encourage donors to carefully scrutinize their aid packages to ensure that their funding does not actively undermine human rights, but rather that it supports and protects the rights of all people, including LGBT people,” Rafif continued. “This may include reprogramming funds to support community-led safe spaces, legal services, and community empowerment efforts as necessary for LGBT people, if requested to do so by local communities.”
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a statement on Monday calling for a review of the new law at the earliest opportunity in light of its fundamental conflicts with Uganda’s constitution and its international human rights obligations. The MSMGF joins the OHCHR and stands with Ugandan activists in calling upon Uganda to repeal this Draconian law and to honor its international obligations to protect the human rights of all of its citizens, including those of LGBT Ugandans.
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