Uganda’s president signs harsh anti-gay bill into law; original draft called for the death penalty

ENTEBBE, Uganda — Uganda’s president on Monday signed a controversial anti-gay bill that has harsh penalties for homosexual sex, saying it is needed to deter what he called the West’s “social imperialism” promoting homosexuality in Africa.

President Yoweri Museveni signed the bill at his official residence in an event witnessed by government officials, journalists and a team of Ugandan scientists whose report —which found that there is no proven genetic basis for homosexuality — cited by Museveni as his reason for backing the bill.

“We Africans never seek to impose our view on others. If only they could let us alone,” he said, talking of Western pressure not to sign the bill. “We have been disappointed for a long time by the conduct of the West. There is now an attempt at social imperialism.”

Without naming them, Museveni accused “arrogant and careless Western groups” of trying to recruit Ugandan children into homosexuality, prompting local pressure for the law.

The new law calls for first-time offenders to be sentenced to 14 years in jail. It also sets life imprisonment as the maximum penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” defined as repeated gay sex between consenting adults as well as same-sex acts involving a minor, a disabled person or where one partner is infected with HIV.

Government officials applauded after he signed the bill, which in its original draft called for the death penalty for some homosexual acts. That penalty was removed from the legislation following an international outcry. Rights groups repeatedly urged Museveni not to sign the bill, saying it is unnecessary in a country where homosexuality is already illegal under a colonial-era law that criminalized sex acts “against the order of nature.”

But the bill is widely popular in Uganda, where it has been championed by Christian clerics and many politicians.

Homosexuality is criminalized in many African countries. Nigeria last month passed an anti-gay law.

In signing the bill, Museveni said he had previously thought homosexuality was merely “abnormal” sexual behavior that some people were born with — the reason he once opposed harsh penalties against gays. Now he said he is convinced that it is a choice made by individuals who may try to influence others.

Africans are “flabbergasted” by homosexual behavior which they see as a “fundamental attack on their way of life,” he said.

Source: LGBTQ Nation, Feb. 24, 2014

Ugandan Newspaper Lists 'Top Homosexuals'; could be arrested under the new law

An Ugandan newspaper has published a list of what it calls the country's top homosexuals, a day after the president signed a new anti-gay bill into law.

The Red Pepper tabloid published the list of 200 names and several photos under a large headline that read: "Exposed!"

Ugandan gays have expressed worry about being arrested under the new law, which strengthened existing penalties for gay sex and bans the so-called "promotion" of homosexuality.

The United States on Monday urged Uganda to repeal the law, which the White House called an affront and danger to Ugandan gays that will also hamper the fight against AIDS.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the U.S. is reviewing its relationship with Uganda as a consequence of the new law.

"Now that the law has been enacted, we are beginning an internal review of our relationship with the government of Uganda to ensure that all dimensions of our engagement, including assistance programs, uphold our anti-discrimination policies and principles and reflect our values."

President Museveni defended the bill at Monday's signing ceremony, saying groups are trying to recruit young Ugandans into a gay lifestyle.

"No study has shown that you can be homosexual purely by nature. Since nurture is the main cause of homosexuality, then society can do something about it to discourage the trends. That is why I have agreed to sign the bill."

United Nations spokesman Martin Nesirky said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is "seriously concerned" about the negative impacts of the law.

"He shares the view of the high commissioner for human rights that this new law violates human rights. It will institutionalize discrimination, restrict the vital work of human rights activists, and could trigger violence. It will also hamper potentially life-saving efforts to stop the spread of HIV."

Mr. Museveni has the backing of conservative Ugandan groups. Last week, the Uganda Muslim Supreme Council praised the president as "courageous" for defying Western pressure over the bill and, in the council's words, putting morality first.

The country's parliament passed the measure in December, with a 14-year sentence for first-time offenders, and life in prison for those convicted of what the law terms "aggravated homosexuality."

The original bill called for the death penalty in some cases, but that was dropped as Western nations and rights groups denounced the bill.

Amnesty International denounced the new law as "deeply offensive," and said it makes a mockery of rights enshrined in the Ugandan constitution.

Homosexuality is illegal in 37 African nations and a taboo subject across many parts of the continent. Activists say few Africans are able to be openly gay.

Source: VOA, Feb. 25, 2014

Lawmaker: Uganda anti-gay bill does not contain death penalty provision

KAMPALA, Uganda — The Ugandan lawmaker who originally authored an anti-gay bill proposing death for some homosexual acts said Friday that a new version of the proposed legislation doesn’t contain the death penalty.

Parliamentarian David Bahati said the bill, which is expected to be voted on next month, had “moved away from the death penalty after considering all the issues that have been raised.”

“There is no death penalty,” he told The Associated Press.

Bahati said the bill now focuses on protecting children from gay pornography, banning gay marriage, counseling gays, as well as punishing those who promote gay culture. Jail terms are prescribed for various offenses, he said, offering no details. The most recent version of the bill hasn’t been publicly released.

The bill’s original wording proposed the death penalty for cases where HIV-infected homosexuals had sex, where gay people had sex with minors or the disabled, and where gays were discovered having sex for the second time. Bahati said at the time that these offenses amounted to what he called “aggravated homosexuality.”

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Source: The Washington Post, November 30, 2012

Homosexuals are inferior to dogs and pigs, says Iranian cleric

Ayatollah Javadi-Amoli has blamed homosexuals for spread of Aids and says pro-gay politicians are lower than animals.

An influential Iranian cleric who is entitled to issue juristic rulings according to the Sharia law, has condemned western lawmakers involved in the decriminalisation of homosexuality, saying those politicians are lower than animals.

Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi-Amoli, an Islamic scholar based in Iran's holy city of Qom, said in a speech among his followers that homosexuals are inferior to dogs and pigs, according to the news website Khabaronline.

"If a society commits a new sin, it will face a new punishment," he said while interpreting Qur'anic verses about prophet Lot whose tribe Isalmic scholars say was punished by God for sodomy. "Problems like Aids did not exist before."

Citing the Qur'an, Javadi-Amoli said politicians who pass laws in favour of homosexuals are lower than animals. "Even animals ... dogs and pigs don't engage in this disgusting act [homosexuality] but yet they [western politicians] pass laws in favour of them in their parliaments."

Homosexuality is punishable by death according to fatwas issued by almost all Iranian clerics. Until recently, Lavat (sodomy for men) was punishable by death for all individuals involved in consensual sexual intercourse.

But under new amendments approved recently in the Iranian parliament the person who played an active role will be flogged 100 times if the sex was consensual and he was not married, but the one who played a passive role will still be put to death regardless of his marriage status.

Despite the horrific punishment for homosexuals in Iran, the gay community in the country is alive underground and has won some recognition by coming out in defiance of the regime.

In September 2011, a group of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Iranians launched a campaign on Facebook, highlighting the discrimination against sexual minorities in Iran where homosexuals are put to death.

Source: Agence France-Presse, April 19, 2012

Ugandan legislator rules out death penalty for gays

KAMPALA, Feb 10 (Reuters) - The Ugandan legislator who this week retabled in parliament an anti-gay bill widely condemned as draconian said a clause proposing the death penalty for repeat offenders would be scrapped.

The bill's harsh penaltiles for homosexuality, which is already illegal in Uganda, caused an international outcry when it first came up in parliament in 2009.

U.S. President Barack Obama denounced the original bill as "odious", Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to reject it and some international donors threatened to cut aid if it became law.

Uganda later dropped the legislation, but the controversy re-emerged when ruling party Member of Parliament David Bahati resurrected the bill earlier this week.

Bahati told Reuters in an interview on Friday the clause ordering the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" had been removed from the original bill at the committee stage, and it would be removed again in the retabled bill.

"We're saying the death penalty will not be part of the bill," said Bahati.

Homosexuality is taboo in many African nations. It is illegal in 37 countries on the continent, including Uganda, and activists say few Africans are openly gay, fearing imprisonment, violence and loss of jobs.

After being introduced in 2009, the bill was subsequently shelved last May. The cabinet later took it over and, after widespread censure from western governments and gay rights activists, said in August it had decided to drop it.

The cabinet said existing laws were sufficient to deal with homosexual crimes in the east African country.

The government this week distanced itself from the bill, saying Bahati was a backbencher, the proposed law did not form part of the legislative programme and it was not supported by the prime minister or the cabinet.

"However, as Uganda is a constitutional democracy, it is appropriate that if a private members bill is presented to parliament it be debated," the government said in a statement.

"Contrary to reports, the bill before parliament even if it were to pass, would not sanction the death penalty for homosexual behavior in Uganda," it said.

Source: Reuters Africa, Feb. 10, 2012

Uganda anti-gay death penalty bill reintroduced

(AP) KAMPALA, Uganda - The Ugandan parliamentarian who first introduced an anti-gay bill that carried the death penalty for some homosexual acts reintroduced the bill on Tuesday, raising concerns among rights activists who have been fighting the legislation.

Parliamentarian David Bahati first introduced the bill in 2009 but it has never come before the full legislative body for a vote. Though widely supported in Uganda, the bill's progress apparently has been slowed by an international outcry against the bill, including condemnation from President Barack Obama.

Bahati has said that homosexuality poses a serious threat to family values and that his bill has helped raise public awareness about what he calls "the dangers to our children."

Bahati told The Associated Press last year that he is willing to drop the death penalty provision if that is the recommendation of a parliament committee, though a current reading of the bill hasn't been made public.

European countries such as Sweden and Britain have threatened to cut aid to Uganda if the bill is passed.

Homosexuality, already illegal under Uganda's penal code, is highly stigmatized in Uganda. Opinion polls frequently show the bill's wide support among Ugandans. Lawmakers other than Bahati have sometimes spoken passionately about the need for such a law, and none have condemned it.

The bill has been championed by Pentecostal clerics, who warn that young Ugandans are at risk of being indoctrinated into gay lifestyles by gays visiting from the U.S. and Europe. Even pastors who oppose the draft law do so not because it is draconian or unnecessary, but rather because they believe the police would not be able to enforce it.

"I've rejected it because it does not address Uganda's homosexuality problem," said Solomon Male, a Pentecostal cleric who has been dragged to court for accusing another pastor of sodomy. "The system can't permit any good law to be enforced."

Male said that an existing law against homosexuality, inherited from the colonial days, had not been enforced.

"It is a big problem-homosexuals are in our schools, in our churches, everywhere, and we don't even know where to start," he said. "Sensitization is the best."

Bahati's original bill carried harsh provisions. The original bill would mandate a death sentence for active homosexuals living with HIV or in cases of same-sex rape. "Serial offenders" also could face capital punishment, but the legislation did not define the term. Anyone convicted of a homosexual act would face life imprisonment.

Anyone who "aids, abets, counsels or procures another to engage of acts of homosexuality" would face seven years in prison. Landlords who rent rooms or homes to gays also could get seven years.

Source: AP, Feb. 7, 2012

Uganda: Anti-Gay Bill Doesn't Make Sense, Mbeki Says

Former South African president Thabo Mbeki has hit out at Ndorwa West MP David Bahati's anti-gay Bill, telling a public audience in Kampala that what two consenting adults do in private "is really not the matter of law."

The visiting former head of state's comments will come as a boost to the crusaders of gay rights in Uganda. Mr Mbeki, a guest of the Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR), issued the comments during a three-hour public question and answer session on Thursday evening debating post-cold war Africa and why the continent is reliant on external interventions in dealing with local issues.

Mr Bahati's Anti-Homosexuality Bill, first tabled in the 8th Parliament, is currently collecting dust on the shelves of the 9th Parliament following wide international uproar in large part for a clause that seeks to hand down the death penalty for aggravated homosexuality, including the spreading of HIV/Aids.

Mr Mbeki said apartheid South Africa prohibited sexual relations "across the colour line" aided by The Immorality Act which handed the police legal ground to raid "people's bedrooms" before dragging them to court for prosecution.

Click here to read the full article

Source: allAfrica.com, January 22, 2012

Related article:

Death Penalty News: 'Kill the Gays' Bill Back in Uganda's Parliament

Oct 26, 2011

Legislators on Uganda's Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee in the previous parliament suggested adding a clause that would make it a criminal offense to perform same-sex marriages, Human Rights Watch said in a ...

http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com/

Scott Mills: ‘Gay hatred is everywhere in Uganda’

"Hang them!"

The situation for gay people in Uganda was far worse than he expected, Scott Mills says.

Speaking to PinkNews.co.uk about an upcoming documentary, the gay Radio 1 presenter told how he feared for his own safety in the country.

Mills met anti-gay MP David Bahati as part of filming for ‘The World’s Worst Place to be Gay?’.

When the presenter said he was gay, Bahati became enraged and the film crew fled.

Later, they heard that Bahati had sent armed police to a hotel he thought they were staying at.

“I was really frightened,” Mills said. “It’s just something that you wouldn’t think would happen. It was a real shock to the system and we were told to lie low.”

He said: “I wasn’t aware before I went about what was going on in Uganda.

“I met gay people in safe houses because they had to flee their homes. The newspapers print their names, their photos, even what car they drive. These people are just hounded.

“It’s so bizarre that somewhere just seven hours away by plane can be so different.”

During filming, Mills met victims of homophobia and the pastors preaching against homosexuality.

“All the gay people we met had a story about how they had been tormented or attacked,” he said.

“There was a guy we saw in hospital, he had AIDS and was very ill. But because they knew he was gay, he wasn’t getting the right treatment. He’s dead now.

“Then there was a girl called Stosh, who had to go into hiding after her face was plastered across the newspapers.

“It’s all very well reading about these things but when you actually go to Uganda, you realise how bad things are. It was a lot worse than I expected.”

Gay people in Uganda have “an air of optimism”, he said. “But they’re faced with every pastor, every teacher in every school, saying the same thing.

“They think things will change but it’s going to take a long time.”

When asked how attitudes could change, Mills said: “I don’t really know. The West has been quite vocal and President Obama publicly denounced Uganda but [the preachers] still say homosexuality is un-African, that it is against the family.

“They think it was brought in by the West.”

Many of those he met had been accused of “promoting” homosexuality and “recruiting” children.

He said: “The pastors claim that gay people go into schools and offer children money but when you talk to the schools, they say it hasn’t happened. There’s no evidence for it.”

The film crew also saw first-hand the influence Western preachers have on anti-gay sentiment in Uganda.

“It’s all wrapped up in Christianity and evangelicalism,” Mills said. “And Americans come over to preach. We went to a sermon and saw a guy from Atlanta preaching gay hate.”

He added: “I went to Uganda with the aim of making a fair and balanced film but in two weeks, we couldn’t find any [non-gay] person saying that homosexuality was okay.”

‘The World’s Worst Place to be Gay?’ will be shown on BBC Three at 9pm on Monday February 14th.

Source:Pink News, Feb. 11, 2011

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U.N. sees global AIDS epidemic starting to turn

A probable 33.3 million people global have the HIV virus that causes AIDS, but the global health community is starting to slow down and still turn the plague around, a United Nations report said on Tuesday.

The total number of HIV-infected people in 2009 was down slightly from the preceding year's 33.4 million and at least 56 countries have either stabilize or achieved noteworthy declines in rates of new HIV infection.

Yet while more than 5 million of those who need life-saving AIDS drugs are getting them, just about two-thirds of the 15 million people in not as good as country who need them cannot get them. Marginalized groups like drug users and sex workers are far less likely to get help than others, according to the 2010 global keep posted by the Joint U.N. Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Full story

The Death Penalty for Being You

Here's a truly depressing Fresh Air interview with Jeff Sharlet, who's covered the political efforts to "eradicate homosexuality from Uganda." Or simply eradicate homosexuals. What I hadn't realized was the extent to which gays are not simply hated, but--in the wake of HIV--used as a political tool for despots looking to deflect attention.

Also exposed are the radical Christian preachers who've helped fan the flames anti-gay demagoguery. Now confronted with the full results of their machinations, like all demagogues, they are claiming that they had no idea that Ugandans might actually try to eradicate homosexuals, instead of eradicating homosexuality. Because there's a real difference...

It is with much shame that I admit that this isn't the first time I've heard the notion proffered that homosexuality is "Western" and somehow not indigenous to authentic African societies--and I've never been to Africa. We all have to come from somewhere, and nowhere is perfect, and everywhere is flawed.

Source: The Atlantic, Ta-Nehisi Coates, September 8, 2010 - Ta-Nehisi Coates is a senior editor for The Atlantic, where he writes about culture, politics, and social issues for TheAtlantic.com and the magazine. He is the author of the memoir The Beautiful Struggle.

Fears over Uganda's 'discriminatory' HIV bill

A bill has been tabled in Uganda's parliament to make HIV testing mandatory for pregnant women, their partners and victims and perpetrators of sexual assaults.

Human rights groups have raised concerns that it is punitive, discriminatory and will allow medical professionals to disclose peoples' HIV status to others.

It will discourage voluntary HIV testing, instead imposing it on a number of groups. These include pregnant women, their partners, suspected perpetrators and victims of sexual offences, drug users and prostitutes.

While some reports suggested that "willful" HIV transmission would result in the death penalty, this provision is not in the most recent version of the bill.

It does not mention homosexuality at all. Another Ugandan bill, the anti-homosexuality bill, proposes the death penalty for people who have gay sex while infected with HIV. However, this bill marks the difference between intentional and unintentional transmission.

HIV prevalence has increased in Uganda in recent years, with over a million people living with HIV and more than 100,000 newly infected each year. It is estimated that 80 per cent of those living with HIV in Uganda are unaware of their HIV status.

Human Rights Watch said the provisions in the bill to forcibly test people violated rights and would not lower infection rates.

Joe Amon, health and human rights director at HRW, said: “The bill contains measures that have been proven ineffective against the AIDS epidemic and that violate the rights of people living with HIV.

“The HIV epidemic in Uganda is getting worse, and this bill is another example of misguided, ideological approaches and lack of leadership.”

Mr Amon added: “Like the anti-homosexuality bill, the HIV/AIDS bill tramples on rights and encourages stigma and intolerance. The international community and Ugandan civil society have been vocal and clear about the problems in the bill. It is time for Uganda’s parliament to listen and amend these damaging provisions.”

Uganda’s government has recently received international criticism for a proposed anti-homosexuality law mandating the death penalty for individuals living with HIV who engage in gay sex, regardless of the use of HIV prevention. It would also require others to report instances of gay sex to authorities within 24 hours.

However, government officials have suggested it is unlikely to come before parliament before 2011 and observers say this may be a stalling tactic as the country is due to go to the polls in the next year.

Source: Pink News, May 21, 201O

Ugandan priest faces rape death penalty

A Ugandan prosecutor has ordered the arrest of a Catholic priest who allegedly defiled two girls, and possibly infected them with HIV.

Director of Public Prosecutions Richard Butera said evidence was sufficient to charge Fr Santos Constatino Wapokura.

“That matter is clear: He should be charged,” Butera said in an interview.

He explained that the resident state attorney had already been instructed to charge the priest.

“He should have appeared in court and if he has not, I wonder why,” he said. In an earlier interview, the head of criminal investigations, Edward Ochom, ruled out settling the matter out of court, saying the offence was capital.

“We can afford to do that for chicken thieves, but not for a matter like this. He should be charged,” Ochom said.

The directive, Ochom said, had been communicated to the Police upcountry. It was unthinkable for a suspect on such a charge, he said, to be let off the hook out-of-court.

However, despite Ochom’s and Butera’s orders, the priest had not yet been re-arrested by press time.

Wapokura, 45, the parish priest of Pakwach, is accused of defiling a 14-year-old girl who was serving in the church.

Wapokura had been in Police custody twice over the same allegations. His latest release was ordered by the resident state attorney, Innocent Obale, purportedly to allow the parties resolve the matter out of court.

Upon his arrest last month, the Police said the clergyman tested positive for HIV and upgraded his offence to aggravated defilement. He will be hanged if convicted. The priest dismissed the allegations as a ploy to taint his name.

Source: CathNews India, May 7, 2010

100 British MPs Sign Motion Against Anti-Gay Bill

Opposition against Uganda's anti-gay Bill is gaining further ground abroad. A total of 118 British Members of Parliament have signed an Early Day Motion (EDM 575) condemning Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

The Anti-gay Bill sponsored by Ndorwa West MP David Bahati, took an interesting twist when an EDM gained 118 signatures in the UK Parliament, urging the Uganda government to completely scrap it.

The EDM, drafted by East London Labour MP Harry Cohen and Human Rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, urges the Ugandan government to "uphold international humanitarian law by abandoning the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, decriminalising same-sex acts between consenting adults in private, and outlawing discrimination against gay people." According to the EDM, it pushes for the total scrap of the Bill that decriminalise the same-sex relationship. The campaigner also contend the bill is a government's ploy and well crafted plans to divert the public's attention from tackling of important issues such poverty and ill-health.

The Anti-gay Bill which is pending presentation to the Ugandan Parliament was sponsored by Bahati from the National Resistance Movement (NRM), the country's ruling party. The bill not only possesses clauses that call for a death penalty for anybody guilty of homosexual acts, but also clutches the fancy of worldwide condemnation. In February this year, the US President Barack Obama criticised the Anti-gay Bill and described it as an 'odious'.

The British Minister of State for Africa, Baroness Kinnock expressed concern about the bill and revealed that she had previously made it clear to the Uganda government in numerous representations.

In a January communiqué to this reporter, Kinnock said: "We have also lobbied through the EU, Sweden, who held the EU Presidency in Uganda and led EU demarche to Ugandan Foreign Ministry in December. The European Parliament has also called on the Ugandan authorities not to approve the bill in resolution passed on 17 December."

Kinnock also expressed fears about the Bill saying it's detrimental to those who offer services for the fight against HIV/AIDS in Uganda. "Our concerns include the negative impact the bill would have on the rights of homosexual and heterosexual Ugandans through the criminalisation of any action that could be construed as support for homosexuality.

British MPs are especially appalled that the Bill proposes the death penalty for "serial offenders" (people who commit repeated homosexual acts) and life imprisonment for merely touching or kissing another person of the

same-sex with homosexual intent.

"We hope this motion will send a signal from the British parliament to the Ugandan government that the Anti-Homosexuality Bill constitutes an outrageous attack on the human rights of Uganda's lesbian, gay and bisexual citizens," said Peter Tatchell of the London-based gay human rights group OutRage!

OutRage is helping coordinate the UK campaign against the Bill, with the support of Ugandans living in Britain.

"Even if the death penalty is dropped, the Bill will remain unacceptable. It will still violate the equality guarantees of international human rights agreements such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights," added Tatchell.

"We support the many Ugandan people who oppose this homophobic witch-hunt. Not all Ugandans are homophobic. Many have spoken out against this legislation. We salute their compassion and courage.

"The scape-goating of gay Ugandans is reminiscent of the way Adolf Hitler scape-goated Jewish people in Germany in the 1930s.

"Demonising lesbians and gay men is a diversion from the real issues that blight the lives of most Ugandans: poverty, unemployment, low wages, disease, poor sanitation, dirty drinking water and inadequate health and

education services.

"Uganda's anti-gay laws were not devised by Ugandans. They were devised in London in the 19th century and imposed on the people of Uganda by the British colonisers and their army of occupation. Before the British came and conquered Uganda, there were no laws against homosexuality. These laws are a foreign imposition. They are not African laws."

The campaigners maintain that the Bahati's Anti-gay Bill violates Article 21 of the constitution of Uganda, which guarantees equality and non-discrimination. The article talks of equality and freedom from discrimination; Clause (1) states: "All persons are equal before and under the law in all spheres of political, economic, social and cultural life and in every other respect and shall enjoy equal protection of the law."

"It also breaches the equality and anti-discrimination clauses 2, 3, and 4 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, which Uganda has signed and pledged to uphold," added Mr Tatchell.

Source: All Africa News, April 15, 2010

U.S. Senate Passes Resolution Against Uganda Antigay Bill

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a resolution late Tuesday [April 12, 2010] night that calls on parliament members in Uganda to reject the bill that would impose punishments including death on gay people in the African country.

According to HRC Back Story, "The Senate Resolution, introduced by Sens.Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., Tom Coburn, R-Okla., Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, expresses the United States government's 'unequivocal' opposition to the proposed Ugandan bill. Stressing the 'universality of human rights' and the bill's potential to undermine U.S. efforts to combat HIV/AIDS globally, the resolution calls upon the Secretary of State to more closely monitor human rights abuses that are motivated by sexual orientation and to encourage the repeal or reform of similar laws around the world."

A similar resolution is pending in the House of Representatives, introduced by Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA), chairman of the foreign affairs committee, and more than three dozen other members of Congress.

Source: The Advocate, April 15, 2010

Ugandan activists ask parliament to reject anti-gay bill

KAMPALA — Hundreds of anti-AIDS campaigners on Monday urged Ugandan lawmakers to reject a proposed anti-gay law calling for tough penalties against homosexuality, including the death penalty.

Around 400 activists presented parliament speaker Edward Ssekandi with a petition, criticising the bill as a violation of Uganda's constitution.

"The bill is not about protecting Ugandan culture and traditions as it purports. On the contrary it is violating our cultures, traditions and religious values that teach against intolerance, injustice, hatred and violence," one of the activists, Reverend Canon Gideon Byamugisha, said.

"The bill threatens all of us. It threatens the health, peace and the well-being of Ugandan citizens and goes against the Ugandan constitution which provides for freedom from discrimination on the grounds of sex, race, colour, ethnicity, tribe, birth and creed," another activist, Rubaramira Ruranga, told AFP.

But the parliament speaker said the bill had to undergo the due process.

"At the moment we cannot block the bill; it has to follow the procedure in the house," Ssekandi told the group.

"As part of this procedure we welcome people with divergent views to submit them so that we take into account these concerns," he added.

The bill, which has sparked widespread international condemnation, would criminalise public discussion of homosexuality and could penalise an individual who knowingly rents property to a homosexual.

It also calls for the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality", in cases of rape of a minor by a person of the same sex, or where one partner carries the virus that can cause AIDS.

Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, punishable by life imprisonment in some instances.

Source: AFP, March 1, 2010

Fear grows among Uganda's gay community over death penalty draft law

There was a time in Kampala when gay men would meet for furtive one-night stands, even if they were prevented from forming lasting relationships in a country where homophobia is rife.

"You would just have sex, then disappear. We were secretive out of fear," said Peter, 39. At one point, things had begun changing for the better. "You could know where a guy lived and hung out; you could start to form relationships, something more permanent," he said. "Then along comes this Bill that wants to kill us."

Homosexuality has always been illegal in Uganda, but draft legislation introduced by a born-again Christian parliamentarian proposing the death penalty for gay sex, under certain conditions, has upped the ante. Peter is again living in fear.

Anti-gay sentiment is on the rise in many parts of Africa. In a bellwether case, a gay couple face trial for "unnatural practices" in Malawi; in Kenya, police arrested guests at what is claimed to have been a gay wedding last week supposedly to protect them from an angry mob. "They are proposing a witch-hunt," said Peter. "That Bill could put me to death, or in prison, in many ways. They want to legislate us out of existence."

The draft law proposes the death penalty for having gay sex with anyone under 18, if infected with HIV/Aids, or with someone who is disabled or for being what the Bill terms "a serial offender." Gay sex between consenting adults would lead to a life sentence.

It also calls for prison sentences for those "promoting homosexuality" which could be interpreted to mean any human rights groups and for anyone failing to report a homosexual act to the authorities.

Pentecostal pastors across Uganda have exploited widespread moral conservatism to raise fear and anger against homosexuals. At the forefront is Martin Ssempa, the chairman of the inter-religious National Pastors Task Force against Homosexuality in Uganda. This week, 2,000 men, women and children joined his march in Jinja, a town 50 miles (80km) east of the capital. They waved banners, said prayers and quoted passages from the Bible. Other mass demonstrations are planned in coming weeks, although a "Million Man March" due to take place in the capital was cancelled when police refused to grant permission.

At a press conference this week, Mr Ssempa displayed pictures of explicit gay porn downloaded from the internet. "You see what these homosexuals do!" declared the pastor, working himself into a frenzy of disgust at the slideshow that he had prepared. His performance was condemned by gay rights groups who accuse him of equating homosexuality with paedophilia and perverse sexual practices.

When The Times met Mr Ssempa, he was wearing a "Ugandans against sodomy" badge and a broad smile. "Western civilisation has been taken over by homosexual activists," he said. "This is a culture clash and a battle." He described the Bill as "best practice" in an attempt to halt "predatory homosexuals."

International condemnation has been vocal. President Obama described the draft law as odious and some donor countries have threatened to withhold aid.

President Museveni of Uganda seems increasingly embarrassed by the debate and it appears likely that the death penalty clause will be dropped. For gay Ugandans, however, the hatred that has been stirred up will not be easily forgotten.

Source: Times Online, Feb. 20, 2010

Ugandan MP Would Execute His Gay Son

A member of Uganda's parliament said at a Kampala forum on human rights and sexual orientation that he would kill his son if he found out he was gay.

MP Otto Odonga was immediately denounced by the forum's keynote speaker, the chair of Kenya's Human Rights Commission, Makau Mutua, according to Xtra, a gay Canadian publication. Mutua said he was "baffled" by Odonga's homophobia. "Would you apply to be a hangman if the person to be hanged were your son?" he asked Odonga. When the MP nodded yes, Mutua replied, "There is something deeply wrong with you."

Another Ugandan MP, Christopher Kibanzanga, shared his outrage regarding bisexuals. "Who are bisexuals?" he asked. "What do they do? Has it just been imported into Africa?"

Rubaramira Ruranga, the director of a local HIV/AIDS organization, assured the attendees that anal sex was not something solely for gays, and that homosexuality and bisexuality were not un-African.

"When I was young, I saw men having sex with men in my small village, out in the bush, as we went hunting," he said.

Solome Nakawesi-Kimbugwe, the director of an African feminist organization, also urged leaders to focus on the country's economic status, since it is one of the poorest in the world.

"Let's put our priorities where our problems are," she said. "As Ugandans, what we want are laws that are relevant. Homosexuality is not a problem for us." Uganda's parliament is getting ready to debate a proposed law that would impose harsh punishments, up to and including the death penalty, on gay people.

The invitation-only forum was coordinated by students and staff from a Kampala university and held at one of the city's most exclusive hotels. Funding for the forum came from the Ford Foundation, a U.S.-based organization that promotes social justice, human rights, and economic fairness.

Source: Advocate.com, Feb. 20, 2010

Death penalty proposed for consenting same-sex relations: Misreported & unreported aspects of the legislation

Below is a full and comprehensive briefing on the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which is currently before the Ugandan Parliament and which proposes the death penalty for certain consenting homosexual acts.

Sponsored by the Ugandan MP, David Bahati, the Bill is expected to be debated and voted on in the coming weeks.

This briefing includes details of the already existing extreme homophobic laws in Uganda and their hateful social effects, a link to a full copy of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill and my summary of its key elements.

Although there have been reports that death penalty clauses will be dropped, to date the Bill has not been amended, watered down or scrapped. All the original provisions, including the death penalty, remain.

Indeed, the Bill’s sponsor, MP David Bahati, said late last week that he stands by the Bill and will not withdraw it.

Read the full text of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill:

http://www.ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/09/Nov/Bill-No-18-Anti-Homosexuality-Bill-2009_Uganda.pdf

Summary of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Peter Tatchell of the London-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) human rights group OutRage! said:

"The Anti-Homosexuality Bill proposes the death penalty for two classes of same-sex acts.

“First, for 'aggravated' homosexuality, which is defined as gay sex with under 18s or disabled persons and gay sex by a person in authority or by a person with HIV, even if they use a condom.

“Second, for 'serial' homosexual acts, meaning for persons who have repeated same-sex relations ie. more than once or twice.

“The Bill extends the existing penalty of life imprisonment for same-sex intercourse to all other same-sex behaviour, including the mere touching of another person with the intent to have homosexual relations.

“Life imprisonment is also the penalty for contracting a same-sex marriage.

"Promoting homosexuality and aiding and abetting others to commit homosexual acts will be punishable by five to seven years jail. These new crimes are likely to include membership and funding of LGBT organisations, advocacy of LGBT human rights, supportive counselling of LGBT persons and the provision of condoms or safer sex advice to LGBT people.

“A person in authority – gay or heterosexual - who fails to report violators to the police within 24 hours will be sentenced to three years behind bars.

"Astonishingly, the new legislation has an extra-territorial jurisdiction. It will also apply to Ugandan citizens or foreign residents of Uganda who commit these 'crimes' while abroad, in countries where such behaviour is not a criminal offence. Violators overseas will be subjected to extradition, trial and punishment in Uganda.

“This bill is even more draconian than the extreme homophobic laws of countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran.

“It is part of a wide attack on civil society and is symptomatic of Uganda’s drift to Mugabe-style authoritarianism," added Mr Tatchell.

Existing anti-gay laws in Uganda - and their consequences

The Uganda Penal Code Act of 1950 (Chapter 120) (as amended)

Section 145. Unnatural offences.

--Any person who-- (a) has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature; (b) has carnal knowledge of an animal; or (c) permits a male person to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature, commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for life.

Section 146. Attempt to commit unnatural offences.

--Any person who attempts to commit any of the offences specified in section 145 commits a felony and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

Section 148. Indecent practices.

--Any person who, whether in public or in private, commits any act of gross indecency with another person or procures another person to commit any act of gross indecency with him or her or attempts to procure the commission of any such act by any person with himself or herself or with another person, whether in public or in private, commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for seven years.

“The current anti-homosexual laws were originally imposed on Uganda by the British colonial administration in the nineteenth century, during the period of imperial subjugation. They are not authentic Ugandan or African laws,” added Peter Tatchell of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) human rights group OutRage!

“The consequences of this already existing legislation can include long terms of imprisonment for homosexual relations between consenting adults in private.

“Criminalisation also often results in the failure of police to protect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) victims of mob violence. It gives a green light to blackmailers and to the police harassment of LGBT people, including the framing of LGBT Ugandans on false charges.

“The outing of LGBT people by the Kampala tabloid newspaper, Red Pepper, has resulted in some victims losing their jobs and homes. Others have been disowned by their families and forced to go into hiding.

“The Anti-Homosexuality Bill is just the latest of many attacks on the LGBT community of Uganda.

“In recent years, the Ugandan government of President Yoweri Museveni has passed a law banning same-sex civil marriage, fined Radio Simba for broadcasting a discussion of LGBT issues, and expelled a UN AIDS agency director for meeting with LGBT campaigners.

“Some years ago, a heterosexual Anglican bishop of the West Buganda diocese of Uganda, Christopher Senyonjo, was denied the right to preach and denied his pension by the Church of Uganda after he defended the human rights of LGBT people,” said Mr Tatchell.

By Peter Tatchell, human rights campaigner

London, UK – 11 January 2010

Americans’ Role Seen in Uganda’s Anti-Gay Push

KAMPALA, Uganda — Last March, three American evangelical Christians, whose teachings about “curing” homosexuals have been widely discredited in the United States, arrived here in Uganda’s capital to give a series of talks. The theme of the event, according to Stephen Langa, its Ugandan organizer, was “the gay agenda — that whole hidden and dark agenda” — and the threat homosexuals posed to Bible-based values and the traditional African family.

For three days, according to participants and audio recordings, thousands of Ugandans, including police officers, teachers and national politicians, listened raptly to the Americans, who were presented as experts on homosexuality. The visitors discussed how to make gay people straight, how gay men often sodomized teenage boys and how “the gay movement is an evil institution” whose goal is “to defeat the marriage-based society and replace it with a culture of sexual promiscuity.”

Now the three Americans are finding themselves on the defensive, saying they had no intention of helping stoke the kind of anger that could lead to what came next: a bill to impose a death sentence for homosexual behavior.

One month after the conference, a previously unknown Ugandan politician, who boasts of having evangelical friends in the American government, introduced the Anti-Homosexuality Bill of 2009, which threatens to hang homosexuals, and, as a result, has put Uganda on a collision course with Western nations.

Donor countries, including the United States, are demanding that Uganda’s government drop the proposed law, saying it violates human rights, though Uganda’s minister of ethics and integrity (who previously tried to ban miniskirts) recently said, “Homosexuals can forget about human rights.”

The Ugandan government, facing the prospect of losing millions in foreign aid, is now indicating that it will back down, slightly, and change the death penalty provision to life in prison for some homosexuals. But the battle is far from over.

Instead, Uganda seems to have become a far-flung front line in the American culture wars, with American groups on both sides, the Christian right and gay activists, pouring in support and money as they get involved in the broader debate over homosexuality in Africa.

“It’s a fight for their lives,” said Mai Kiang, a director at the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, a New York-based group that has channeled nearly $75,000 to Ugandan gay rights activists and expects that amount to grow.

The three Americans who spoke at the conference — Scott Lively, a missionary who has written several books against homosexuality, including “7 Steps to Recruit-Proof Your Child”; Caleb Lee Brundidge, a self-described former gay man who leads “healing seminars”; and Don Schmierer, a board member of Exodus International, whose mission is “mobilizing the body of Christ to minister grace and truth to a world impacted by homosexuality” — are now trying to distance themselves from the bill.

“I feel duped,” Mr. Schmierer said, arguing that he had been invited to speak on “parenting skills” for families with gay children. He acknowledged telling audiences how homosexuals could be converted into heterosexuals, but he said he had no idea some Ugandans were contemplating the death penalty for homosexuality.

“That’s horrible, absolutely horrible,” he said. “Some of the nicest people I have ever met are gay people.”

Mr. Lively and Mr. Brundidge have made similar remarks in interviews or statements issued by their organizations. But the Ugandan organizers of the conference admit helping draft the bill, and Mr. Lively has acknowledged meeting with Ugandan lawmakers to discuss it. He even wrote on his blog in March that someone had likened their campaign to “a nuclear bomb against the gay agenda in Uganda.” Later, when confronted with criticism, Mr. Lively said he was very disappointed that the legislation was so harsh.

Human rights advocates in Uganda say the visit by the three Americans helped set in motion what could be a very dangerous cycle. Gay Ugandans already describe a world of beatings, blackmail, death threats like “Die Sodomite!” scrawled on their homes, constant harassment and even so-called correctional rape.

“Now we really have to go undercover,” said Stosh Mugisha, a gay rights activist who said she was pinned down in a guava orchard and raped by a farmhand who wanted to cure her of her attraction to girls. She said that she was impregnated and infected with H.I.V., but that her grandmother’s reaction was simply, “ ‘You are too stubborn.’ ”

Despite such attacks, many gay men and lesbians here said things had been getting better for them before the bill, at least enough to hold news conferences and publicly advocate for their rights. Now they worry that the bill could encourage lynchings. Already, mobs beat people to death for infractions as minor as stealing shoes.

“What these people have done is set the fire they can’t quench,” said the Rev. Kapya Kaoma, a Zambian who went undercover for six months to chronicle the relationship between the African anti-homosexual movement and American evangelicals.

Mr. Kaoma was at the conference and said that the three Americans “underestimated the homophobia in Uganda” and “what it means to Africans when you speak about a certain group trying to destroy their children and their families.”

“When you speak like that,” he said, “Africans will fight to the death.”

Uganda is an exceptionally lush, mostly rural country where conservative Christian groups wield enormous influence. This is, after all, the land of proposed virginity scholarships, songs about Jesus playing in the airport, “Uganda is Blessed” bumper stickers on Parliament office doors and a suggestion by the president’s wife that a virginity census could be a way to fight AIDS.

During the Bush administration, American officials praised Uganda’s family-values policies and steered millions of dollars into abstinence programs.

Uganda has also become a magnet for American evangelical groups. Some of the best known Christian personalities have recently passed through here, often bringing with them anti-homosexuality messages, including the Rev. Rick Warren, who visited in 2008 and has compared homosexuality to pedophilia. (Mr. Warren recently condemned the anti-homosexuality bill, seeking to correct what he called “lies and errors and false reports” that he played a role in it.)

Many Africans view homosexuality as an immoral Western import, and the continent is full of harsh homophobic laws. In northern Nigeria, gay men can face death by stoning. Beyond Africa, a handful of Muslim countries, like Iran and Yemen, also have the death penalty for homosexuals. But many Ugandans said they thought that was going too far. A few even spoke out in support of gay people.

“I can defend them,” said Haj Medih, a Muslim taxi driver with many homosexual customers. “But I fear the what? The police, the government. They can arrest you and put you in the safe house, and for me, I don’t have any lawyer who can help me.”

Source: The New York Times, Jan. 3, 2010

Uganda to Drop Death Penalty, Life in Jail for Gays

Uganda will drop the death penalty and life imprisonment for gays in a refined version of an anti- gay bill expected to be ready for presentation to Parliament in 2 weeks, James Nsaba Buturo, the minister of ethics and integrity, said.

The draft bill, which is under consideration by a parliamentary committee, will drop the 2 punishments to attract the support of religious leaders who are opposed to these penalties, Buturo said today in a phone interview from the capital, Kampala.

Ugandan lawmaker David Bahati presented a private member's bill on Oct. 14 which sought the death penalty and life imprisonment for gay people in the country. The Ugandan government supports the bill because homosexuality and lesbianism are "repugnant to the Ugandan culture," Buturo said. Still, it favors a more refined set of punishments, he said.

In addition to formulating punishments for the gay people, the bill will also promote counseling to help "attract errant people to acceptable sexual orientation," said Buturo.

The proposed legislation has attracted criticism from gay rights activists, both locally and internationally, who argue that the law would promote discrimination and hatred toward the gay community.

Source: Bloomberg News, December 9, 2009

"Homosexuality is not natural in Uganda"

Gay rights activists abroad are focusing on the legislation. A protest against the bill is planned for Thursday in London; protests were held last month in New York and Washington.

David Bahati, the legislator sponsoring the bill, said he was encouraging "constructive criticism" to improve the law, but insisted strict measures were necessary to stop homosexuals from "recruiting" schoolchildren.

"The youths in secondary schools copy everything from the Western world and America," said high school teacher David Kisambira. "A good number of students have been converted into gays. We hear there are groups of people given money by some gay organizations in developed countries to recruit youth into gay activities."

Uganda's ethics minister, James Nsaba Buturo, said the death sentence clause would probably be reviewed but maintained the law was necessary to counter foreign influence. He said homosexuality "is not natural in Uganda," a view echoed by some Ugandans.

"I feel that the bill is good and necessary, but I don't think gays should be killed. They should be imprisoned for about a year and warned never to do it again. The family is in danger in Uganda because the rate at which

vice is spreading is appalling," said shopkeeper John Muwanguzi.

Uganda is not the only country considering anti-gay laws. Nigeria, where homosexuality is already punishable by imprisonment or death, is considering strengthening penalties for activities deemed to promote it. Burundi just banned same-sex relationships and Rwanda is considering it.

Homophobia is rife even in more tolerant African countries.

In Kenya, homosexuality is illegal but the government has acknowledged its existence by launching sexual orientation survey to improve health care. Nevertheless, the recent marriage of two Kenyan men in London caused outrage. The men's families in Kenya were harassed by reporters and villagers.

In South Africa, the only African nation to recognize gay marriage, gangs carry out so-called "corrective" rapes on lesbians. A 19-year-old lesbian athlete was gang-raped, tortured and murdered in 2008.

Debate over the Ugandan bill follows a conference in Kampala earlier this year attended by American activists who consider same-gender relationships sinful, and believe gays and lesbians can become heterosexual through prayer and counseling. Author Don Schmierer and "sexual reorientation coach" Caleb Lee Brundidge took part; they did not respond to interview requests.

A 2nd American who took part in the conference in Uganda, Scott Lively, said the bill has gone too far.

"I agree with the general goal but this law is far too harsh," said Lively, a California-based preacher and author of "The Pink Swastika" and other books that advise parents how to "recruit-proof" their children from gays.

"Society should actively discourage all sex outside of marriage and that includes homosexuality ... The family is under threat," he said. Gay people "should not be parading around the streets," he added.

Frank Mugisha, a gay Ugandan human rights activist, said the bill was so poorly worded that someone could be imprisoned for giving a hug.

"This bill is promoting hatred," he said. "We're turning Uganda into a police state. It will drive people to suicide."

Buturo played down the influence of foreign evangelicals, saying the proposed legislation was an expression of popular outrage against "repugnant" practices. But activists like Cato argue anti-gay attitudes are a foreign import.

"In the beginning, when the missionaries brought religion, they said they were bringing love," he said. "Instead they brought hate, through homophobia."

Susan Timberlake, a senior adviser on human rights and law from UNAIDS, said such laws could hinder the fight against HIV/AIDS by driving people further underground. And activists also worry that the legislation could be used to blackmail or silence government critics.

Cato said he thinks the Ugandan bill will pass, perhaps in an altered form.

"It's such a setback. But I hope we can overcome it," he said. "I cannot believe this is happening in the 21st century."

Source: Associated Press, December 2009

1961 U.S. film educating youngsters against homosexuality and homosexuals. (French subtitles)

Fury at Uganda proposal for gay executions

Britain and Canada today led Commonwealth protests against a law proposed by the Ugandan parliament which would introduce the death penalty by hanging for "aggravated homosexuality".

Gordon Brown expressed Britain's concerns about the parliamentary bill when he met Yoweri Museveni, the veteran Ugandan president, at the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Trinidad and Tobago.

The suggested legislation would apply to sex between gay men or lesbian women in which one person has HIV.

The bill also proposes the introduction of a three-year prison sentence for anyone who knows of the existence of a gay man or lesbian woman and fails to inform authorities in Uganda within 24 hours.

The British prime minister's anger was echoed by his Canadian counterpart, Stephen Harper. Harper's spokesman, Dimitri Soudas, said: "If adopted, a bill further criminalising homosexuality would constitute a significant step backwards for the protection of human rights in Uganda."

Stephen Lewis, a former UN envoy on Aids in Africa, described the proposed legislation as having "the taste of fascism."

In a speech in Trinidad, reported in the Globe and Mail, Lewis said: "The credibility of the Commonwealth is hanging by a spider's thread. The putative legislation declares war on homosexuality. What is put at risk here beyond the threat of the death penalty for HIV-positive homosexuals is the entire apparatus of Aids treatment, prevention and care."

Museveni has not endorsed the private member's bill, which was introduced by a backbencher in the Ugandan parliament. But Uganda's ethics and integrity minister, James Nsaba Buturo, welcomed the proposal, saying that he regards the bill "with joy" because it will "provide leadership around the world".

Source: The Guardian, Nov. 29, 2009

Gordon Brown drawn into Commonwealth row over laws to punish homosexuals

Gordon Brown was last night drawn into a row over laws punishing homosexuals with death that threatened to overshadow a meeting of Commonwealth leaders. The Prime Minister raised the issue of proposed new laws in Uganda with the country's president Yoweri Museveni. Mr Brown made it clear to him that he was opposed to the laws when the 2 men met in Trinidad.

The country's plans have caused a backlash from other Commonwealth nations and condemnation from gay rights groups who want Uganda thrown out of the Commonwealth unless they back down.

Uganda's parliament is proposing an Anti-Homosexuality Bill which requires the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality" defined as any sexual act between gays or lesbians in which one person has the HIV virus.

Life sentences would be imposed on those who touch another with the intention to have homosexual relations.

The bill would even apply to Ugandans who commit homosexual offences, but who live overseas.

A series of other offences in the new legislation, which is being piloted by a government MP and being given parliamentary time by President Museveni, include belonging to homosexual organizations, championing homosexual rights, and promoting homosexuality. All such transgressions would be punished with 7 years in prison.

Those who do not report wrongdoing the witness could face 3 years in custody.

A Downing Street source said: "The Prime Minister did raise it and you can take it that he was not supportive of the idea."

Stephen Harper, the Prime Minister of Canada, backed Mr Brown's stance.

His spokesman said: "If adopted, a bill further criminalising homosexuality would constitute a significant step backwards for the protection of human rights."

The row pits the western Commonwealth countries against some of the African nations who have often held different views on homosexuality. They often attack the west for trying to lecture them on issues of morality.

Peter Tatchell, the prominent gay rights campaigner, accused Commonwealth leaders of failing to condemn "homophobic discrimination and violence."

He said: "Some of the key principles of the Commonwealth are equality, non-discrimination, opportunity for all, liberty of the individual and human dignity,' he said.

"Of the 53 Commonwealth member states, over 40 still criminalise same-sex relations, mostly under anti-gay laws that were originally imposed by the British government in the nineteenth century, during the period of colonial rule.

"They criminalise otherwise law-abiding citizens and contribute to a hostile social atmosphere which demonises lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people as unnatural, abnormal and criminal."

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have condemned the bill. The United States and France have also attacked the proposed law, with France expressing "deep concern."

Source: The Telegraph, Nov. 27, 2009

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission:

A broad coalition of civil society groups in Uganda have united against the legislation, warning that it will severely undermine human rights and the work of human rights defenders in the country. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Ugandans are already persecuted under Penal Code Article 145a, which prohibits "carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature." The proposed bill specifically criminalizes homosexuality, and punishes anything from sexual stimulation to "touch[ing] another person with the intention of committing the act of homosexuality" with life imprisonment. Worse, "aggravated homosexuality" – including activity by "serial offenders" or those who are HIV positive – would merit the death penalty. More here.