23″ MARCH ” 2023″
EXPLAINER
The United States White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has warned members of Uganda’s parliament that sanctions restricting them from doing business with the US could be on the way for those responsible for the passage of a law criminalising the LGBT+ country.
Jean-Pierre during her daily press briefing on Wednesday said the White House was watching the situation “closely” and determining what the US’ next steps would be should the law be signed and go into effect, Independent UK reports
We’re certainly watching this really closely and we would have to take a look at whether or not there might be repercussions that we would have to take, perhaps in an economic way, should this law actually get passed and enacted,” Jean-Pierre said.
She added: “And that would be really unfortunate because so much of the economic assistance that we provide Uganda is health assistance, and largely through [the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief].”
The bill proposes life sentences for people who identify as gay in Uganda.
Some acts considered “aggravated homosexuality” by the bill’s authors would be eligible for a death sentence.
According to Star News, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby on Wednesday also said there might be economic repercussions if the new bill becomes law.
“We would have to take a look at whether or not there might be repercussions that we would have to take, perhaps in an economic way, should this law actually get passed and enacted,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists on Wednesday
“So, we’ll have to take a look. No decisions. We’re watching this very, very closely. And hopefully, it won’t pass and we won’t have to do anything.”
Should it be signed by Uganda’s president, who has a history of slandering the LGBT+ community, it would make the country one of the most hostile places on Earth for LGBT+ people.
A previous attempt by the country’s government to punish homosexual activity with a sentence of life in prison was struck down by Uganda’s Supreme Court in 2014, one year before the US Supreme Court would rule that gay marriage was a protected right in the 2015 landmark Obergefell decision
Why are Kenya and Uganda cracking down on LGBTQ rights?
Kenya and Uganda are moving to further curtail the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people, whose relationships are already deemed illegal in the conservative East African nations.
After a session lasting nearly seven hours, Ugandan lawmakers approved the Anti-Homosexuality Act on Tuesday, ordering harsh penalties for anyone who engages in same-sex activity
While more than 30 African countries including Uganda already ban same-sex relationships, the new law passed appears to be the first to outlaw merely identifying as LGBTQ, Human Rights Watch said.
In Kenya, a February ruling by the Supreme Court upheld verdicts by lower courts stating that the government could not lawfully refuse to register an organisation calling itself the National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (NGLHRC).
But President William Ruto and many religious leaders and political pundits have been condemning the court’s conclusion that the constitution barred discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
“I am a God-fearing man and whatever happened at the court, even if we respect the court, our culture, values, Christianity and Islam cannot allow women to marry each other, or men to marry fellow men,” local media outlet Citizen TV reports Ruto as saying
What are the latest measures?
If assented to by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, the bill will hand authorities broad powers to target gay Ugandans who already face legal discrimination and mob violence.
It bans promoting and abetting homosexuality as well as conspiracy to engage in homosexuality, in addition to same-sex intercourse.
Why is this happening?
Uganda is notorious for strict views on sexuality and intolerance towards homosexuality, which is criminalised under colonial-era laws.
But opposition politicians boycotted a speech by Museveni on Thursday, in which he described gay people as “deviations”, to protest against human rights violations and the illegal imprisonment and forced disappearance of their supporters.
In his speech, Museveni said: “Western countries should stop wasting the time of humanity by trying to impose their practices on other people.”
Under his rule, journalists have been attacked, lawyers jailed, election monitors prosecuted, the internet shut down and opposition leaders muzzled.
The increasing visibility and assertiveness of sexual minorities have also been attributed to the West.
Meanwhile, conspiracy theories accusing shadowy international forces of promoting homosexuality are gaining traction on social media.
In Kenya, Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit of the Anglican Church speculated that the alleged spread of homosexuality was a sinister ploy by environmentalists to depopulate the globe in an effort to address climate change.
What was the international reaction?
The United Nations and the United States on Wednesday called for Museveni to reject what they said was an “appalling” anti-gay bill
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged Museveni not to promulgate the bill into law.
“The passing of this discriminatory bill – probably among the worst of its kind in the world – is a deeply troubling development,” he said in a statement.
“If signed into law by the president, it will render lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Uganda criminals simply for existing, for being who they are. It could provide carte blanche for the systematic violation of nearly all of their human rights and serve to incite people against each other.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the legislation would “undermine fundamental human rights of all Ugandans and could reverse gains in the fight against HIV/AIDS” and urged Uganda to reconsider the implementation of the bill.
The United Kingdom’s special envoy on LGBTQ rights, Nicholas Herbert, said that “while many countries, including a number on the African continent, are moving towards decriminalisation this is a deeply troubling step in the opposite direction
What’s next?
Critics say the latest developments are likely telltale signs of a continuing witch hunt.
In recent weeks, Ugandan authorities have cracked down on LGBTQ people after religious leaders and politicians alleged students were being recruited into homosexuality in schools.
This month, Ugandan authorities arrested a secondary school teacher in the eastern district of Jinja over accusations of “grooming of young girls into unnatural sex practices”. She was subsequently charged with gross indecency and is in prison awaiting trial.
