Reviewing LGBTQ+ Rights in Uganda
Not more than one year ago, GorStra Research Group reported on an influx of human rights violations against the LGBTQ+ community in Uganda. Since then, and despite regional and international condemnation, there has been an increase of reported abuses suffered by the community following a new act assented-to by the Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni.
The stigmatisation of homosexuality witnessed a spike in Uganda following the Ugandan Parliament's first introduction and vote to a bill criminalising acts of homosexuality in 2014. The “anti-gay” bill was soon nullified by the Consitititional Court of Uganda for not complying with the required parliamentary quorum, prompting international condemnation and criticism. However, the nullification did not limit the bill’s negative impact on LGBTQ+ individuals, whom continued to face prosecution, discrimination, and violence. Homosexuality remains highly stigmatised within Ugandan society, deeply rooted in conservative cultural and religious beliefs that view same-sex relationships as immoral or unnatural.
In March 2023, a further crackdown began with the Ugandan Parliament introducing a bill that mirrors the 2014 bill. The new “Anti-Homosexuality Act'' criminalises homosexuality and imposes harsh penalties on members of the LGBTQ+ community. Such penalties include an imposition of the death penalty - a globally condemned sentence - for the involvement in the so-called "aggravated homosexuality", a term the government uses to describe actions including having gay sex when HIV-positive. The act has provisions for life imprisonment, as well as a 20-year prison sentence for the persons or entities involved in the “recruitment, promotion and/ or funding” of same-sex “activities''. The act went further and convicted anyone who “attempted aggravated homsexuality” with a 14-year sentence. However, after its passing, The President ordered its referral back to Parliament to include further amendments. On 26 May 2023, the Ugandan President signed the revised act, with additional stipulation that the mere identification as LGBTQ+ is not a crime. It also revised a measure that obliged people to report homosexual activity to only require reporting when a child is involved.
The ongoing legal landscape of Uganda has intensified the societal challenges experienced by LGBTQ+ individuals. While the act enabled the law enforcement to impose arbitrary arrests against Ugandan LGBTQ+ community, which were inhumane and included stripsearches, it also triggered a wave of evictions, sexual violence and mob attacks. Members of the community were discriminated against and were denied basic services such as employment, education, and healthcare. The rise of hate speech especially targeted LGBTQ+ individuals and there was an increase of hate crimes, assault, blackmail, as well as murder. In the month of February alone, 110 LGBTQ+ people reported incidents of arrests, sexual violence, evictions and being forcibly stripped in public to the advocacy group Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG). “Transgender people were disproportionately affected”, said the group. In addition, the Human Rights Awareness and Promotion Forum - Uganda (HRAPF) documented 46 violations against the LGBTQ+ persons in June 2023 and a record of 53 violations in July, which is “a tragic increase” as per the Forum.
The judicial leg had its fair share of the fight against the community, in Jinja, a western town in Uganda, the court denied bail to six people working in healthcare organisations who had been charged with “forming part of a criminal sexual network”. Ugandan police confirmed that it conducted forced anal examinations on the six and tested them for HIV. Further, the Ugandan government’s attempts to abolish homosexuality extended to juristic persons, where it imposed strategic bans and fines against prominent non-governmental organisations for providing services to sexual minorities in Uganda. SMUG being one of the organisations was was suspended arbitrarily for an alleged operation with no official registration, on the 3rd of August 2022
From a legal point of view, the passing of the bill constitutes a violation of several international and regional treaties, which Uganda has signed or ratified. In 2014, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights adopted Resolution 275, which prohibits violence against persons based on their sexual orientation and gender Identity or expression; Uganda is a state party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, it was signed on 18 August 1986. On an international level, Uganda is a signatory of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which was ratified in May 1995. Article 2 of the ICCPR prohibits discrimination on various grounds, including "sex" and "other status". United Nations human rights bodies have interpreted "other status" to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
Following the 2014 Bill, the Anti-Homosexuality Act prompted a wave of international condemnation, where the UK government said it was appalled by the “deeply discriminatory” bill, which it said will “damage Uganda’s international reputation”. President Biden, on the other hand, decried the act as “shameful” and “tragic violation of universal human rights”. He said Washington was considering “sanctions and restriction of entry into the United States against anyone involved in serious human rights abuses”. Thus the wave didn’t provoke a repeal of the Act, and given the Ugandan government’s inaction, sanctions started to pour against Uganda. The World Bank suspended its operations in Uganda and declared that “No new public financing to Uganda will be presented to our Board of Executive Directors until the efficacy of the additional measures has been tested”, The Bank deployed a team to Uganda after the law was enacted in May and determined that additional measures were necessary to ensure projects align with the bank’s environmental and social standards. It is only reasonable to assume that other governments and intergovernmental institutions will follow suit. However, the impact will be heartfelt on the Ugandan peoples’ livelihood especially in the health sector, considering that the majority of the international aid is directed to fight Malaria, Tuberculosis, and HIV/ AIDS; sanctions will have an impact on the country’s economy as a whole.