Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has signed into law anti-gay legislation supported by many in the East African nation, but widely condemned by rights activists and others abroad.
The version of the bill signed by Museveni on Sunday does not criminalize those who identify as LGBTQ+, a key concern for some rights campaigners who condemned an earlier draft of the legislation as an egregious attack on human rights.
However, the new law still prescribes the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality,” which is defined as cases of sexual relations involving people infected with HIV, as well as with minors and other categories of vulnerable people.
Photo: Reuters
A suspect convicted of “attempted aggravated homosexuality” can be imprisoned for up to 14 years, the law says.
Uganda Parliamentary Speaker Anita Among said in a statement that the president had “answered the cries of our people” in signing the bill.
“With a lot of humility, I thank my colleagues the members of parliament for withstanding all the pressure from bullies and doomsday conspiracy theorists in the interest of our country,” the statement said.
Museveni last month returned the bill to the national assembly, asking for changes that would differentiate between identifying as LGBTQ+ and actually engaging in homosexual acts.
That angered some lawmakers, including some who feared the president would proceed to veto the bill amid international pressure. Lawmakers passed an amended version of the bill earlier this month.
LGBTQ+ rights campaigners say the new legislation is unnecessary in a country where homosexuality has long been illegal under a colonial-era law criminalizing sexual activity “against the order of nature.” The punishment for that offense is life imprisonment.
The US had warned of economic consequences over legislation described by Amnesty International as “draconian and overly broad.”
In a statement from the White House on Monday, US President Joe Biden called the new law “a tragic violation of universal human rights — one that is not worthy of the Ugandan people, and one that jeopardizes the prospects of critical economic growth for the entire country.”
“I join with people around the world — including many in Uganda — in calling for its immediate repeal. No one should have to live in constant fear for their life or being subjected to violence and discrimination. It is wrong,” Biden said.
The UN Human Rights Office said it was “appalled that the draconian and discriminatory anti-gay bill is now law,” describing the legislation as ”a recipe for systematic violations of the rights” of LGBTQ+ people and others.
In a joint statement, the leaders of the UN AIDS program, the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Global Fund said they were “deeply concerned about the harmful impact” of the legislation on public health and the HIV response.
“Uganda’s progress on its HIV response is now in grave jeopardy,” the statement said. “The Anti-Homosexuality Act 2023 will obstruct health education and the outreach that can help end AIDS as a public health threat.”
It added that “stigma and discrimination associated with the passage of the Act has already led to reduced access to prevention as well as treatment services” for LGBTQ+ people.
Rights campaigners have the option of appealing the legislation before the courts. Later on Monday, one group of activists and academics petitioned the constitutional court seeking an injunction against enforcement of the law.
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