LGBT Community Under Attack: Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Bill
Announcement
On October 14, 2009, an “Anti-Homosexuality Bill” was introduced by Uganda’s parliament. The bill as drafted would increase the penalty for “same sex sexual acts” to life in prison, limit the distribution of information on HIV through a provision criminalizing the “promotion of homosexuality,” and establish the crime of “aggravated homosexuality” punishable by death for anyone who is HIV positive and has consensual same-sex relations. Further, the bill includes a provision that could lead to the imprisonment for up to three years of anyone who fails to report without 24 hours the identities of everyone they know who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or who supports human rights for people who are, to the government.
After an international outcry over the bill, including a strong response from the U.S. Department of State, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni states in a speech on January 13, 2010, that the bill had become a “foreign policy issue” and needed further consultation before being voted on in parliament.
If you have any questions, please contact Hans Hogrefe (Rep. McGovern) at 202-225-3599.
Hosted by:
Co-Chairman, TLHRC
Witnesses
Panel 1
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Karl Wycoff, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Centra African Affairs and East African Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Panel 2
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Julius Kaggwa, Program Director, Support Initiative for People with Atypical Sex Development, Uganda
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Cary Alan Johnson, Executive Director, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission
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Reverend Kapya Kaoma, Project Director, Political Research Associates
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Christine Lubinski, Executive Director, HIV Medicine Association, Infectious Diseases Society of America