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Ugandan president sends Anti-Homosexuality Act back to Parliament

‘Aggravated homosexuality’ would be punishable by death

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Uganda President Yoweri Museveni (Photo courtesy of the U.S. State Department)

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday sent his country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act back to Parliament for additional consideration before he signs it.

Chapter Four Uganda Executive Director Nicholas Opiyo during a panel that took place at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in D.C. on April 10 noted the measure would impose a ā€œmandatoryā€ death penalty for ā€œaggravated homosexualityā€ and ā€œanybody who is convicted of being engaged in same-sex relationsā€ would face life in prison.

The bill would also punish the ā€œpromotion, recruitment and fundingā€ of LGBTQ-specific activities in Uganda with up to 10 years in prison. Any ā€œperson who ā€˜holds out as a lesbian, gay, transgender, a queer or any other sexual or gender identity that is contrary to the binary categories of male and female’ā€ would also face up to 10 years in prison. Opiyo also noted the measureā€™s provision that would require Ugandans to report LGBTQ-specific activities to authorities would create ā€œa moral police force.ā€

Ugandan MPs passed the Anti-Homosexuality Act last month.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and Victor Madrigal-Borloz, the independent U.N. expert on LGBTQ and intersex issues, are among those who are sharply criticized the measure.

The Monitor, a Uganda newspaper, on Thursday reported Museveni and lawmakers from his National Resistance Movement party “resolved to return the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023, to the Committee on Legal and Parliamentary Affairs where deeper scrutiny and revisions will be made before the it is considered for assent.”

Museveni, according to the Monitor, praised lawmakers “for having rejected international pressure and shielded Uganda’s moral fabric during the passing of the bill.”

Deputy Attorney General Jackson KafuuziĀ reportedly raised concerns about the bill’s reporting requirement during the meeting with Museveni. The Monitor furtherĀ reportedĀ other lawmakers raised the prospect of “rehabilitation” of those convicted under the law.

Sexual Minorities Uganda Executive Director Frank Mugisha in a tweet described Museveni’s decision not to sign the bill as “progress.”

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Ugandan MP introduces anti-gay surrogacy bill

Sarah Opendi’s measure mirrors attempt in Kenya

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(Image by rarrarorro/Bigstock)

Uganda has joined Kenya in seeking to ban same-sex couples who want to use a surrogate or in vitro fertilization to become parents.

MP Sarah Opendi on March 5 introduced the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill 2023, which would limit access to these treatments to only people with infertility challenges. She notes there has been an increase in the number of Ugandans seeking to have children through human assisted reproductive technology over the years, but without a legal framework. 

“The increasing demand for the use of human assisted reproductive technology has been necessitated by the growing cases of primary and secondary infertility, and other health-related challenges among persons seeking to have children,” Opendi states in the bill. 

Legal gaps the law seeks to address include regulating access to the use of human assisted reproductive technology by a state’s medical body; designating medical units or facilities as fertility centers; setting up sperm, oocyte (a female egg) and embryo banks within fertility centers and a register of data collected from services rendered through the technology.  

The bill’s Clause 20 would block gay couples from having children via surrogacy and would give a registered medical practitioner the power to establish the infertility condition of an individual before accessing services.Ā 

The medical professional would have to certify that the intending parent ā€œsuffers primary or secondary infertilityā€ or ā€œsuffers health challenges which affect the ability to reproduce.ā€ 

The bill would also bar same-sex couples from surrogacy services for parenthood, stating they apply to “a man and a woman” who jointly seek to use human assisted reproductive technology to obtain a child. The proposal would also apply to a man and a woman where “either the man or woman or both” suffer primary or secondary infertility or health-related challenges that affect the man or woman’s ability to reproduce.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā 

The proposed law, which a parliamentary health committee is considering for public input before its reintroduction in the House for debate, has been criticized by some Ugandan LGBTQ activists as “draconian.”

ā€œThe same sponsors of the anti-gay law are the same introducing this bill which is well influenced by American anti-gay and anti-gender groups,ā€ Frank Mugisha told the Washington Blade.

His comments came three days after the U.S. denied Opendi a visa that would have allowed her to attend a Commission on the Status of Women at the U.N. meeting in New York.

Reports indicate the visa denial is because of anti-LGBTQ comments that include the castration of gay men that she made during the parliamentary debate on the Anti-Homosexuality Act. Mugisha applauded the U.S. decision, saying she should not be able to promote hate against LGBTQ people “anywhere else.”

ā€œThe bill is very draconian, has so many limitations for our men and families that do not conform to old draconian conservative ideologies,” said Mugisha in response to the surrogacy bill. “The bill would outlaw women who are not married from having IVF and we need to pay attention to this bull and stop it.ā€ 

The Ugandan surrogacy bill limiting same-sex couples from parenthood adds to a list of recent anti-LGBTQ measures like Anti-Homosexuality Act that saw the country sanctioned.

The Court of Appeal on March 12 declared it is illegal for LGBTQ rights groups to register in Uganda. Parliament Speaker Anita Among, a strong anti-homosexuality crusader, during the parliamentary session two days after the ruling commended Chief Justice Alfonse Owiny and the Ugandan judiciary he leads for saving the country from ā€œvalues that are alien and want to destroy our society.ā€ 

Kenyaā€™s proposed surrogacy law, dubbed the Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill 2022, is also before the parliamentary health committee. MP Millie Odhiambo last May reintroduced the bill, which would prohibit gay and lesbian couples from having children via surrogate.

The measure stalled in the Kenyan Senate in 2022. House rules rendered it “dead” when the parliamentary term ended because of that year’s general election. It could only be saved through a reintroduction in the new Parliament. 

The Kenyan surrogacy bill, just like the one that Opendi introduced, would only permit a man and a woman (intending parents) with certified infertility problems to have children via surrogate and IVF.

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Burundi’s president reiterates LGBTQ people should be stoned in a stadium

Ɖvariste Ndayishimiye first made comment last December

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Burundian President Ɖvariste Ndayishimiye (Screen capture via Gentil Gedeon Official YouTube)

Burundian President Ɖvariste Ndayishimiye on March 8 reiterated his call for LGBTQ people to be stoned in a stadium.

Ndayishimiye made the remark during the commemoration of the International Women’s Day in Gitega, the country’s political capital. He first called for the public stoning of LGBTQ people lastĀ December during a public event.

LGBTQ activists sharply criticized the comments and some international diplomats even threatened to cut economic ties with Burundi. Ndayishimiye, however, seems unmoved by this pushback and maintained that if it meant if his nation would cut economic ties with the developed countries on the basis of his anti-LGBTQ stance then so be it, reaffirming that nothing will change his stance.  

JĆ©sus Dior Kant, a gay man and LGBTQ activist from Burundi, said the president’s remarks are tantamount to publicly calling for the lynching of gay people.

“This violent and anti-LGBT+ rhetoric endangers the lives of many individuals in Burundi and stains the nation’s commitment to human rights,” said Kant. “Such discourse not only incites homophobia and violence but also violates international human rights laws and norms that protect individuals regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Kant also said what Ndayishimiye said now poses a real and immediate threat for LGBTQ people in the country.

“The impact of this statement is not merely rhetorical, it poses a real and immediate threat to the safety and well-being of the LGBT+ community in Burundi,” said Kant. “It encourages hate crimes, promotes discrimination and undermines progress made towards equality and justice. This is not just a problem for the LGBT+ community but a stain on the moral fabric of our global society, reflecting on us all.”

Kant called for Ndayishimiye to immediately withdraw his remarks and commit to protecting the rights of LGBTQ people in the country.

“Your call to stone gay individuals constitutes a blatant violation of human rights and an incitement to violence and discrimination,” said Kant. “We implore you to take the necessary measures to withdraw your statement advocating violence against the LGBT+ community, commit to protecting LGBT+ individuals in Burundi by enforcing laws that guarantee rights and well-being and respecting international human rights conventions, ensuring that Burundi is a nation that respects and values every human life.” 

ClĆ©mentine de Montjoye, a researcher at Human Rights Watch’s Africa Division, said the anti-LGBTQ crackdown in Burundi could become worse, including continued political repression and restrictions on freedom of expression to maintain the governing partyā€™s control.Ā 

“This type of fearmongering is not new in Burundi, where sexual relations between people of the same sex have been illegal since former President Pierre Nkurunziza signed a new criminal code into law in 2009,” noted de Montjove. “The law was a fierce blow to Burundiā€™s LGBT people, who had begun to come out and organize, albeit in small numbers, to demand their rights be respected.”

De Montjove further noted the National Assemblyā€™s human rights commission added the anti-homosexuality provision in the 2009 criminal code at the last minute, apparently under pressure from Nkurunziza, who made statements on television that described homosexuality as a curse.

“Ndayishimiye, who presents himself as a progressive, rights-respecting leader, should be working to reverse this trend rather than stoking more fear and hatred,” said de Montjoye.

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Ugandan appeals court upholds ruling that blocked LGBTQ group from registering

Decision ‘doesn’t faze us’

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(Image by rarrarorro/Bigstock)

A Ugandan appeals court on Tuesday upheld a ruling that prevented an LGBTQ rights group from legally registering in the country.

The Uganda Registration Services Bureau in 2012 refused to legally recognize Sexual Minorities Uganda. The Uganda High Court upheld the decision in 2018, and SMUG appealed it to the country’s Registrar Court of Appeal.

“The LGBTQ community views this ruling as a missed opportunity to address the suppression of their freedom of association, instead focusing on perceived societal norms,” said SMUG in a press release. “It underscores a recurring trend in Ugandan courts, wherein rights of LGBTQ persons are marginalized, further widening the gap between legal protections and lived realities and experiences.”

Katie Hultquist of Outright International inĀ a post to her X accountĀ expressed her personal support for SMUG Executive Director Frank Mugisha, his organization and other activists in the country. Mugisha said SMUG is “fully committed to elevating this challenge to the next level.”Ā 

“After thorough debriefing, we will communicate our next strategic steps,” said Mugisha. “This ruling doesnā€™t faze us.”

The appeals court issued its ruling less than a year after President Yoweri Museveni signed the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, which contains a death penalty provision for “aggravated homosexuality.”

The Constitutional Court in December heard arguments in a lawsuit that challenges the law. It is not clear when a ruling will be issued.

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