Bill to introduce death penalty for homosexuals back on the agenda in Uganda
Conectas and other human rights organizations press the Brazilian government to speak out on the matter
November 30, 2012
A bill of law that steps up the already existing repression of homosexuality in Uganda has once again returned to the floor of the country’s parliament. Bill No. 18 of 2009 alters the Criminal Code and penalizes, with punishments that include life imprisonment or death, anyone involved in sexual relations with a person of the same sex.
Conectas, in a letter (in Portuguese) submitted together with other human rights organizations, is asking the Brazilian government to issue a statement, as a matter of urgency, against the approval of the bill. Ugandan social movements defending civil rights and the LGBT community are appealing to the international community to speak out against the approval of this bill that will place the lives of thousands of people at risk in that country.
Relations between people of the same sex are considered a crime in 36 of the 56 African nations. It is legislation inherited from the colonial period. In most cases – such as in Uganda, where the current punishment is 14 years in a secure prison – they are laws that mimic the British criminal code of 1861.
The bill under debate was first proposed in 2009 and it has been put to the vote several times. According to Political Research Associates, the bill was directly influenced by U.S. evangelical groups, in particular by Pastor Scott Lively who is currently the subject of a lawsuit filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is accusing Lively of inciting hatred. The LGBT community and human rights groups in Uganda have, on several occasions, organized large mobilizations on this matter with the support of international networks.
Once again, international solidarity is needed to prevent a draconian law from being passed in Uganda. Accordingly, the organizations listed in the letter are appealing to the Brazilian government to put diplomatic pressure on the government of President Yoweri Museveni to halt the progress of the law.
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SPW (Sexuality Policy Watch) – The global context: Sexuality and geopolitics
