Up to 10 years in prison for those who identify as part of the LGBTIQ community in Uganda

He uganda parliament has approved a bill that seeks to punish with up to 10 years in prison to people who identify as part of the LGBTIQ community. For the project to be entered into the penal code of the country It still has to be ratified by the president of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, who last Thursday already described homosexuals as “deviations from normaland accused West to want impose that sexual inclination in Africa.

The norm, which was approved on Tuesday night after 6 hours of debates and with the votes in favor of 73% of the more than 500 members of the Ugandan Parliament, also proposes sentences of five years in prison to those who try to “promote” “homosexuality”, which would endanger the organizations that defend the rights of these people, as Amnesty International has warned. Currently, in Uganda, a law from 1950 – eleven years before the country obtained its independence from the United Kingdom – prevails in its penal code, which penalizes up to seven years in prison for carnal relations between people of the same sex.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has expressed concern about the adoption in Uganda of a law that increases prison sentences for having homosexual relations and has addressed its president directly. He has asked her not to enact a reform that “probably is one of the worst of its kind in the world“. For Turk, the Ugandan Parliament’s approval of this reform is “worrying”, insofar as it proposes punishing the LGTBI community “simply for existing, for being who they are”. In his opinion, it would mean a “carte blanche” for the “systematic violation” of Human Rights and would feed social hatred.

The European Union the respect has also been pronounced. The Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union, Nabila Massrali, said this Wednesday in a statement that “the criminalization of homosexuality is contrary to International Law.” He also recalled one of the clauses of the African Charter, which upholds that “everyone has the duty to respect and consider their fellow men without discrimination.” “The European Union will continue to work with the Ugandan authorities and civil society to ensure that all people, regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity, are treated equally, with dignity and respect,” it concluded.

For its part, the United States demanded this Wednesday that the president of Uganda do not ratify the approved bill. “The anti-homosexuality law passed by the Ugandan Parliament undermines the fundamental rights of all Ugandans and could reverse progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS,” the US Secretary of State warned on Twitter. Anthony Blinken.

Therefore, the leader of US diplomacy urged the Ugandan government to “seriously reconsider the implementation of this legislation.” In addition, at a press conference, John Kirby, one of the White House spokesmen, warned that Uganda could suffer “economic repercussions” if the law goes into effect.