The anti-homosexuality law passed by parliament on Tuesday night was deemed “appalling” by the UN and the NGO Amnesty International, who urged Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to reject it.
In a contentious session on Tuesday night, the Ugandan parliament approved a law that would severely punish individuals who have homosexual relationships.
The original text, which called for up to 10 years in prison for anyone committing homosexual acts or identifying as LGBTQ+ in a nation where homosexuality was already prohibited, was significantly altered by MPs.
It was not immediately clear how severe the new penalties under the law would be.
Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, urged Museveni not to pass the law on Wednesday.
He issued a statement in which he said, “The passage of this discriminatory text—probably the worst of its kind in the world—is a deeply troubling development.”
“If the president signs this bill into law, lesbians, gays, and bisexuals in Uganda will automatically become criminals by virtue of their mere existence” (…). It might allow for the systematic violation of virtually all of their human rights, he continued.
According to Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s director for East and Southern Africa, “This ambiguous, broadly worded law criminalizes even those who “promote” homosexuality.
President Museveni’s party, the National Resistance Movement, elected member Fox Odoi-Oywelowo, spoke out against the text. According to the MP, under the final version of the law, those who violate the law could receive a life sentence or even the death penalty for “aggravated” offenses.
It would “institutionalize discrimination, hatred, and prejudice” against the LGBTQ+ community, according to Amnesty, which urged Museveni to “urgently veto this appalling law.”
Homophobic language has been used frequently in discussions of the bill in parliament, with Museveni last week labeling homosexuals as “deviant” individuals.
The 78-year-old leader, however, has frequently stated that he does not consider this issue to be important and that he would rather preserve his good relationships with his Western donors and investors.
laws that are “strictly anti-homosexual”
Since Uganda gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, there have been no prosecutions for consensual homosexual acts despite the country’s strict anti-homosexuality laws, which are a legacy of colonial laws.
In Uganda, where there is a lot of intolerance for homosexuality, the law’s passage was applauded by some.
“Being Ugandan citizens makes us very happy. We do not accept homosexuality, lesbianism, or LGBTQ people in our culture. We cannot; “54-year-old resident Abdu Mukasa told AFP. “God created each of us. Man and woman were made by God. And we cannot permit one sex to coexist with another sex “Added he.
A Ugandan court struck down a law that would have punished homosexual relations with a life sentence in 2014. The law had been approved by MPs and signed by President Museveni.
After the bill was introduced in parliament, some wealthy nations suspended aid, causing a commotion outside of Uganda’s borders.
Six men were detained by the police last week in Jinja for “practicing homosexuality,” according to the police (south). On Sunday, six more men were detained on the same suspicion, according to the police.