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News from Africa:
A bill introduced in Uganda’s Parliament criminalizing same-sex conduct and sexual and gender identity, if adopted, would violate multiple fundamental rights, Human Rights Watch said today. Among others, such a law would violate the rights to freedom of expression and association privacy, equality, and nondiscrimination.
On March 9, 2023, Asuman Basalirwa, a Member of Parliament, introduced the 2023 Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Parliament. The bill is a revised and more egregious version of the 2014 Anti-Homosexuality Act, which reinforced existing prison sentences for same-sex conduct and outlawed the “promotion of homosexuality,” but was struck down by a court on procedural grounds.
This new bill "goes much further by also criminalizing any person who claims to be LGBT+ “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,” with a punishment of up to ten years in prison.”
From Human Rights Watch 10th March 2023
World Report 2023 | Human Rights Watch (hrw.org)
We can't show this little boy's face. He and his mother were thanking us for providing support for them that kept them alive in Kenya. The boy is in danger because his mother is an LGBT+ refugee.
It is thanks to the introduction of laws that criminalize same-sex conduct in Uganda that queer people now face open persecution and danger. The bigotry does not stop at those who are LGBTQ+ but is also encountered by their children. This means the offspring of LGBTQ+ people often encounter discrimination, prejudice, and violence for simply being born to a queer person. Hatred against homosexuality is often experienced within one's own kin group as well as neighborhood, community, and birth nation.
Discrimination faced by queer people in Uganda does not stop when fleeing to other countries. Attitudes against LGBT+ people are being fuelled by religious condemnation and political powers, often influenced by the 'prosperity gospel' of Western nations. This can create conflict, discrimination, rejection and even violence within families, schools and workplaces, and home communities. While not illegal in Kenya, cultural attitudes mean Rainbow Refugees are not safe even when escaping prejudice from their home countries.