Congress Global Solidarity is appalled by the enactment of the harsh anti-LGBT+ law in Uganda that further criminalises LGBT+ people, civil society, and public health advocates. This is one of the world’s toughest anti-LGBT+ laws, which includes the death penalty.
Simply identifying as LGBT+ will be illegal, and the law compels friends, family and the public to report LGBT+ people to authorities. Related civil society and public health advocacy will also be outlawed. The law introduces new criminal offences that impose life imprisonment and the death penalty in some circumstances.
LGBT+ Ugandans already face criminal prosecution, social exclusion, violence and harassment. Ugandan politicians are using LGBT+ people as a distraction from deep-seated economic and social problems. Further to recent waves of arrests, evictions, and mob attacks on the LGBT+ community, this law raises the risk of worsening the violence and persecution they face.
This is a deeply repressive legislation which institutionalise discrimination, hatred, and prejudice against LGBT+ people. It is a tragic violation of human rights. Instead of criminalising the LGBT+ community, Uganda should protect by enacting laws and policies that align with the principles of equality and non-discrimination enshrined not only in Uganda’s Constitution but also in the African Charter on Human and People’s rights. Congress is concerned that Uganda's move could encourage lawmakers in neighbouring Kenya and Tanzania to seek similar measures.
Congress calls on the Ugandan government to fully respect its international human rights obligations, in particular the principle of non-discrimination and the respect for personal privacy, irrespective of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Congress stands in solidarity with Uganda's beleaguered LGBT+ community in the face of a government that has now legalised state-sponsored homophobia and transphobia. We will work with our trade union colleagues in the African continent to protect the rights of LGBT+ people.
